The City recently reopened Piazza Dante, a small urban parkette in front of St Anthony Church, corner of Booth and Gladstone.

Two carved granite pillars flank the main entrance to the piazza from Gladstone. If they look familiar, well, they should. Their cousins mark the entrance to Preston Street at Primrose:

When the Preston Street sculptures — Postcards from the Piazzas, by c j fleury –were being made, the granite carvers misread the order and produced four columns instead of two. With some quick thinking by the City, the artist, and Preston BIA, the additional columns were purchased, finished,  and used as gate posts to Piazza Dante.

There are two foundations on the Booth Street entrance suitable for two more columns or gateway features.

The Piazza is now finished, with an unobtrusive spray pad feature built into the star pattern laid in the concrete. When on, children have fun. When off, it functions like a piazza for wedding pic, church and community events.

While I would like to have seen more shrubs along the perimeter fence line, the overall park is a significant improvement over the previous version.

[as an aside, go back up to the first picture: why on earth does the City have a 40km speed limit right in front of park, in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Thirty is plenty fast, and will hugely increase survival possibilities after the inevitable child-meets-car collisions]