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Florence Joyner Olympiad Park
The award-winning 22-acre Florence Joyner Olympiad Park in Mission Viejo, Calif., as its name indicates, is dedicated to American track great Florence Griffith Joyner (“Flo-Jo”).
As you enter the park you see Dave Chapple’s life-size bronze statue of Florence Joyner crossing the finish line, replete with her signature fingernails and jewelry. Four colorful plaques, one mounted on each side of a 5-foot pedestal, highlight her accomplishments. This historical biography based on interviews with family members and careful research was thought to be accurate, complete and meaningful. However, when Florence Joyner’s husband, Al, and their daughter, Mary Ruth, reviewed the mockups of the statue prior to fabrication, Mary Ruth whispered to her father, “It doesn’t say she was a Mom.” This park is dedicated in memory of a very special person, an athlete, an Olympic champion … and a Mom.
Born Florence Griffith on Dec. 21, 1959 in Los Angeles, she made her mark in track in 1988 when she set a world record (10.49) in the 100 meters during the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials. At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, she set an Olympic record in the 100 (10.62) and an Olympic and world record in the 200-meter (21.34) events. She also earned gold in the 4 x 100 meter relay and silver in the 4 x 400 meter relay at the Seoul Games.
Flo-Jo Remembered The charismatic athlete lived in Mission Viejo and regularly ran through the park site during training sessions, so it is fitting the focal point of the park is a bronze statue of Flo-Jo crossing the finish line.
When Flo-Jo died during her sleep at the age of 38 on Sept. 21, 1998, apparently the result of suffocation from a severe epileptic seizure, the community, the track world, and all those who had seen the marvelous athleticism of this charismatic woman were shocked. Twenty-two years after her untimely death, her times in the 100 and 200 meters are still world records.
At the base of the hill that parallels the upper section of the playground, a naturalized rocky streambed channels runoff on those occasions when it rains in Southern California. A wood bridge of Douglas fir separates the stream from the upper playground and simulates water flowing under it onto the playground, referenced by blue safety surfacing flowing down from the upper playground to a ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Mission Viejo Mission Viejo is a master planned community that encompasses over 10,000 acres of rolling hills. It was in 1965 that the Mission Viejo Co. began to develop this beautiful master planned community. One of the key components to the master plan was the ability to have recreational elements within walking distance of each neighborhood, and to have community-based facilities with unique recreational opportunities for the entire community to enjoy. In 1968, the company opened the first of three recreation centers, which drew new homeowners from all over the country. This aggressive campaign highlighted recreational amenities and spawned world-class swimming programs and eventually developed into elite recreational facilities for soccer, baseball and swimming. These facilities ultimately became training grounds for many Olympic athletes.
1984 Summer Olympics When the 1984 Summer Olympics came to Los Angeles, Mission Viejo hosted two Olympic cycling road races, drawing over 300,000 visitors. On July 29, cyclists from 126 countries raced on the hilly streets of Mission Viejo: a 50-mile individual road race for the women (the first time women competed in this Olympic event), and a 120-mile road race for the men.
The centerpiece of the course was Lake Mission Viejo, a mile long reservoir constructed by an earth fill dam across Oso Creek canyon, part of the Trabuco Creek and San Juan Creek drainage basin. The lake is stocked with fish and accommodates boaters and swimmers. There are two man-made beaches for use by residents.
Many of the community’s recreational activities are located along the three-mile walk surrounding the lake. The historic Olympic cycling events in Mission Viejo were the impetus and inspiration for the design and development of Olympiad Park, one of the highlights along this walk.
Planning The park planning of course involved community meetings, plus an intensive design charette to determine the specific program for the park. The Mission Viejo city staff, headed by Keith Rattay and Larry Ryan of RJM Design Group, Inc., a local landscape architecture firm, began developing many of the concepts and details for the park.
The large planter on the sidewalk leading to the sculpture and the playground sports colorful tiles painted by Florence Joyner?EUR??,,????'?????<
Topography The topography of the park site was a challenge. It was similar to much of Mission Viejo and required significant grading to develop spaces large enough for sports fields, parking lots and other active recreational uses. The adjacent hillside, a Southern California Edison easement, was carefully evaluated for grading, service access and landscape limitations. The hillside generates substantial runoff during rainstorms, which created the need for careful evaluation of site drainage. Dry streambeds were installed at the base of the slopes to collect water from rainfall and irrigation runoff while adding an attractive and unifying design element throughout the park.
The Park Gets Its Name Florence Joyner passed away while the park planning was underway. With her death, the community’s already intense support for the park and local athletes took a solemn shift toward honoring this great Mission Viejo Olympic figure. When residents lobbied the city council, the park’s name officially became Florence Joyner Olympiad Park.
Family Activities and Inspiration The park was planned to promote family activities. It was to be an inspiration to all and show that hard work and perseverance can and does pay off. There is a great need in the community for green space where families can be together, play catch, toss a Frisbee, have a picnic or simply stroll around. Soccer and Little League facilities are incorporated, along with a large thematic tot lot, amphitheater area, specialty gardens and a plaza area honoring local Olympians.
Design The design of Florence Joyner Olympiad Park embraces the Olympic spirit in its details, volunteer efforts and community input and support. Long before design concepts became reality and bulldozers began to move earth, it was determined the park would be a unique experience that truly honored the revered local athletes and a great woman of the community, Florence Joyner. 1984 Olympic theme elements were incorporated into the park including, original light fixtures from the Los Angeles Olympics, display plaques and site fencing. The three key park elements best portray the Olympic spirit:
The park’s playground offers age-appropriate fun for the 2-5 and 5-12 age groups. A baseball field, soccer/football fields, picnic facilities, garden areas and an Olympic Walk of Fame have rightly made this park the favored and most used of the 52 parks and open spaces in Mission Viejo.
A miniature Olympic Village at the bottom of the playground comprises a series of playhouses and village establishments: a diner, an ice cream parlor, a bank, a barber shop, phone booths, a docked ship, a lookout tree house over the village and a ?EUR??,,????'?????<
Olympic Village Play Areas The children’s play area is designed to emulate a miniature Olympic Village, another inspiration from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games. There is a series of playhouses and village establishments: a diner, an ice cream parlor, a bank, a barber shop, phone booths, a docked ship, a lookout tree house over the village and a “rock” climbing structure. Each of these elements is surrounded by a “river” of colorful rubberized surfacing that emanates from the “waterfall” and rock outcropping at the top of the village. The safe fall “river” meanders through the village to the shoreline where a simulated boat is docked. The boat includes talking tubes on board and at the dock where children can ask for “permission to come aboard.”
The large playground includes upper and lower play areas that are fully accessible via the perimeter walk. The playground features four play equipment manufacturers, carefully selected for the unique structures they provide: GameTime, Miracle Recreation, Little Tikes and Park & Play Structures.
The play area includes many canopy trees to provide shaded seating areas in the middle of the play zone. Natural boulders are located throughout the play areas. Some are retaining walls, but others are for seating and climbing.
Immediately adjacent to the Village is a picnic shelter that accommodates 100 people.
The five Olympic colors (blue, yellow, black, green and red) are the color theme for the playground and much of the rubberized surfacing. (Note: Those now very familiar five interlocking Olympic rings represent the five continents. They were designed in 1913 and debuted at the 1920 Antwerp Games at Antwerp, 1920).
The landscape within and surrounding the play area allows the natural environment to become part of the experience. Lighting was carefully integrated into the playground for safety and extended use. Because of the variety of play elements, elevation changes, landscape, nearby picnic facilities and convenient restroom, the playground has become a destination for children and families that can be enjoyed throughout the day and into the evening hours.
The Olympic Gardens The Olympic Gardens are an unexpected, pleasant surprise for first time visitors. This haven of five gardens has a European flair. It’s a retreat, a place to stroll and enjoy the landscaping. Each garden evokes a different response, each connected by the naturalized dry streambed. The garden entry leads to a wooden shelter and a playful tulip fence. As you cross over the wooden bridges, a side path leads to the community rose garden with the perfect red rose, the ‘Olympiad.’ The path next leads to the walled garden room, which features a stone water wall, benches, chairs and tables ideal for conversation, relaxation or reading.
The Olympic Plaza At the intersection of Olympiad Road and Alicia Parkway the Olympic Plaza cascades down the slope in multiple terraces. A heritage oak planted at the mid-level is surrounded with colorful tiles painted by Florence Joyner’s daughter Mary Ruth and her fourth grade class to honor Olympians. Along the walk are brightly colored ceramic plaques honoring past Olympic medalists who trained and/or lived in Mission Viejo. Each plaque is made from a vandal resistant ceramic to resist graffiti, fading and carving. The lower plaza level provides a rest stop for residents along the three-mile lake walk, a large gathering space for events and a playful bicycle race sculptures that come out of the adjacent landscape slope across the finish line in the heart of the plaza. These six larger than life bicycle silhouettes are each painted in Olympic colors. The winning cyclist, hands thrown in the air, is painted red, white, and blue and represents the results of the 1984 Olympic road bicycle race in Mission Viejo. Both the men and women’s races were won by the United States during that event.
RJM Design Group Founded in 1987, RJM Design Group, Inc. is a planning and landscape architecture firm with a team of talented planners, architects, landscape architects and LEED accredited professionals.
Larry Ryan is one of the founding principals of the firm. During his 28 years of experience, Mr. Ryan has been involved with a wide variety of planning and landscape architectural projects, from master planned communities to neighborhood parks. His project involvement encompasses all phases of development, including concept formulation, design development, agency processing and construction implementation.
Keith Rattay, RLA, was educated at Purdue University and has been employed by the city of Mission Viejo for over 14 years. Keith is the city’s landscape architect and the director of public services. He is responsible for the design of parks, streets, and community facilities.
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Florence Joyner Olympiad Park Team
Prime Consultant RJM Design Group, Inc. Principal Landscape Architect – Larry Ryan Master Planning – Robert Mueting Project Manager – Eric Chastain
Subconsultants Architect – James Mickartz Architect Civil Engineer – MCE Consultants, Inc. Electrical Engineer – GLP Engineering Irrigation – Toby Mertens
Vendors Baseball Backstop— Steelcraft
BBQs— R.J. Thomas Mfg.
Benches—Wabash Valley
Bicycle Racks—Cycloops
Fountain, cast stone: Haddonstone
Lighting—Lumex
Play Equipment GameTime—PowerScape Plus Little Tikes Miracle Recreation Equipment Park & Play Structures—Caravan
Materials and Amenities Paving, Sawtooth Flagstone—Valley Building Materials
Pedestal (sundial): Haddonstone
Poligon Structure—Miracle Play
Safety Surfacing: Spectraturf poured-in-place rubber surfacing
Tree Grates, Frames and Tree Guards
Trash Receptacles, Hot Ash Receptacles—Quickcrete
Trenching Drains: Ironsmith
Raleigh, North Carolina
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
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