You are here

Ford Park and Amphitheater

-A A +A
1987. 601 Vail Valley Dr.

Former President Gerald Ford and his wife, Betty, lent support to an outdoor theater and a surrounding park and garden named for the couple, who have a home in the Vail Valley. The informal Ford Park Amphitheater (1987, Morter Fisher Architects), 400 Vail Valley Drive, with half its seating on grassy berms, is partially covered by a series of wooden roof planes that frame the surrounding hillsides. The Betty Ford Alpine Rock Garden was designed by Marty Jones. Nearby in the park is a one-room, hewn log schoolhouse (1922) that now serves as the Gore Creek Museum. The Vail Nature Center ( EA07.1), 601 Vail Valley Drive in the park, was originally the Anholtz Farm-house (c. 1930). The two-story, gabled house was moved to Ford Park and given two additions and solar panels.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Thomas J. Noel

If SAH Archipedia has been useful to you, please consider supporting it.

SAH Archipedia tells the story of the United States through its buildings, landscapes, and cities. This freely available resource empowers the public with authoritative knowledge that deepens their understanding and appreciation of the built environment. But the Society of Architectural Historians, which created SAH Archipedia with University of Virginia Press, needs your support to maintain the high-caliber research, writing, photography, cartography, editing, design, and programming that make SAH Archipedia a trusted online resource available to all who value the history of place, heritage tourism, and learning.

,