Building on the legacy of the Olmstead brothers’ vision, the design integrates the context, materiality and landscape of the historic park to its surroundings. Working with the natural resources associated with the park (stone, woodland, trails), the contemporary design melds the old and the new, utilizing the hill to its advantage, integrating an original stone pathway, and activating a less used area into another gateway to the park.

Watertown has a Concert in the Park Event every year to celebrate the Fourth of July in Thompson Park. Starting with an early evening concert and celebratory fireworks for the finale.  People attend from miles around and attendance reaches over 5,000. The Amphitheater will provide a permanent stage for the event and allow more events to occur throughout the year. The amphitheater will be flexible to accommodate the large Concert in the Park event as well as small venues of a few hundred.  The seating will be a mix of fixed seating (approximately 250-350 seats), terraced grass seating (approximately 2,500) and open lawn seating (approximately 2,000-3,000). This will allow large and small venues to occur without too much set up.