(PROJECT) A Gathering Place For Tulsa

[rebound]

I don't see a problem. The park itself will be amazing. I think people will be willing to use an extra syllable to describe it ("Gathering Place" rather than "River Parks").

Since the plans were announced, was there ever any question that the name "Gathering Place for Tulsa" wouldn't be official? No name will make everyone happy. Lets see if we can find a better name for the city. "Tulsa" just isn't doing it for me. Too clunky!

"Tulsa" started at "Tulsey Town".   Everything gets shortened in common use.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

"Tulsa" started at "Tulsey Town".   Everything gets shortened in common use.

Before that, it started as "Tallasi" which is a contraction of the Creek word "Tullahassee" that means "Old Town".

I don't see how people will shorten Gathering Place much though. Please not "Gat-Pla"!

How about GatPla-O-Ri-Si! (Gathering Place on River Side) 

[BKDotCom]

Before that, it started as "Tallasi" which is a contraction of the Creek word "Tullahassee" that means "Old Town".

I don't see how people will shorten Gathering Place much though. Please not "Gat-Pla"!

How about GatPla-O-Ri-Si! (Gathering Place on River Side) 

"The Place"
"The Park"
"Park Place"

[heironymouspasparagus]

I see  "The Gathering Place for Tulsa" being shortened (it already has been) to "the gathering place".  Kind of like in Ft Worth when they say "go to the museum district".   Meaning, there is a lot of stuff to do in the area, not just the museum.  TGP (see, shortened it even more...) is more than a park.   Admittedly, I didn't like the name either when I first heard it,  but I like it now.

Had the misfortune to fly in on AA Sunday and walking to baggage claim there is a loonnnggggg mural in that last hall before baggage.  Nice artwork and they were calling it "Gathering Place"... I pretty much knew what it was without the "for Tulsa" part.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Does anyone know if there are any plans to give our new park a NAME beyond "A Gathering Place for Tulsa"?

Looks like you have your official answer now:

Gathering Place shortens name, launches logo


Tulsa's unfolding, philanthropic park has unveiled a logo and shortened its name.


Formerly known as A Gathering Place for Tulsa, the green space being built along the Arkansas River has been branded "Gathering Place." Representatives will add the tagline "Tulsa's Riverfront Park" when trying to reach a broader audience.


Eliminating the "a" was practical because it was dropped many times, anyway, in spoken and written references, said Jeff Stava, executive director and trustee of Tulsa's Gathering Place LLC. The other bookend change did away with what was viewed as a redundancy.



"When we created the name, the reason we said 'A Gathering Place for Tulsa' is that we were trying to make sure that people knew that this was going to be a gift for them," Stava said. "That was really important in the early positioning. But fast forward basically three or four years now, and you don't don't need to say Tulsa, anymore, because every Tulsan knows it's for them.


"By saying Tulsa's Riverfront Park, when we do regional and national and an international approach, you will always see the tagline, Tulsa's Riverfront Park."


Tony Moore is the park's director.


"We looked at more traditional, iconic names like Millennial Park, Generational Park," he said. "We toyed with different names. But at the end of the day, we all came back to say that this is a place where people come together.


"Consumers always shorten things to what flows best for them. If you don't do it yourself, sometimes consumers will decide through acronyms what they want to call something for convenience."


Created with Saxum, a local marketing communications agency, the logo's symbol comprises four connected stick figures inside a mostly enclosed circle. The design conveys community, Gathering Place reps said.


"While it represents people, it can represent family," Moore said. "It can represent groups; the circle represents unity. It's people in a unified space. There is so much that can be taken from that ... there are a lot of different interpretations. It's very versatile and dynamic."


Gathering Place will use the logo and other adapted treatments for park signage. The brand also will be incorporated into merchandise such as T-shirts, tote bags and key chains.


"People like to associate with things that are positive," Stava said. "You can see right now the way the Tulsa flag has been embraced.


"Tulsans are really prideful about the community. I think they will be really prideful about the park. They will want to show that to their family or their friends. Our hope is that you will see our T-shirts and our hats all over the world."

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/gatheringplace/gathering-place-shortens-name-launches-logo/article_1e27c84b-906a-571e-a55c-2fb953f469ba.html

[cannon_fodder]

Inevitable.  But I do chuckle a little thinking about how much they spent on "branding" to come to this decision.

[TulsaGoldenHurriCAN]

Inevitable.  But I do chuckle a little thinking about how much they spent on "branding" to come to this decision.

They might not have spent that much. It might've only costed a few thousand to design the logo and the decision to go with "Gathering Place" was probably internal with no expensive consultations needed.

It says that calling it "A Gathering Place for Tulsa" to begin with was intentional so Tulsans would understand that the park is a gift to the citizens. I don't think they wasted much money on branding. It seems pretty logical that it is the shortened "Gathering Place" now.

[SXSW]

I wonder when they will announce an actual opening date?  They keep saying late spring or summer, and that it will coincide with Riverside Dr. opening.  I'm hoping they can open in May/June while everything is still in bloom and before the summer heat.  They should've been making up time with the quiet weather pattern over the past few months..

[TheArtist]

I wonder when they will announce an actual opening date?  They keep saying late spring or summer, and that it will coincide with Riverside Dr. opening.  I'm hoping they can open in May/June while everything is still in bloom and before the summer heat.  They should've been making up time with the quiet weather pattern over the past few months..

My feeling is that they will want to have a "soft opening" for groups and such to work out any bugs and also to coordinate the "big media campaign".  I would hope they will have some big shows, have national media lined up (magazines, newspaper, radio, TV interviews and highlights), promotional packages worked out, educational programming for the park, coordinating with local promotional entities, etc.

One of the big reasons for this park was that this was going to be a big "selling point" an attention getting lifestyle feature for the city, like hiking and the mountains are for Denver.  It would be great to open with a ginormous splash and that will take some careful planning, stage-setting and behind the scenes work of its own.

[SXSW]

My feeling is that they will want to have a "soft opening" for groups and such to work out any bugs and also to coordinate the "big media campaign".  I would hope they will have some big shows, have national media lined up (magazines, newspaper, radio, TV interviews and highlights), promotional packages worked out, educational programming for the park, coordinating with local promotional entities, etc.

One of the big reasons for this park was that this was going to be a big "selling point" an attention getting lifestyle feature for the city, like hiking and the mountains are for Denver.  It would be great to open with a ginormous splash and that will take some careful planning, stage-setting and behind the scenes work of its own.

With the low water dam not yet fixed they should hope we have a wet spring as well.   

[SXSW]

With the low water dam not yet fixed they should hope we have a wet spring as well.   

Unfortunately the Arkansas gets a good amount of its spring flow from snowpack runoff which is historically low in Colorado.  Still a few months to reverse but not looking good up that way.

[Conan71]

Unfortunately the Arkansas gets a good amount of its spring flow from snowpack runoff which is historically low in Colorado.  Still a few months to reverse but not looking good up that way.

We went to visit other ex-pat Tulsans in Colorado Springs last weekend, not looking too promising along the front range.  The Spanish Peaks/Cuchara area is looking pretty dry and the mountains fronting the San Juan Valley aren't doing very well either.  I believe the Leadville area where the Arkansas head waters are has been getting decent snow but nothing like they are used to by this time.

We are in the Canadian River watershed where we live now.  The Cimarron River (not the "Dry Cimarron" which starts up near Raton and flows to the Arkansas) is in an arroyo behind our B & B.  Other than what snow they are making at Angel Fire and Red River there's no snow at all up in the Moreno Valley (Eagle Nest, Wheeler Peak Wilderness).  Central Oklahoma is going to be pretty screwed without that snow melt if it doesn't hurry up and get busy.

The neighbor who owns the property behind us has a series of sluice gates to make an artificial wetland habitat for geese in the winter, that's even starting to dry up in the past week.

[buffalodan]

Unfortunately the Arkansas gets a good amount of its spring flow from snowpack runoff which is historically low in Colorado.  Still a few months to reverse but not looking good up that way.

So Kinda. But the Arkansas river in Tulsa is mostly impacted from western OK and KS rain. Snow pack feeds agriculture in western KS, but the Colorado watershed doesn't have a lot of impact for us. A drought year for them does suck because that means they aren't sending any water past KS. But even in normal/dry spells they aren't going to be letting their water just head downstream. If they have a ton of extra, that would be nice to really fill the lakes up. Also, Keystone is doing okay right now. It's at the low end of normal, but getting out of the dry months with 4-5' of flood control isn't unheard of.

[SXSW]

I didn't realize there will be 3 new river trails through the park.  From the TW:

When A Gathering Place for Tulsa opens in the spring of 2018, it will add about 6 miles to the area's extensive trail system.  The east River Parks trail is closed between 24th and 34th streets during the construction. However, when it is reopened there will be three riverfront trails through Tulsa's Gathering Place: a new lower trail that will be on the edge of the river; a middle path with more elements of the terrain; and the upper trail, the largest of the three, with divided paths for biking, pedestrians and runners.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/columnists/johnklein/john-klein-tulsa-s-world-class-trail-system-keeps-expanding/article_3c1d313e-0405-5e02-a97e-f04874286024.html

And I was looking at some aerials from last fall and wondered what is the timeline for Phase II along Crow Creek?  That includes the Children's Museum and trail along the creek.  Would also be interested to know more about the future plans for the Crow Creek apartments, they have only just said "mixed-use residential".

[heironymouspasparagus]

Drove across bridges several times over the weekend...

It's about time to get out and sweep the river!