Chapman Centenniel Green

[johrasephoenix]

Does anyone else think the Centenniel Green downtown is pretty terrible?  It's just an empty, unprogrammed patch of grass that breaks up our premier streetwall.  There's no trees, no shade, it's hot AF, no swingset, no real public art, nothing to attract anyone to that site.

Maybe all it needs is some shade and seating.  Or throw in some engaging public art or a swingset or a waterfountain for kiddos or something.  Right now it makes Boston Ave actively worse - I'd almost rather have an empty building than what it is now. 

[RecycleMichael]

There are plans to make improvements and it is going to host a beautiful art exhibit in 2018.

[Conan71]

There are plans to make improvements and it is going to host a beautiful art exhibit in 2018.

Could we get the Occupy Tulsa guys to come back until the improvements are done?  At least we would have some entertainment.

[Townsend]

Could we get the Occupy Tulsa guys to come back until the improvements are done?  At least we would have some entertainment.

Many are still there...wandering around downtown with carts.

[davideinstein]

Yeah, let's blame a park on people not taking care of the homeless. 

[Townsend]

Yeah, let's blame a park on people not taking care of the homeless. 

Yeah, let's misunderstand a post and use a dumbassed emoticon.

[Dspike]

"There are plans to make improvements and it is going to host a beautiful art exhibit in 2018."

Any place we can see these plans online? Are they being done by the City or private entities?

The location is perfect for something neat and new downtown, even as simple as a dog park or a shaded area for people to eat lunch. And with the Meridian opening up in the next year, there will be more people living next door. Would love to see what folks have in mind for that space.

[rdj]

Any explanation of why the fountain isn't running?  I haven't noticed it on in a while.

RM, I assume you mean the TUAC project?

[RecycleMichael]

Could we get the Occupy Tulsa guys to come back until the improvements are done? 

I took them some calamari.

Then I pronounced them Octupie Tulsa

[PonderInc]

Trees, trees, trees!  This poor park desperately needs trees!  The kind that will grow into large canopy trees.  Once you have some shade, you can add some benches, tables, chairs, a bandshell, whatever you like.  If you had trees, you could maybe add a small coffee shop or smoothy shack.  But until you have trees, it will remain little more than a place for downtown dogs to poop.

Also, whatever genius picked the black stone/concrete should be forced to sit on it in the summertime.  But even that would be better with...trees!

[Bamboo World]

Trees, trees, trees!  This poor park desperately needs trees!  The kind that will grow into large canopy trees.  Once you have some shade, you can add some benches, tables, chairs, a bandshell, whatever you like.  If you had trees, you could maybe add a small coffee shop or smoothy shack.

I recommend deciduous trees to help create a canopy and sense of enclosure.  And some buildings would be nice, too.


Source: The Beryl Ford Collection/Rotary Club of Tulsa, Tulsa City-County Library and Tulsa Historical Society

[erfalf]

Trees would certainly help.

For comparison sake, I always enjoyed Mariano Park in Chicago. It's actually bound on all three sides by streets, and it's roughly 1/10th the size of Centennial, but it has heavy tree cover, and a coffee shop/Gelato shop. It was always difficult to find a bench/table (which there were numerous) every time we went.

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.901561,-87.628274,3a,75y,50.06h,90.86t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sRTLmHU4_4_KqWbhG85xF5Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1





Bartlesville has it's own version of Centennial Plaza. It also breaks up one of the few areas of continuous street walls, and is basically just a patch of grass with a "Little House on the Prairie" type store that sits vacant all but a few days a year. There was even talks of redeveloping it into a building space, however that was swiftly quashed by the "we can't get rid of parks" crowd in a heartbeat, even though it would have been so much better for the city on so many levels. Plus its smack dab in the middle of an area that already has a cluster of retail shops.



https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bartlesville,+OK/@36.7510424,-95.9759023,3a,60y,168.59h,88.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s5Bhi4RkAU6mGxbQ_W7as5Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x87b7124f36c7bdf1:0xdef002e0d528a136!8m2!3d36.7473114!4d-95.9808179!6m1!1e1
The sign about the park closing is not photoshopped by the way. Sad but true.

[cannon_fodder]

I'm not opposed to the park in any way. I think it's a good place for a park, particularly as we continue to fill in empty buildings. One could argue that the two residential renovations right there are influenced by the fact there is a park there- instead of surface parking. However, it is not very inviting for actual use and the fountain did end up being an ugly "design by committee" type off thing.

Some trees would certainly go a long, long way towards making that a more use-able space in Oklahoma.

[AngieB]

I'm not opposed to the park in any way. I think it's a good place for a park, particularly as we continue to fill in empty buildings. One could argue that the two residential renovations right there are influenced by the fact there is a park there- instead of surface parking. However, it is not very inviting for actual use and the fountain did end up being an ugly "design by committee" type off thing.

Some trees would certainly go a long, long way towards making that a more use-able space in Oklahoma.

If only there was some sort of organization or group that would plant trees... 

[RecycleMichael]

My employer built that park. We are a non-profit that found 3 different donors of $400,000 each and we borrowed $1.2 million to match. We took out the parking lot, built the park, then sold it to the City of Tulsa for the bank note.

It is now owned and maintained by the city parks, but we retain approval rights to the use and changes.

The trees were not done right initially. It was a city contractor (but we accept blame too) and they installed them too early because the park was ready. Never plant trees in the summer. Now the Park department has reached out and is planning to do more trees. Big trees are difficult to find and really difficult to move and plant, but there is hope. They have also helped turn to Up With Trees (the real experts) who have already planted 550 trees in downtown Tulsa the last three years with more to come (Each of those trees are adoptable and you get a little plaque with your name for $750).

But the original discussions of the park were not around shade. The original donors talked about a pastoral setting for white collar workers. It was a vision of sun and grass and quiet. Downtown areas can be dark and shady and open was the hope.

But we all see urban green space differently. People with children always want to add a playground. People out of shape like me always want more places to sit. I am a tree guy (and the current president of the board of Up with Trees) but I have spoke to people in downtown think that the new trees block the beautiful architecture.  

We also built a small park along Archer near the coney place and would love to build another downtown park. We just need some rich people to step up.  

Green Space Matters.