Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza

[MichaelC]

More at Tulsa World

quote:Construction has begun on the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza, which is a major part of Tulsa's Route 66 revitalization and plans to capitalize on being the birthplace of the Mother Road.

"It's great to see the dirt finally turning," city planner Dennis Whitaker said. "This is the result of so many people who are passionate about the city claiming its rightful place in history."

The plaza, at the junction of Southwest Boulevard and Riverside Drive, is named after Avery, the former Tulsa County commissioner who lobbied Congress in 1926 to make Route 66 a national highway stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles.

[TURobY]

Does anyone know if they are going to re-open the beautiful bridge next to the plaza for pedestrian passage, or is it going to remain gated off?

[AVERAGE JOE]

quote:Originally posted by TURobY

Does anyone know if they are going to re-open the beautiful bridge next to the plaza for pedestrian passage, or is it going to remain gated off?

That was addressed in the article. They're going to perform cosmetic repairs so it looks right, but it'll remain gated off. To use it as a pedestrian path would require $15 million of structural work.

At least this way, they'll make the bridge look good again and stabilize it. They can always do the major work to it at a later time when they raise the money.

[matthewou]

I live right near this place, and I've been wondering what it was.  Now it makes a lot of sense.  I went to the Vision 2025 website and saw this.  Pretty cool, has a restaurant and a park.  Parking is already pretty crazy down there sometimes with runners.  But more traffic is normally a good thing.

[sgrizzle]

I was less than pleased during Jury duty to hear about a bridge people called "Hell" but was later identified as the old route 66 bridge.

What makes it "Hell?"

[cannon_fodder]

I suppose the fire, pain, and absents of god?

On a lighter note, I hope this helps that little sliver in there that is a little rough.  Then the entire area from 11th down the river would be pretty nice.  Hopefully it spurs some more development talk along the river from 11th to 31st.

[sgrizzle]

That is a big intersections when you think of riverside, SW Blvd, downtown, I-44 and 75 all encircling that one corner.

I think the incog plan covered spruceing up SW blvd NE of there to make the transition from the Route66 plaza into downtown a little less concrete.

[sgrizzle]

The ramp was nixed for budgetary reasons, but here is the current progress on the site:

[cannon_fodder]

So it's a bridge to nowhere?  It looks good, but I'm confused.

[pfox]

I think the bridge will make more sense once the "museum" in place.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

So it's a bridge to nowhere?  It looks good, but I'm confused.

The north end drops you down (using stairs now) onto the plaza where there will be large bronzes, flags of all 8 states involved in route 66, etc. The south side connects to the musuem which isn't started yet.

[patric]

I was consulted on the lighting for this, which was ironic because the architects had already been locked into their fixture choices by Downtown Tulsa Unlimited.

Yup, Acorns.
Lots of high-wattage, inefficient in-your-face blueish lighting.

...and our city energy bill just goes up and up...

[cannon_fodder]

I don't want to crap all over this project, but...

Currently it is a bridge from no where, to nowhere.

When the museum is completed it will be a bridge from no where to the museum.

Is that accurate?  No offense, but there is not enough traffic in that area to warrant a pedestrian bridge over it.  At least not so much as to necessitate a bridge, or no more so than hundreds of other places around the city.

[Gaspar]

Looks nice, but what the heck is the bridge for?  A train?

I'm gonna drive and park in the lot, thank you.

I hate stairs.

[sgrizzle]

quote:Originally posted by cannon_fodder

I don't want to crap all over this project, but...

Currently it is a bridge from no where, to nowhere.

When the museum is completed it will be a bridge from no where to the museum.

Is that accurate?  No offense, but there is not enough traffic in that area to warrant a pedestrian bridge over it.  At least not so much as to necessitate a bridge, or no more so than hundreds of other places around the city.

It takes you from the Route 66 Museum to Cyrus Avery Plaza.




The plaza features statues, flags, plaques, etc. It also has a path that leads you onto the old 11th street bridge so you can... I dunno.