Myriad Gardens

[Pete]

[shawnw]

https://newsok.com/article/5598935/c...-oklahoma-city

[Pete]

I moved a bunch of posts here:

Downtown Ford Site

[Pete]

[HangryHippo]

I love all the trees. After visiting the southeastern US over the last month, I hope OKC continues to plant more, because we just don't have enough.

What would it take to get something like Tulsa's Up With Trees going here?

[swilki]

I love all the trees. After visiting the southeastern US over the last month, I hope OKC continues to plant more, because we just don't have enough.

What would it take to get something like Tulsa's Up With Trees going here?

We already have two awesome organizations doing great work in OKC - The Tree Bank (http://www.thetreebank.org) and OKC Beautiful (http://www.okcbeautiful.com). If you wanna see them do more, make a donation!

[HangryHippo]

We already have two awesome organizations doing great work in OKC - The Tree Bank (http://www.thetreebank.org) and OKC Beautiful (http://www.okcbeautiful.com). If you wanna see them do more, make a donation!

Thanks for the links. Is the work they do in the same vein as Up With Trees? OKC Beautiful looks like more of a litter cleanup organization.

[swilki]

They both do beautification projects. I think Moore has received something like 10,000 trees from The Tree Bank in recent years. Tulsa has Up With Trees and The Met, we have OKC Beautiful and The Tree Bank. Not apples to apples, but all do similar projects that equal out to the same. Also don't forget that Tulsa naturally has more trees anyway.

[OKCretro]

Random question why reading the last several posts,

Any particular reason why OKC as a whole named them "the myriad" for the arena that was built, and "myriad gardens"? i realize the definition of myriad means lots of uses, but any city could name their park "myriad gardens" or their arena "the myriad"? what connection does the word "myriad" and OKC have ?

Have to do with the Pei plan?

[Pete]

Well, the Myriad Gardens got its name from The Myriad which was one of the first big urban renewal projects in the early 70's.

And during the 70's, that sort of arena name was popular: Omni in Atlanta, Spectrum in Philly, The MECCA in Milwaukee, The Summit in Houston, etc. This was all long before virtually every sporting venue was named after a sponsor.

I suspect the Myriad name was just a product of civic leaders who thought it sounded cool. For a long time, it was always promoted as The Incomparable Myriad.

[HOT ROD]

any idea when the new Children's carousel will be up and running? I saw the 'short' in the Oklahoman that they are installing but of course there was no information on when it will be complete and running. .....

I honestly think this will be a game changer for MBG because it will finally have a classic amenity that will be running year round - a huge draw that IMO is more iconic than the Thunderstorm (which is awesome) even if less practical in the summer. Most great urban parks have some sort of 'ride' or classic amenity, we will finally have ours.

[Pete]

^

Don't forget the skating rink / water fountains + cafe at the east end of the park. One or the other is operating virtually year round.

Also, the crystal bridge is open all year.


But I agree, this is a great addition to the park especially because it draws so many families.

[HOT ROD]

yes, those are iconic too. But other than the Crystal Bridge, the new carousel will be open year round in a single form.

But we're saying the same thing, and that is MGB is a fantastic urban park that is only getting better with a true icon that (as you very correctly stated) will be a continual draw for families. A true GEM for Oklahoma City.

[scottk]

What would it take to get something like Tulsa's Up With Trees going here?

Wooden signs

[rcjunkie]

The Tree Bank Foundation has done a good job of providing trees for planting in public spaces to various groups/organizations throughout OKC , the problem (as I see it), is the care of said trees after planting.

[Pete]

Finishing up on the new carousel:

[David]

Seeing it in place, I'm really curious if there was any sort of long-term plan similar to this for that pavillion. It just seems tailor made for a carousel to eventually be slotted into it, particularly with it right next to the rest of the children's area.

[Pete]

Seeing it in place, I'm really curious if there was any sort of long-term plan similar to this for that pavillion. It just seems tailor made for a carousel to eventually be slotted into it, particularly with it right next to the rest of the children's area.

It was originally to be an enclosed cafe but that got cut due to budget overruns.

I believe there was also a plan to have rooftop access on the existing cafe building on the east side fo the park, which also got cut.

[Pete]

Here is an original rendering of that pavilion when it was still planned as a cafe.

And the water fountain evolved into the Thunder Fountain:

[bchris02]

Finishing up on the new carousel:

This is definitely a perfect fit. I like it.

[Urbanized]

Yes, best possible outcome and some fortunate synchronicity.

[HOT ROD]

yes, and I think the Thunderstorm fountain is much better than what was originally proposed.

as I mentioned before, there are 'destinations' at MBG (carousel, Thunder fountain, stage ampitheatre, great lawn, ice rink, lake, etc) vs just amenities such as the 'children's fountain', etc.

[shawnw]

Also the Meinders wedding chapel thing was added. The park is generally improved over the original proposal and I suspect will continue to improve. Heck, even though the new grand entrance was just added a few years ago, it's already closed for renovations, so hopefully that will be another improvement.

[Pete]

New carousel set for a sneak peek next Thursday through Sunday; will open more permanently in late October.

They were required to add a wrought iron fence all around; hard to tell from the photos but that work is being finalized.



Preview hours: TH 20th 4-7P; FR 4-8P, SA 11A-8P, SU 1-6P. $2 per rider, kids under 1 free.

[Urbanized]

Such a great addition.