Park News

www.msn.com

"If off-the-beaten-path travel is your jam then make your way to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Architecture lovers will go bonkers for the Art Deco buildings in Tulsa's Deco District and everyone in the family will enjoy the Gathering Place, a riverfront park with an extensive kid's area, paddleboats, and unique gardens. The Blue Dome District has everything you need for a night on the town, while the Boxyard covers all your local shopping needs with local stores set in refurbished shipping containers..."

www.ktul.com

"What many of the visitors don’t see is how much work goes into caring for 1.2 million plants and shrubs. 'If you walked in and the landscape didn’t look well, the emotional feeling and experience you have would be different,' explained the Executive Director Tony Moore.

He helped select the 1.2 million plants and shrubs and the 7,000 trees that are planted in the Gathering Place. He says they searched for and selected only the best..."

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www.electricenergyonline.com

"Public Service Company of Oklahoma announced a $1.25 million grant from the American Electric Power Foundation that will provide funding to the Gathering Place for world-class learning opportunities to an estimated 75,000 students throughout the region over the next five years.

The commitment from AEP Foundation will provide resources for transportation assistance, curriculum development and professional development for educators for field trip programs at Gathering Place as well as educational events for the community. The transportation assistance for 400 planned field trips will be primarily intended for students in low-income communities and from Title I schools..."

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www.keepoklahomabeautiful.com

"Tulsa Gathering Place was presented the Towering Spirit Award at Keep Oklahoma Beautiful’s 29th annual Environmental Excellence Celebration at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City."

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www.tulsaworld.com

"Two parks and two cities became one Friday at the Gathering Place.

Officials from Oklahoma City’s new Scissortail Park dedicated to Tulsa’s grand green space an American Elm grown from a seedling of the Survivor Tree, which withstood the April 1995 bombing that killed 168 people at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City..."

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www.cbsaustin.com

"It's time to go #RoadTrippin! In this brand new episode, Trevor Scott takes you to the vibrant, creative city of Tulsa, Oklahoma! Tulsa was once the oil capital of the world, and now Tulsans are taking their rich history into a bright new future. Trevor will share highlights from Gathering Place, Visit Tulsa, The Outsiders House, Woody Guthrie Center, Hyatt Regency Tulsa, and lots of fun stops in between..."

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www..enr.com

"Sculpt 65.5 acres of land, add 6,000 trees and 1 million plantings, 20,000 tons of sandstone, a boathouse, a lodge and a dozen themed spaces with more than 160 play structures, and the result—called the “Gathering Place”—becomes much more than a new riverfront public park in Tulsa..."

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www.businesswire.com

"In its first year, Tulsa’s Riverfront Park achieves fanfare and recognition, including USA Today’s Best New Attraction, TIME Magazine’s World’s Greatest Places, Urban Land Institute’s Global Excellence Award, American Planning Association’s Great Places and one of National Geographic’s 12 Mind-Bending Playgrounds Around the World..."

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www.planning.org/greatplaces

"...Although it was primarily privately funded, the planning and development of Gathering Place included significant public input and collaboration. The planning process included a nine-month period of public meetings and online public comment solicitation starting in 2012. More than 2,000 public comments were gathered, and the project team from the Kaiser Foundation and landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates built relationships in the community to gain additional insight and input."

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www.timemagazine.com

"When the philanthropist George B. Kaiser spearheaded the creation of this $465 million green space on Tulsa’s waterfront, he hoped to help unite the city, which has struggled with inequality. The 66-acre park, which is open to the public for free, includes playgrounds, gardens, a skate park, a BMX track, a concert venue and a number of restaurants. It also hosts a variety of public programming, from Zumba classes to family nature walks, furnished by a $100 million endowment. Designers also prioritized accessibility: the park is built to be ADA-­compliant, and there are desensitization areas for individuals on the autism spectrum." —Wilder Davies

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www.nationalgeographic.com

"From Tulsa to Tokyo, imaginative spaces for all ages!

FOR TRAVELING FAMILIES with a full itinerary, a stop at the playground can feel like more work than fun. Sometimes the swing sets and twisty slides begin to blend together whether they’re in Buffalo or Budapest. Unless you’ve happened to stumble upon one of the world’s greatest playgrounds. Thanks to the playful imaginations of innovative architects, the days of squeaky seesaws and drab jungle gyms are giving way to outrageous designs and accessible environments that spark young imaginations. Here are 12 standout playgrounds that will delight the whole family..."

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www.enr.com

"Gathering Place, Tulsa. Riverside Drive, one of Tulsa’s most accessed thoroughfares that connects the downtown area with the rest of the city, ran through the park’s overall acreage. This aerial view showcases the answer to accommodating vehicle traffic and simultaneously connecting the park’s landscape. The Boathouse is also visible in the background."

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www.newson6.com

Tulsa's Gathering Place hasn't even been open for a year, and it snagged the number one new attraction in America according to USA Today...

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www.stltoday.com

"...When planning our spring break trip, I drew a circle around our home city of St. Louis. I didn’t want to drive more than six hours. I wanted family fun, something different and full of surprises.

Tulsa, about 400 miles from St. Louis, sat on the southwest edge of that circle. In the fall, the city had just opened a 66-acre, $465 million jewel of a park along the Arkansas River called Gathering Place, a name that literally beckoned me. The park’s landscape architect, Michael Van Valkenburgh, led recent changes to the Gateway Arch grounds back home.

We had to go..."

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www.newson6.com

Some kids struggle to get enough to eat over the summer when school isn't in session.

The Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma and Gathering Place are teaming up to fight this problem.

"We sometimes really see that food is a barrier to people being able to enjoy places like the gathering place," Community Food Bank of Eastern OK Community Initiative Manager Shiraya Proffitt said...

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www.tulsaworld.com 

The Guthrie Green cocktail at Vista at the Boathouse, the new Gathering Place restaurant, is a nod to one of the city’s other major park facilities. It’s a mix of vodka, cucumber juice, mint, lime, syrup and black pepper...

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www.tulsaworld.com

Gathering Place announced its 2019 Signature Event Calendar. From cultural celebrations and food festivals to sports tournaments and seasonal events, it includes 11 free events from June to December.

“The one-of-a-kind signature events are designed to be world class by distinction and diverse in content to appeal to all demographics and provide unique engagements for guests,” said Executive Director Tony Moore. “We are proud to share this calendar of events and we look forward to welcoming Tulsans and visitors into the Park for experiences like none other...”

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www.bdcnetwork.com

Gathering Place is the first project of its kind to win a Platinum Award in the 22-year history of Building Design+Construction’s Building Team Awards. All previous Platinum winners have been, as the program’s name would imply, buildings. And while Gathering Place does have two worthy structures—an impressive lodge and a wonderful boathouse, both designed by Mack Scogin Merrill Elam Architects—it is, at its core, a 66½-acre public park and playground serving the nearly one million residents of greater Tulsa, Okla...

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www.tulsaworld.com

Review by Scott Cherry Photos by Stephen Pingry.

Vista is the latest addition to the 66-acre Gathering Place public park. We expected it to be impressive, and it was. The views from the 80-seat dining room were awesome, from the 60-seat rock patio and downtown Tulsa skyline to Peggy’s Pond and the Great Lawn concert area...

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www.tulsaworld.com

Gathering Place is among the world’s 19 finalists for the Urban Land Institute’s 2019 Global Awards for Excellence competition, which is widely recognized as one of the real estate industry’s most prestigious award programs...

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