All I can say is WOW! World Class! Not many parks like it in the country. I took about 300 pics between last night and today at lunch, I will post some of my favs. If someone has a request, let me know and I will try to post more of a certain area of the grounds. Not sure why, but Photobucket rotated some of the pics against my will. I've still got about more favorites I want to upload, but don't have time right now, but here's a tease until then!

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/bikeracks.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/bikeracks2.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/benches.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/grandentrance.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/Bandshell3.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/Bandshell2.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/Amphitheatre.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/devoncomplex.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/devoncomplex2.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/gardenwing.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/DevonTrees.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/devonlobby2.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/devonlobby.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/Creek.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/citylights2.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/CityLights.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsgarden6.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsgarden5.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsgarden4.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsgarden3.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsgarden2.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsgarden1.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsstormareanight.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsstormarea2.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsstormarea1.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsgarden8.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsgarden7.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/lunchonthesteps.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/pavillionnight.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/pavilliondaytime.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/P180median.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/MeindersGarden42911.jpg

http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/MBGMiddaySun42911.jpg

WOW!This is far more than what I expected and this has to be One of the better Urban parks!Nice pics Metro!

Nice shots. Thanks for the share.

Going to be a while until my videos are up. Inside the Crystal Bridge will be its own video.

That looks sharp!

Very, very impressed with the work on the gardens!

Imagine next year during the festival when the Devon complex is complete, those translucent panels in the lobby aglow, the LED lights flashing up and down the indentions and at the crown, the Garden Wing open with several restaurants, the Rotunda all lit up and crowded with people, their own park sparkling and the auditorium hosting events of of it's own. Not to mention, the MG will be complete with it's new cafe and the landscaping much more mature.

Also, a good chunk of Project 180 will be finished as well.


As good as things are, they are going to get considerably better in the very near future!

Thanks for sharing, Metro. Nice job.

Did anyone else notice the pictures that line the park showing what improvements are to come? The cars have Texas plates... What's up with that?

Wow! Very impressed with the renovations! Top notch. LOTS of people walking around and enjoying the new gardens - families, kids, teenagers, & couples enjoying the park and gawking at Devon Tower. Pictures do not do the MG justice. You have to see it in person. I can only imagine what it will be like when complete. Please excuse the quality of the photos, I took them with my phone.

http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/227907_10100178723189187_9605765_48126882_6226990_ n.jpg
http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/224293_10100178723563437_9605765_48126903_2788553_ n.jpg
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/216250_10100178723872817_9605765_48126921_4056690_ n.jpg
http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/215604_10100178723927707_9605765_48126925_7925980_ n.jpg
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/225940_10100178723962637_9605765_48126928_3933901_ n.jpg
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/229738_10100178723763037_9605765_48126915_1010394_ n.jpg

I expected the renovated Myriad Gardens to be good, even very good, but I did not expect it to be as amazing as it is. You truly must see it for yourself to understand how great it is. It's definitely a place I will be visitin often. Those who live downtown have an excellent place to hang out, take the kids, or just go for a walk.

This renovation makes the real estate surrounding the gardens even more valuable.

Terrific photos. Thanks, so much.

Stupid question #248...

What are the green partially buried letter sculptures supposed to be?

G
r (or n, m)
o
l (lowercase L)
l

Is it just me or do the orange and yellow balls look like they're in the home of the teletubbies?! LOL

Is it just me or do the orange and yellow balls look like they're in the home of the teletubbies?! LOL

I'm wondering if they are nailed down or not... Are they bouncy balls or what?

I'm dying to see what the childrens interactive fountain is like!!!!! Thats going to be interesting!

Did anyone else notice the pictures that line the park showing what improvements are to come? The cars have Texas plates... What's up with that?
The office of James Burnett designed the park, they are based in Houston, so I imagine their software has Texas plates as a default.

Stupid question #248..
What are the green partially buried letter sculptures supposed to be?
G
r (or n, m)
o
l (lowercase L)
l

Grow......

Not sure, but I think it may be GROW.

Stupid question #248...

What are the green partially buried letter sculptures supposed to be?

G
r (or n, m)
o
l (lowercase L)
l

That makes sense in context of the gardens, that things would grow, but where is the third "leg" of the "w" (I am only seeing 2 parts)...maybe it hasn't grown yet? LOL



http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae288/snewlon/kidsgarden4.jpg

It's a "W" laying down... Lol. That's the clearest letter out of all of them. Maybe not from these pics but for sure in person. Also, It's in the Children's Garden... I think it has more to do with them growing rather than the gardens growing. Just my opinion.

Well, technically it's the other way. Both the Myriad Gardens redesign and the new park follow a pattern of new, more active parks that are often termed "highly-programmed" meaning that each space has a purpose. It's just that the Myriad is too small and condensed to have much room for athletic fields, although you could probably organize some ultimate frisbee on the new lawn, although I imagine that space will primarily be a huge hit for music festivals.

The new park won't exactly have room for baseball or soccer, until the south of I-40 expansion is completed, which will have more athletic fields. My concern with that is that OKC's climate is such that athletic fields are usually really unattractive spaces. In climates that aren't as sunny and oppressively hot, athletic fields tend to be more lush and green, whereas in OKC they tend to get brown and ugly.
I don't think we disagree about the first part of your statement except "technically it's the other way". I have no idea what you meant by that.
When I said the new park was more passive, I did not mean there would be no areas for designated activities or functions. I meant more passive and it will be because it's not as condensed. I have no particular worries about athletic fields in the park getting brown and ugly. That's what water is for and I suspect there will be provisions for watering the park.

Great pics, metro... but probably should be moved to a different forum. Wish we had a photography forum..

Well, one can only hope. In predicting this however, before anyone has said "Yes, we will start watering our city park grass for a change," how confident can you be? Which is a more telling factor? That we all hope the grass will be green, or the example of virtually every existing city park in which the grass is definitely not green beyond April and May. 2 months out of the year. Maybe in the summer months we can organize some OKC Talk rain dances or something, for the grass.

Personally, my thoughts on that dilemma as an environmental design student, are that perhaps the de facto bermuda grass isn't working when it is either dormant or sun-scorched for virtually the entire year. They should start experimenting with some different grass species to find something that is possible to keep lush. I do hate to see "over-watering" but it is what it is. And also keep in mind I'm not talking about the grass in the Myriad Gardens, but for athletic fields that will eventually be the south end of the new park.

It's a "W" laying down... Lol. That's the clearest letter out of all of them. Maybe not from these pics but for sure in person. Also, It's in the Children's Garden... I think it has more to do with them growing rather than the gardens growing. Just my opinion.

Gotchya! I clearly see that now. The two "legs" in that pic are the base of the letter (it has "fallen over" on its back and can't get up! LOL

So great to see even more positive comments. So far the general concensus we've heard from almost everyone is they love he new outcome. And yes, I most heartily agree, you really do need to see it in person to fully understand it all - and keep in mind, it's still a work in progress!

To answer a few questions:

The "rings" you see in the water are aeration devices. They have a small bubbling effect now. I don't know if they are fountains or not.

The "All Seasons' Plaza" is the plaza area north of the restaurant on the Gardens' east side. This is where there will be another interactive fountain feature and outdoor seating area during the warm months, and where the ice skating rink will be in the winter.

There is room for new gift shop space in the new Visitors' Information Center onthe south side of the Crystal Bridge, but the new center will not be reopened for some time. It will be some time after that before new retail is established, once it is decided what kind of retailing will be there.

Unortunately, the Gardens does not have interpretive services at this time. Let
Me know if you have any more questions.

View from the Food Plaza at the Arts Festival:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5229/5672959749_123b0b9f7c_z.jpg

View of the terrace on the west side:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5182/5672960313_cef886d7f5_z.jpg

Cool looking structure, I assume for kids:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5103/5673529538_a49fc25f43_z.jpg

Kids were trying to jump on the buttons on the ground:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5146/5672962069_febe9f5bb0_z.jpg

Stage:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5145/5672964271_4f70afb048_z.jpg

Bike racks!!:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5146/5673533110_c8e87450ab_z.jpg

Waterfall:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5306/5673534456_e65fe78456_z.jpg

At night:
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5109/5672966733_be5ee26981_z.jpg

Thanks for the great photos, silvergrove!

Seeing all those people in the park it looks like there have been more visitors there in the last few days than in the last few years combined.

FritterGirl, will they install those 50 cents machine to dump out feed for us to toss to fish and duck?

FritterGirl, will they install those 50 cents machine to dump out feed for us to toss to fish and duck?

If they let people feed the fish, they'll eventually start eating the ducks... Ever see the movies?

Silver glove, those buttons and cool looking structure you speak of, is a thunderstorm machine for kids, it mimics an Oklahoma Thunderstorm with thunder and lightning and the "buttons" are fountains that spray water in the shape of flowers.

Went today. The MBG is looking really good, wish they would have kept a few more trees, but o'well.

I had to take this picture though of this rendering of the kids play area under construction. Anyone else find it slightly humorous they depicted a man juggling swords as entertainment in the kids play space?

http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/5117/mbgkids.jpg

Cause nothing says safe childrens play area like sword juggling!

And he does it right beside the sidewalk.

And he does it right beside the sidewalk.

At the base of curvy stairs that you KNOW kids would run down, not seeing what is in front of them. That picture is officially a distaster waiting to happen. The artist never had children.

sheesh fellas, just because someone posted pics of a kiddie area doesn't mean ya gotta get all schoolyard word smithy. It's a new day. Get some sleep and see if you can approach a new day on better terms.

Which, if any, specific art projects incorporated in the Myriad Gardens Renovation were funded by the state's Art in Public Places set aside vehicle as opposed the general funding for the other parts of park? Grow? The colored balls? The canopy area that's copper roof and ceramic tile?


BTW, I won't say what but we are doing part of the work on this project. I'm amazed it came together at the end for the arts festival like it did, lots of effort by a lot a people. I haven't seen it since about a week before the festival and then I saw only part of it that day. The pix look great and I can't wait to enjoy it from a non-working perspective.

Thanks for the great photos, silvergrove!

Seeing all those people in the park it looks like there have been more visitors there in the last few days than in the last few years combined.

Yeah, that's just the way the park always is for the Festival of the Arts. But now that the public has been officially introduced it will be interesting to monitor activity levels in the park after the festival packs up.

Bbates, I agree, but that is still a very awesome depiction of the children's garden. Here's hoping it turns out just like that, creepy barefoot sword juggler (well maybe not him per se) and all.

We are way off subject here but I'm sure that painting is meant to depict juggling clubs/pins not swords:

http://www.juggling-for-beginners.com/image-files/juggling_passing_clubs.jpg

We are way off subject here but I'm sure that painting is meant to depict juggling clubs/pins not swords:

Pete, you're a smart guy. How can you say they "meant to depict juggling clubs/pins not swords" when they clearly depicted SWORDS. They forgot what pins and clubs look like? Its actually an extremely minor point, meant for nothing more than a giggle. But lets not give the artist credit for something they clearly did not do.

I see clubs when I see that painting and thought so before anyone said anything. It's the most common thing jugglers use, after all.

I think he appears to be going for the pirate look. Shaggy hair, barefoot, baggy white shirt, and sword juggling..

Just my two cents on this extremely important matter.

At least nobody has photoshopped pedobear in there.


Yet.

I see clubs when I see that painting and thought so before anyone said anything. It's the most common thing jugglers use, after all.

You're saying those look like clubs or bowling pins and not swords? Seriously?

http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/557/mbgcloseup.jpg

At least one photographer thinks the sword juggler is awesome.

Its some homeless guy juggling swords for tips. LOL

At least nobody has photoshopped pedobear in there.


Yet.

Hmmm, I might ad some hookers and homeless people, as they are certain to make an appearance in reality. Maybe some registered sex offenders.

Hmmm, I might ad some hookers and homeless people, as they are certain to make an appearance in reality. Maybe some registered sex offenders.

You shouldn't have any problems finding hookers--for a fee.

You shouldn't have any problems finding hookers--for a fee.

Nah, finding them is free.

Guys, it is just plastic swords. Nothing to worry about. I'm sure OKC will hire someone professional and that safety precautions will take place.

Nah, finding them is free.

Not finding them is what's not free, lol.

I walked around the Gardens three times during the Arts festival on different nights. Everything was amazingly well done from the festival organization to the gardens' design... The only negative thing I can say is that they booked the WORST artists for the water stage. Two times I went by there people were complaining and leaving. silvergrove's picture of the water stage above with the 2 old ladies in shiny dresses shows the worst offenders. Not only were they annoying, but they did a version of Feliz Navidad, but instead of singing the words they just said "Mexican words" like "Taco Bueno," "burrito," and so on... It was offensive. Anyway I just wanted to encourage anyone that reads this board from the Arts Festival put some better acts on the water stage (they did a great job on the other stages!). The overall experience was amazing.

Can we just put this sword juggler thing to rest? He was added in as part of an architectural rendering, simply to show the "potential" for how the space can be used. He was not meant to be taken literally by any means.

He was not meant to be taken literally by any means.

Neither should the posts about him.

Yeah, I was definitely under the impression that everyone was joking. I don't think anyone is really worried about sword jugglers.

I voted for maps3 and if that random sword juggler is not employed year round I will loose my faith in government. Just joking. I really do know that it is a project 180 project, and we only get the juggler if Larry Nichols wants him. Maybe the Devon Energy Center sword juggler?

Well, if the hiring decision will be made by Larry Nichols as well, then it sounds like a good career opportunity for Tom Ward after his little energy company goes belly-up..

Geez, I hope not for OKCs sake

I walked around the Gardens three times during the Arts festival on different nights. Everything was amazingly well done from the festival organization to the gardens' design... The only negative thing I can say is that they booked the WORST artists for the water stage. Two times I went by there people were complaining and leaving. silvergrove's picture of the water stage above with the 2 old ladies in shiny dresses shows the worst offenders. Not only were they annoying, but they did a version of Feliz Navidad, but instead of singing the words they just said "Mexican words" like "Taco Bueno," "burrito," and so on... It was offensive. Anyway I just wanted to encourage anyone that reads this board from the Arts Festival put some better acts on the water stage (they did a great job on the other stages!). The overall experience was amazing.

I saw the two women mentioned. I literally was not sure if they were older women or drag queens. I liked the new gardens but wished there were more trees. It appeared to me they took some trees out. I will be glad when Project 180 and the Devon Tower are completed. Driving downtown has been a hassle the past few months.

Bigray in Ok

Ray, as stated before, there are MORE trees than before.

They did take 30% of the old trees out, but most of those were diseased or beyond repair. And they replaced them with far more trees, but of course they will take several years to mature.

It looks like they did a great job on everything, and I might be the only one, but I still like the design and landscaping of the old park better.