Founders Plaza at Stiles Park

[russellc]

My dad works for the company that is building the "Beacon of Light" at Stiles Park, and he gave me a copy of the blueprints. There are 2 pictures in my photo gallery of a Plan View and an Elevation.

A little bit about the park.

• The Beacon of Hope will be 8' in diameter, 100' tall, and made of 3/8" thick steel, to be painted. The tube will be cut diagonally from 25' up on one side to the top of the other side. Inside the tube will be a 10,000 watt xenon search light.
• There will be 5 concentric rings around the tube. The 5 rings will be made of 12" stigler stone. In between the rings will be Fescue blended sod.
• In between the tube and the first ring will be 194 'Goldflame' Spirea.
• There will be 4 benches. One on the 2nd-5th rings rotating 90 degrees every ring, pointing toward the middle.
• On the second ring there will be 5 light poles.
• The third ring will have 5 redbud trees with uplighting at the base of each.
• The fifth ring will have 20 Black gum trees with uplights in between each tree. On the south side of the fifth ring will be a sign that follows the curve of the ring.
• Two existing Post Oak trees will be kept. One with a trunk of 30" near the third ring on the north side, and another with a trunk of 12" near the fourth ring on the east side. All other plant material will be removed and regraded.
• All shrubs, trees and the sod will have their own irrigation system.

[Sooner&RiceGrad]

Yeah, it'll be real nice and all. Fancy like.

[Luke]

Very cool. When is this planned to be completed?

[russellc]

He doesn't know yet.

[Sooner&RiceGrad]

I want to point something out: OKC and tulsa need to act fast. Other cities in the area have been building tall 'memorials' to serve as a symbol of their city. Has anyone seen Little Rock's space needle thing? That's what we need... not this.

[Patrick]

Too many cities have space needles. That's not very original. I do think our land run monument will be incredibly unique, although I still like the oil tower idea that was proposed many years ago by mranderson and myself. We liked the idea of a space needle, but we wanted to give it some Oklahoma flavor..thus an oil derrick instead of a space needle.

We definitely need something in our skyline to set us apart. Something like St. Louis' archway, Seattle's Space Needle, and San Fran's Golden Gate Bridge.

Anyways, the plans for Stiles Park still sound nice. Thanks russell for sharing this information.

[metro]

Update: In todays Oklahoman, in the Local & State section, it showed a picture of the 10 story, beacon of hope sculpture. Apparently it was installed yesterday at Stiles Park. Anyone seen it or have any better renderings of the project. I know it has changed several times.

[floater]

It's a great addition to downtown. Hopefully it will provide a nice midpoint for those walking between the OUMC/PRP campuses and the CBD. In terms of an icon, I wish it was taller, then it could be our symbol. The Centennial Commision would have been a great opportunity to launch it, but the Land Run monument is a fine work.

[BDP]

I would love to see some sort of landmark design incorporated into the river developments. I have biked the trails along the river a few times and one thing I have noticed is that there are no pedestrian bridges accessible from the paths. In order to cross you have to leave the trails and walk/bike about 100 yards to use the streets' bridges. I think a series of aesthetically pleasing and well lit bridges would look nice along the river. I think suspension and/or cable stayed bridges make nice landmarks. They may not be needed from an engineering standpoint, but they would make nice additions to the river.

The city could pay for design and then solicite private donations, and then name the bridge after the major donor(s).

[floater]

Great idea, BDP. We could also use similar solicitations to light existing bridges. We could get creative with the lighting for a kind of public art.

[BDP]

Great idea, BDP. We could also use similar solicitations to light existing bridges. We could get creative with the lighting for a kind of public art.

I agree. When the freeway moves, any kind of landmark along the river will most likely be the first thing and, possibly, the only thing a visitor sees as they exit. I think it would be striking and unexpected to see a series of nice bridges in OKC, not to mention that pedestrian bridges would tie the two banks together bringing whatever services and attractions emerge together. As it is now, you kind of have to choose which side you're going to hang out on.

I think it also has the advantage of not following the kind of one-upmanship tactics we tend to employ and fail. If everyone is building large tower landmarks, why would we want to do that? I think we're better off trying to come up with some things that are just as impressive but more unique to the region and beyond. People are a lot less motivated and impressed by something they can already see in their own backyard. In addition, it would actually be functional for the river.

I would love to see the river be developed as a great urban park, with landmarks, museums, gardens, public attractions, etc. I just hope no one thinks it needs an IKEA to draw crowds.

[metro]

hey, I'd love to have an IKEA.......(not on the river) anyhow, I from what I understand pedestrian bridges will follow shortly, and several are apart of the I-40 relocation. There is at least one rendering online. I'll find it later. I also know several of the engineers on the I-40 relocation project so I will find out more specifics.

[BDP]

hey, I'd love to have an IKEA

Yes, just the other day I was thinking how we are sorely lacking in the "disposable furniture" market.

Do you remeber if these bridges were designed with landmarks in mind or just "get it done" in mind?

[Patrick]

Unfortunately, with the I-40 relocation they're going to detroy one of the railroad lines the crosses the river. We could follow Tulsa's idea though, and reuse the railroad bridge as a pedestrian bridge. I hate to copy Tulsa, but they've done this very successfully along the Arkansas River.

[BDP]

Unfortunately, with the I-40 relocation they're going to detroy one of the railroad lines the crosses the river. We could follow Tulsa's idea though, and reuse the railroad bridge as a pedestrian bridge. I hate to copy Tulsa, but they've done this very successfully along the Arkansas River.

Are they truss brdiges?

Do we have a truss railroad bridge? I can think of one rail bridge, but it's not very sexy.

[Patrick]

Are they truss brdiges?

Do we have a truss railroad bridge? I can think of one rail bridge, but it's not very sexy.

Not quite sure. I'd have to go look at it again. Regardless, it could be dressed up, using the existing skeleton that's already there.

[BDP]

Regardless, it could be dressed up, using the existing skeleton that's already there.

True and maybe even for cheaper. There is an obvious need for several pedestrian bridges at some point. It would be nice to see what could be salavged and preserved in some way.

[jbrown84]

I like the Beacon of Hope. Ever since it was first proposed I thought it was a very unique idea to be a great landmark for OKC. I agree though that it could be bigger if we want it to be at Statue of Liberty or Gateway Arch level of iconography, but keep in mind the structure itself stops at 100 feet but the light will extend far into the sky. No other city has anything like that (except for New York's temporary "twin tower ghost lights"). They aren't permanent and I believe our light is green. Am I correct on that?

I did see the structure in place the other day and I was curious if what was there was just a core of what was going to be there in the end. I was thinking it was supposed to be made of black marble or something like that, but right now it's just this cheap looking metal tube and it sounds like that's all it's going to be. Maybe it will look better when it's painted.

[fromdust]

okay, i don't know if any city in the u.s. has this, but i think it could set us apart. along the river we could build a huge garden/ market place BUT design it like the hanging gardens in ancient babylon.

[fromdust]

we have mentioned space needles and how so many cities have these and that we shouldnt copy that idea. havent we had one for decades now? at the fair park