TULSA, Okla. — The Center of the Universe is getting an update. The Downtown Tulsa Partnership is partnering with the City of Tulsa to make improvements at the popular site.
“The design you see here today, those were the improvements made in the 1980s,” said Downtown Tulsa Partnership CEO and president Brian Kurtz. He says this is a spot for visitors and tourists, but also for workers and Tulsans.
“It’s used daily by hundreds of people going to and from work; people that are leaving their offices and going to the arts district.”
Kurtz says it’s time for change, but he doesn’t know what will change just yet. They’ve launched the “Reimagine the Center of the Universe,” campaign, where they’re asking the community for feedback and advice on what they want to see happen.
The campaign says online, “the Center of the Universe has served many purposes and whatever it has been to you we can all agree that four decades of love and experiences has taken its toll on this Downtown destination. Opened in the early 1980′s, the Boston Avenue Pedestrian Bridge, otherwise known as the Center of the Universe, is an important civic-space and first-day visitor destination in Downtown Tulsa. It serves as a passageway to hundreds of employees each day and as a gathering place to many others. In recent years, the plaza’s condition has fallen on hard times and does not live up to its full potential as a respite for visitors - it’s Downtown Tulsa’s public space most in need of improvement. It’s time for us to Reimagine the Center of the Universe.”
Kurtz says they do hope to keep the “echo” in-tact that so many love to hear when visiting the icon.
$7.64 million dollars will go toward repairing the Boston Avenue Bridge and making Center of the Universe Plaza improvements. There will also be some money saved for plaza maintenance. The hope is for construction to begin the end of this year.
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