Tucked away just west of Peoria towards Madison and directly south of Sixth (6th Street) street, lies a hidden beauty of Tulsa, Oklahoma. During our recent exploration of Tulsa Centennial Park we were left with the impression that the park is pretty much completed. There does not appear to be much of anything left unfinished in the parks beautiful 11 acres of lush greens, water, and stone walls. The park has a wonderful view of the downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma skyline: Mid continent Tower, Atlas Life Building, Philtower, OneOK, Bank of America Building, The Kennedy Tower, BOK Tower, and City Hall. The skyline is meshed between the 75-N/75-S to 51-Eastbound (Broken Arrow Expressway) and 244-E/W.

While we were there we saw a bit of wildlife: squirrels, rabbits, birds, and a variety of insects. The park is wrapped with a quarter mile walking trail, lush greenery that is contrasted with the large stone walls, water falls, fountains, and numerous benches to rest on.

There is a variety of photographs we took throughout the evening we explored. Amanda brought her rottweiler Joey to join in on the adventures and allowed her to run freely around the park. The grass was of great height to just kick back and enjoy and other individuals in the park didn’t seem to mind the dogs roaming. Granted there were no dogs randomly roaming — but more or less sitting with their owners enjoying the park just as much.

The walk ways were clear of debris and the ponds free from pesky mosquitoes! The only eye-sore to the whole project was the large amount of garbage collecting near the edges of the ponds. The clean-up process wouldn’t be too difficult; just a matter of keeping it under control.

I must say, the park was beautiful in the day time hours and even more beautiful at night. The park began to illuminate from the lamps strategically placed around the paths. It is near the VFW on 6th Street which has a old neon sign that shines brightly against the greenery of the park. If you have not seen the park at night — go sometime soon!

Tulsa Centennial Park Features and Highlights

• 11.6 acres
• Designated parking with handicap spaces
• Centennial time capsule, scheduled to be unearthed in the year 2048, includes items such as a protype of the 1998 Plymouth Prowler, a City of Tulsa Financial Report, student essays on what Tulsa will be like in the year 2048 and Tulsa restaurant menus.
• Playground area with, shelter, spray pool, big toy, swing with 2 sling seats
• .4 mile walking trail
• Ornate park benches
• Picnic tables with grills
• Lots of trash cans
• Lots of tree shaded areas

Remembering the construction, before and after:

All in all, downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma can be proud of Tulsa’s Centennial Park as an addition to its growing list of parks and recreational facilities. The City of Tulsa is really doing a wonderful job opening up new parks and managing the large list of existing parks. Kudos to Kathy Taylor and everyone involved in helping keep Tulsa a thriving and beautiful place to live!