Organizers of Monday’s town hall meeting on the proposed enhancements to the quirky Center of the Universe attraction atop the Boston Avenue pedestrian bridge were careful to note that they are, at least for now, visionary in nature.
“Some of the ideas that you are seeing today for the first time are just that, I caution you. They are just ideas,” said Brian Kurtz, president and CEO of Tulsa Downtown Partnership. “They are aspirations for what we want this space to be.”
The community meeting was at the Fly Loft, which sits just north of the Boston Avenue Bridge in the Arts District. The Center of the Universe, an echoing ring on the surface of the Boston Avenue Bridge plaza, is just a stone’s throw away.
Jacki Lechner was among the three dozen people who attended Monday’s event, which showcased the public input Kurtz and his staff have gathered over the last 10 months.
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She said she’s seen downtown Tulsa spring up nicely since she moved to the city in 1985, while the Center of the Universe has gone downhill.
“So this is key; it’s past time,” Lechner said.
The proposed improvements include a shade structure over the Center of the Universe, shaded seating near the north and south entrances to the bridge, lawns, a sports park, and a designated area to watch trains pass below.
The renderings also envision public art on the adjacent parking garages as well as temporary and permanent art on the plaza itself.
Jeffrey Pongonis, a principal with the planning and landscape architect firm MKSK, said the proposed enhancements are meant to provide pedestrians easy and unimpeded access between downtown and the Arts District; celebrate art and culture; and preserve the acoustic anomaly.
“We definitely want to preserve the anomaly. We heard that loud and clear,” Pongonis said. “We don’t have any intent of changing or altering what happens at the Center of the Universe.”
That was good news for David Jones, who works near the Center of the Universe.
“Does the architect know when he does all these things, will it still work?” Jones said. “Because if it doesn’t, it’s a waste.”
The enhancements to the the plaza are being done in conjunction with the city, which is making structural improvements to the century-old bridge.
Kurtz said the estimated cost to upgrade the plaza is about $5 million but that the number will continue to evolve because the scope of the project has expanded and construction costs have increased.
The plaza project is being paid for with a mix of public and private funding.
“At the end of the day, things like lighting and landscaping are extremely expensive,” Kurtz said.
Pongonis said construction could begin in late 2023 or early 2024. If all of the necessary money were in hand, the project could be completed in about a year, he added; otherwise, it would be done in phases as money becomes available.
“I think you can probably start construction a year from now, optimistically. But that is contingent on funding, and we are not there yet.”
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Throwback Tulsa: Experts visit Center of the Universe to explain its acoustic magic
Center of the Universe
An apparent acoustical puzzlement in the downtown area is called the Center of the Universe.
No one has figured out exactly what it is and why it does what it does, not even the architect who drew up the plans and babied its construction.
"I haven't had a reason to go down there lately," John Laur, owner of JKL Architecture, said in 1997 when Tulsa World features writer Lou Ann Ruark reached out. "But I sure will now."
Center of the Universe
Brick pavers mark the spot of where pedestrians can hear a unique sound effect at the Center of the Universe on the Boston Avenue bridge downtown.
Center of the Universe
The circle-within-a-circle is at the apex of a rebuilt span of a pedestrian bridge that began its life in the 1930s as the Boston Avenue vehicular bridge downtown to carry traffic over the railroad tracks.
Center of the Universe
The phenomenon: When a person stands in the center of the brick circle, facing any direction, and speaks or sings aloud, their voice sounds perfectly normal to people within earshot, but not to the speaker.
Center of the Universe
"A 'whisper chamber,'" said John Novak (right), partner in Urban Design Group, and one of the architects who played a significant role in its design.
"It does surprise you, even when you've been told what to expect," said Frank Chitwood (center), head of HTB Inc., the architectural and engineering firm that developed the downtown Main Mall. Steve Childers is pictured at left.
Center of the Universe
The same thing happens if one stands a foot or less away from the circle and speaks to a person directly across the circle.
"That effect was not intentional," Laur said.
Center of the Universe
Pedestrians walk through Center of the Universe on the Boston Avenue bridge downtown.
Center of the Universe
Jerry McCoy, University of Tulsa physics professor, told the Tulsa World, "When you talk, your voice goes out in all directions. If you stand in the middle, the sound waves go out and hit the low planter walls and are reflected back to where you are.
"What makes the voice sound unusual is that in that particular place, there is a slight delay in the time it takes the sound waves to go to the wall and back. It's not as if you were facing a concrete wall, either. There are gaps in the circle of the planters. It's fun."
Center of the Universe
The Center of the Universe statue and local landmark in Tulsa on Tuesday, September 10, 2019. JOHN CLANTON/Tulsa World
Center of the Universe
To commemorate the opening of the 1991 Mayfest, a 60-foot structure was put in place south of the circle. "Artificial Cloud" was created by Indian artist Robert Haozous.
Center of the Universe
The sculpture is in two segments, and the artist says it's "a statement about technology. The cloud stands at the top, symbolizing a threatened hope. Because the structure was welded together with mild steel, it is meant to corrode, depending on the level of pollutants in the environment."
