A party atmosphere underscored the dedication ceremony, ribbon-cutting and related festivities on Wednesday as a crowd celebrated the opening of Oklahoma City’s newest large development – OAK – on the corner of Northwest Expressway and Pennsylvania. After watching the extensive construction on that corner for so long, I enjoyed getting a feel for all that was happening in this mixed-use development from Veritas Development, which includes luxury residences, retailers, dining and office space. The highlight of the ceremony was the dedication of three large, Oklahoma-landscape-inspired sculptures by Brad Oldham and Christy Coltrin – “Cloud Trees,” “Cloud Puncher” and “Mighty Live OAK” to the Dobson family for their contributions to Oklahoma and to art.
“This will immediately become a major addition to our city’s public art portfolio, and we’re really, really excited for everybody to see it,” Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said. Two of the sculptures sit in the courtyard of OAK – Heartwood Park between the hotel, the residences and the retail spaces; the other out front. “Cloud Puncher” features a cowboy sitting on the ground to rope a metallic cloud two stories up – on the Lively Hotel’s restaurant and bar terrace of that name.
Wednesday’s event also celebrated the opening of the Lively Hotel, a part of Hilton’s Tapestry Collection, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the terrace of the now-open Cloud Puncher restaurant. Opening in a few weeks will be the upscale restaurant Capital Grille; Brian Schwartztrauber, managing partner, gave us a tour of this beautiful space, complete with samples of its yummy signature drink – the Stoli Doli – and delicious Kona roast filet. Speakers during the dedication included Veritas founder Ryan McNeill, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, Jason Kreul of First Hospitality and sculpture artists Oldham and Coltrin.
“The reason that this project is possible at this moment is because we see Oklahoma City as a city on the rise, and we have that reiterated all around us right now,” McNeill said. Fellow Journal Record columnist Joe Hight wrote about his memories of this area and its transformation in a great column in The Journal Record earlier this week. Wednesday’s celebration also made me marvel at visionaries like McNeill who saw the grand potential on a formerly bland corner that I have driven by many times.
What fun to see how the OAK developed and will continue to! For information go to oakokc.com On a smaller scale, an exhibit highlighting another champion of art and public art opened at Oklahoma City University this week. OCU is showcasing NBC Oklahoma’s collection of works by Oklahoma artists in its Nona Jean Hulsey Art Gallery in the Norick Art Center, 1608 NW 26, through Nov.
15. The community bank and its chairman, Ken Fergeson, have long been an arts supporter. The OCU exhibit, “Highlights From the Collection of NBC Oklahoma,” includes selections from the bank’s Oklahoma Artist Series, which launched in 2003.
An opening reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct.
3. Hours are 8 a.m.
to 10 p.m. weekdays.
Admission is free. For information, go to okcu.edu/artgallery .
Have an idea, item or event for On the Town? Email [email protected] ..
