Iconic Crystal Bridge botanical gardens reopening promises guests a 'look into nature'

Flowers are blooming again in the iconic Crystal Bridge after a one-year makeover of the botanical garden in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City.

The Myriad Gardens attraction was a hit with visitors when it first opened in 1988 and it was still drawing more than 70,000 visitors a year when it closed in 2021. Maureen Heffernan, director of the gardens, is hoping the refreshed gardens will prove even more popular with visitors when it reopens on Friday.

A second terrace overlooking the gardens, space for rotating exhibits and shows, and improved access for older visitors, people using wheelchairs and parents with strollers are among the changes that Heffernan hopes will spur locals to make the botanical garden a place to visit more than once.

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“We want people to come back a few times a year, instead of thinking, ‘Oh, I've seen it and I don’t need to go back,’” Heffernan said. “I would love to see everybody in Oklahoma City visit twice a year.”

Nate Tschaenn, director of horticulture, recalls that planning for the makeover was already underway when he hired nine years ago. The plants were thriving, he said, but the infrastructure that supported the gardens was crumbling.

“It needed updating,” Tschaenn said. “It’s the organization of the plants that has changed the most. Before, it was plants thrown here, plants thrown here. Now it’s really organized. It’s being done by themes to create a better experience, to give them a better understanding of what they are looking at.”

When visitors first enter the garden, they will see pineapples sprouting along with other plants including mangos, apples and limes. In yet another grouping, visitors will see sugar cane and coffee plantings and banana trees.

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“Now when you come in, you’ll see fruit plants, you’ll see spice plants, you’ll see fragrant plants used for perfumes,” Tschaenn said. “And when you go to the dry side, instead of seeing things from deserts around the world, you’ll see plants from the New World. You’ll see items from the tropical America or from the southwest United States versus what you might see in Africa or Asia. I can see where they might be similar, but they are different.”

The original architecture of the tube, inspired by the master urban renewal plan by the late I.M. Pie, is far more noticeable in the new layout. The glass panes were replaced 11 years ago, though some that were hail damaged were replaced again during the recent makeover. The Crystal Bridge stands out in the downtown skyline, but was hidden in the jungle like gardens.

“You couldn’t see it,” Heffernan said. “I love the airiness of it all now, the openness of all the light coming in. The architecture is quite beautiful and you notice that now.”

The team of designers for the makeover included Scott Murase, whose prior work at the gardens included the rock waterfall at the northeast entrance at Sheridan and Robinson Avenues. Real rock replaced the fake mountain and forms the backdrop for a new waterfall that is no longer pumped through a noisy pipe.

Murase also crafted “root walls” created from redwood tree roots salvaged from the Oregon coast. The roots will provide a screening for a new classroom that will double as a staging area for curated, rotating plant exhibits that Heffernan hopes will help spur repeat visits.

Part of Heffernan’s planning includes staging exhibits showcased at other gardens, ones inspired by artists Claude Monet and Frida Kahlo.

“We never had a workroom before,” Heffernan said. “It makes it a lot easier when you’re putting together a big show or changing things from season to season.”

The new terrace on the north end of the tube includes an open space that can accommodate schoolkids on field trips or receptions and weddings. It is set up so plantings in containers can be on display when the space is not being used for events.

A space that was once lined with reptile exhibits is repurposed and transformed into a bright art gallery. The oculus window in the center of the space previously was a single-pane glass that provided a poor view of the outdoor gardens due to condensation and a bar that went through the middle of the window.

A clear view is now available with a new double-paned window. Back-lit lettering around the window shares a quote from Albert Einstein: “Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.”

The gallery includes seating and speakers playing a mix of nature sounds and waterfalls.

“This is intended as a reflection space,” Heffernan said. “It will be very calming and beautiful.”

The curated art gallery is part of expanded programming that starts with the reopening and will include live string performances, horticultural exhibits and classes. Rotating sculptural displays will start with a Dale Chihuly glass exhibit on loan from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

The reopening of the Crystal Bridge marks a complete transformation of the gardens that started with a series of improvements funded by Devon Energy a dozen years ago. The Inasmuch Foundation led fundraising for the latest makeover for the gardens, which were envisioned by Pei and late civic leader Dean A. McGee.

Construction was delayed for years as the city struggled through the 1980s oil bust. Once wealthy contributors withdrew pledges when their businesses, many energy-related, failed.

Jim Tolbert was at McGee’s side when the Crystal Bridge opened in 1988 and has remained a constant booster and leader ever since.

“For Oklahoma City, it was fabulous,” Tolbert said. “It was unlike anything we had done before. But we were anxious to do more. From time to time, we made additions. The reason we redid it was people never came back a second time. You went, you saw it, and there was no reason to get people to come back.”

Tschaenn believes those repeat visitors will see a garden that is already growing and evolving in just the few short months that plantings returned.

“My initial thoughts were it might take about five years for it to look really nice and filled in,” Tschaenn said. “But I’m impressed with what we’ve been able to get versus how much it’s grown in the time it’s been here. I think maybe in two or three years, people won’t even notice we did this huge renovation.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Crystal bridge botanical gardens in OKC reopening after renovations