Boathouse Will Be Iconic Center Of Tulsa's Gathering Place

At the heart of the Gathering Place - a large building is still rising on the shoreline of a three-acre pond. The boathouse will be the main public building at the Gathering Place and the hub of activity around the pond.
 
In the middle of such a big project, it's difficult to pick out the most spectacular features, but surely, the boathouse will be one. Not because of the way it looks now, with bare concrete, and empty space.

"About 8,000 square-feet of program space on this lower level," said Jeff Stava, Gathering Place Project Manager: 

It's intended to be the center of indoor activities at the park - and of course, the launching point for kayaks and canoes into the pond. On the top level, the deck offers this view over the Gathering Place.

"Off the pavilion, the community deck, you'll be able to walk right off into swing hill, which is the highest point in the park, 53 feet above the grade of the old Blair property; a big, sizable hill is built up around this building," Stava said.

But it's the view, looking at the building, with the pavilion on top, a suspended staircase around it; and then the same view at night, with the lighting on the roof. The view from the south also distinguishes the boathouse. 

5/11/2017 Related Story: New Timeline Puts Opening Of Gathering Place In Spring/Summer 2018

"Tables and chairs with stainless steel columns and an absolutely beautiful fiberglass roof system, and really I think this building in what people will consider the most iconic building in the park," Project Manager Jeff Stava said.

The boathouse has 26,000 square-feet under roof, with a full service restaurant, and distinctive architecture, like the staircases that rise above the inside, that are finished outside with curving walls and stone coverings.

"A lot of confluence of color, design types, a modern look and feel, it will be a beautiful building in the park," Stava said.

To call that building three stories isn't doing it justice because the lowest floor is on the pond level and the top floor is the highest point.