Now, after years of saving and planning, Oklahoma City has officially opened the park in downtown! In fact, more than 28,000 people turned out to the grand opening of Scissortail Park on Friday, September 27, 2019.
Butzer and his firm, Butzer Architects and Urbanism (BAU), worked with Hargreaves Associates to bring the park to life. BAU designed the park structures, including a stage, event pavilion and more, while Hargreaves Associates provided landscape architecture services.
“We’re all trying to create the best possible space in the history of the city, and you don’t sleep, you keep going,” said Butzer.
Part of the 2007 “Core-to-Shore” master plan, Scissortail Park functions to connect the downtown Oklahoma City area to the Oklahoma River. The park is comprised of an “upper park,” which opened last Friday, and a “lower park,” which will open in the coming years.
When completed, the two parks will total 70-acres of public space, and feature a variety of engaging experiences for visitors including ornamental gardens and woodlands, a 3.7 acre lake, children’s playground and water fountains, seasonal roller rink, dog park, picnic grove, and more.
Scissortail Park in the News:
Featured image: The Associated Press
The Gibbs Design in Action Awards (GDAA) program, led by Dr. Wanda Liebermann, has announced its 2026–2027 funded student projects. The initiative supports design and research work that addresses social, cultural, and economic issues in the built environment through collaboration with faculty and community partners.
The OU Institute for Quality Communities (IQC) 2024 collaboration with the Historic Threatt Filling Station has been recognized in the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's newly released Byways Report: The Scenic Route to Rural Prosperity – a story-driven publication exploring how road trip culture and place-based tourism can fuel economic growth in rural communities.
The Gibbs College of Architecture is pleased to announce that Camille Germany, Chief of Staff, has been named the 2026 recipient of the university-wide Jennifer L. Wise Good Stewardship Award.
