Design committee kicks off Tower Green project

May 29, 2018

Public meeting planned for June 14 at Community Center

The Tower Green Design Committee held its first meeting last week after being tasked by the City Council to develop a design plan for the Tower Green project approved by voters in the March 6 General Obligation Bond Election.

Voters approved $1.7 million for the project, which consists of a community gathering space between the Price Tower and Bartlesville Community Center. The design committee will gather input on how to best shape the gathering space, select a design plan and amenities for the project and present the plan and product recommendations to the City Council for final consideration.

Members include City Councilors Alan Gentges, who was elected chairman of the committee by his fellow members, and Jim Curd, who will act as vice-chair when needed, Price Tower Arts Center Board of Trustees representative Brad Doenges, Community Center Trust Authority representative Maria Gus and “at large” members Annah Fischer, Shelby Brammer and Jay Webster.

Price Tower Executive Director and local architect Scott Ambler presented information at the meeting outlining some ideas generated by others in the community as well as a committee initially created to work on the project. The ideas include the possibility of enlisting 15-20 students from Taliesin, the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, to be involved with the design process. Frank Lloyd Wright was commissioned by H.C. Price to design the Price Tower, which opened in 1956.

“Four-thousand people attended the opening,” Ambler said. “So it has been a big deal since the day it opened.”

In the event the committee agrees to involve Taliesin students in the project, they will likely visit Bartlesville in September, during the Indian Summer Festival, Ambler said. Public input would be sought during a multi-day “charette,” allowing time for the students to observe Bartlesville and participate in a Community Center-hosted festival as well as hear ideas from interested citizens before splitting into teams and producing three designs for the committee to consider.

The committee also voted to hold a public meeting in June to obtain input on what citizens would like to see at the green space. The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. June 14 at the Bartlesville Community Center.

The committee hopes to have recommendations for the City Council in October. Funding for the project will be provided with the first tranche of bonds in the 2018 series.