Two nonprofit groups are planning an ambitious 62-acre sculpture park at the northwest corner of Second Street (aka Route 66) and Coltrane Road in Edmond, Oklahoma, by the highway’s centennial in fall 2026.
The Journal-Record reported that Uncommon Ground Sculpture Park Inc. and Edmond Fine Arts Institute want to raise up to $92 million for the project.
The newspaper toured the site with Melissa Pepper:
The park initially will feature 43 art pieces – from 27 donors and matching funds from the Edmond Visual Arts Commission – with additional sculptures installed over time, Pepper said.
“We want there to be an art surprise around every bend,” she said.
With its location along Route 66, Pepper said this will be a regional park that is expected to attract visitors from near and as far away as 200 miles. […] Features will include event venues, playgrounds, three stocked ponds with fishing docks, a dog park, and trails for walking, hiking and biking. […]
Anchoring the park will be the new two-story 38,000-square-foot Edmond Fine Arts Institute building. FAI offers educational enrichment in visual and performing arts for adults and children. […] The new facility will include a theater space, three galleries, and sculpture and technology spaces on the first floor. Upstairs will be an event center that can seat about 300 people or host indoor art festivals, Price said.
About $30 million has been raised for the initiative so far, and organizers are seeking state and federal funds to help finish it.
Site preparation already has begun at the park.
KFOR-TV in nearby Oklahoma City filed this report about the forthcoming park:
More can be found at The Uncommon Ground’s website.
Rand Elliott Architects is designing the park structures, and MA+ Architecture is designing the art and event center. Rand Elliott also designed the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton and POPS in nearby Arcadia.
(Aerial artist’s rendering of the Uncommon Ground Sculpture Park planned in Edmond, Oklahoma, via Uncommon Ground)