Crystal Bridge Tropical Conservatory

The Myriad Botanical Gardens grew out of the urban renewal plan drawn up in the late 1960s by Oklahoma City leaders and the architect I. M. Pei. Oilman Dean A. McGee, head of Kerr-McGee, was the project’s leading champion; the name comes from the neighbouring convention centre, then known as the Myriad. Early ideas looked to Copenhagen’s Tivoli Gardens, and after a nationwide search the New York firm Conklin + Rossant won the commission in 1971. Ground was broken on November 17, 1977, and the 17-acre site was developed in stages as money became available.

The Myriad Gardens Foundation was set up in 1981 to pay for the conservatory. The Crystal Bridge was built between 1983 and 1985, yet it did not open to the public until March 25, 1988. Later, Project 180 funding paid for new acrylic glazing for the conservatory, along with a children’s garden and a restaurant in the grounds. From April 2021 to November 2022 the building received its first complete interior renovation in more than thirty years, an $11 million project backed by the Inasmuch Foundation, Devon Energy, the Chickasaw Nation, the city and other donors. Its official name is now the Inasmuch Foundation Crystal Bridge Conservatory.

The Crystal Bridge is a long, translucent cylinder laid on its side, 224 feet long and 70 feet in diameter. Its skin is not glass but 3,028 sections of translucent, double-layered acrylic, which diffuse the daylight. Inside, some 13,000 square feet of planted display are divided into two climate zones: a tropical wet zone and, at the north end, a tropical dry zone.

The 2021–2022 renovation reworked the paths, added an elevator for accessibility, a second-level terrace for events and, on the third level, a Sensory Skywalk that looks out over the canopy. A sculpture called the Cloud Portal now marks the division between the northern and southern sections, and a two-tier cascading waterfall and a reflecting pool complete the setting.

The conservatory holds thousands of tropical plants, from palms to flowering species, arranged between a tropical wet zone and a tropical dry zone, so the contrast is between two tropical climates rather than rainforest and true desert. Exotic water lilies grow in the reflecting pool, and since the 2022 reopening the displays combine permanent collections with rotating ones, supported by new interpretive panels. An interactive Discovery Room is aimed at children. Plants in the conservatory and the outdoor gardens can be looked up in the gardens’ online Garden Explorer database.

The Crystal Bridge is the centrepiece of the Myriad Botanical Gardens, 15 acres in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City, with its own stop on the Oklahoma City Streetcar. The outdoor gardens are free to wander, while the conservatory requires a ticket. The route loops through both zones and climbs to the upper skywalk for a view down onto the canopy. Through the year the park hosts recurring events such as a spring tulip festival, Pumpkinville in autumn and an ice rink in winter, all easy to combine with a conservatory visit.