Strategically located at the center of Oklahoma City’s emerging arts district is the $40 million The Oklahoma City Museum of Art and Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center. In form, materials and motifs, the museum’s 2002 redesign was made to fit within the context of its original Works Progress Administration-era municipal complex. The design restored and extended the existing structure — the old Centre Theatre — by matching the original limestone veneer and green marble wainscot. Curved, scalloped walls respond to the forms of the old theater, partially incorporating original construction documents and restored elements from the original building. Constructed within the shell of the old theater, the 252-seat Nobel Theater now rises from the ground floor to the mezzanine lobby entrance. The museum boasts countless treasures among its three sizable stories. Contained within its 110,000 square feet are 15 galleries, three education rooms, a library/resource center, a store, a cafe and the Noble. Since relocating to this new facility, the museum hosts approximately 100,000 visitors annually, has tripled its membership and has increased its staff from eight people in 1994 to more than 60 in 2003.

Project 180 streetscape renovations installed a series of destination markers throughout downtown Oklahoma City. The destination markers depict an aerial map with a small silver pin that denotes “you are here.” The outer ring of each destination marker highlights a local historic or pop culture event specific to the city. Historical significance: The Art Community was slow to develop in Oklahoma City, but received a boost from the Depression Era Federal Art Project in the 1930’s under the artist of Nan Sheets. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art grew from that kernel and after 50+ years in suburban locations like Fair Park and Nichols Hills, it is now a prominent fixture in the Arts District as well as the cultural life of the city. This marker reads: The Oklahoma City Museum of Art, opened 2002, utilizes the façade and theater of the 1947 Centre Theater in an expanded building housing three floors of galleries for exhibits and collections, including the works of Dale Chihuly, whose glass towers are featured in both lobbies.