Oklahoma State University faithful celebrated the groundbreaking of the long-awaited Michael and Anne Greenwood School of Music Saturday in Stillwater.

The $28 million facility will be built along Hester Street north of Fourth Avenue and will be attached to the McKnight Center for the Performing Arts. Both facilities are expected to open fall 2019 with the McKnight Center hosting the New York Philharmonic that October. 

The Greenwood School of Music is named after Stillwater philanthropists Michael and Anne Greenwood, alumni who have made numerous financial donations to the university. 

"It is a dream come true for Mike and I to be able to make this gift to OSU Music," Anne Greenwood said while speaking to a crowd of hundreds during the dedication. "The ability to provide this building and these facilities that are so deserved makes us very proud."

The Greenwoods made the lead gift toward $15 million fundraising goal for the Greenwood School of Music, but $5 million in donations is still needed. 

"When Ann (Hargis) and I got to Stillwater (10 years ago) we were just stunned at the quality of our music programs and our arts programs," OSU President Burns Hargis said during his speech. "But we were also stunned at the conditions of our facilities."

The Seretean Center for the Performing Arts, which was built in 1970, currently houses the music and theater programs. 

The Greenwood School of Music offers approximately 200 undergraduate and 20 graduate majors to roughly 2,100 students. 

They currently have 12 practice rooms and Ryan Gardner, associate professor of trumpet, said students have come up with creative solutions and often practice in hallways, stairwells, outside and even in bathrooms. 

"Mike and Anne, thank you for being the guardian angels of OSU Music," Gardner said. 

Hargis also praised the Greenwoods for thier latest gift , saying "We can't thank you enought for all you have done for Oklahoma State University."

The Greenwood School of Music will include music laboratories, classrooms, rehearsal spaces and teaching studios with all the latest technology. 

"For at least a generation, the faculty, the students and alumni have been dreaming for this day," said Howard Potter, head of the Greenwood School of Music. 

Senior Noah Mennega, who won national and international trumpet competitions this summer, also addressed the crowd. 

"My time at OSU has been very influential and I can't wait for the next generation of musicians to experience this welcoming university, its outstanding music program, and the wonderful faculty who've made such an impact on me," Mennega said. 

When the morning commute consists of a four-floor elevator ride, life is pretty good. Throw in a perky little dog sporting a vest, though, and there's even more to smile about.

“We were always going to live downtown,” said Paula Beck, who shares a fourth-floor loft at the Carnegie Centre with her husband, Don Beck, and the perky little office dog, Leopold. “We've had an office downtown for years, and it's where we spend most of our time. It just made sense.”

The Becks own Beck Design, an architectural firm housed downstairs on the first floor of the Carnegie Centre, 131 Dean A. McGee Ave. The office's glass walls overlook the lobby, which often becomes a gathering place when all the residents are home.

That's another plus, Paula Beck said. “We're empty-nesters, so we were also considering the social thing.”

Their loft will be among the stops on the 2018 Downtown Home Tour from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.

The Downtown OKC Partnership and the Business Improvement District put together the free, self-guided tour of nine properties to offer a glimpse of life in the heart of the city. Shuttles will be available, and guests can join from any stop. For more information, go to www.downtownokc.com/downtown-home-tour.

About 8,500 people now call downtown home, and 89 percent of them rent, according to Downtown OKC Partnership. Upscale for-sale housing fueled the initial growth downtown, but the 2008 economic crash changed the picture: Rental housing is much more likely to be successful downtown.

The crash changed things for developer Judy Hatfield, as well. She bought the old downtown library in 2007 with intentions of turning it into upscale condos. In the wake of the crash, she reconfigured her plans, and the Carnegie Centre emerged as a mix of retail, residential and office space.

The USS Oklahoma City was commissioned in 1988, and since then, it and the sailors inside, have been patrolling and protecting the deep sea.

There are young people doing great things in our country and I don’t think they get enough attention and respect for who they are and what they do,” said Donald Beck, the architect for the project.

Beck along with Retired Navy Commander Tucker McHugh and Retired Rear Admiral Greg Slavonic were behind building the USS Oklahoma Memorial in Pearl Harbor.

About a year ago, the three decided to do something in Oklahoma City based on the city’s namesake submarine that is to be de-commissioned in 2018 or 2019.

"We thought that it would be great to get the sail and build an educational park, patriotic park, informative park down in the boathouse district," said McHugh.

The Navy agreed to give the men the sail, but the hull of the submarine would be recreated to the exact navy specifications as the original: larger than a football field.

"We think that this will be a way to recognize the submarine and be an educational tool for young people who never get to the water, may never get to be on a submarine to actually see what a fast attack Las Angeles class submarine looks like," said Slavonic.

The Riverfront Redevelopment Authority and city council will have to approve on donating the land for the park, then fundraising can begin.

The three men say they need to raise half a million dollars to construct the park.

Cokv Hecvlke Nvkaftetv Cvko (Student Center) is the gathering place for the College of the Muscogee Nation students. The design of the building incorporates impressive graphic displays of Mvskoke history that includes the Creek Treaty of 1832, Maps of Creek Removal and Creek Etvlwv - Tribal Towns. Through these presentations students and visitors may become more knowledgeable of the 1832 Tribal Treaty, the forced removal of Creek people from their homeland to Indian territory and locations of the Creek Etvlwv after Removal. The Maps and Graphics were provided by the MCN Geographic Information System Department, Frank Harjo and David King from the Muscogee Creek Nation Department of Housing. The new 20,000 square foot Student Center is designed with materials and forms that are reflective of the Muscogee Creek Nation Culture. The building houses the Raven’s Nest Bookstore, Core Values Café, a fitness center, flexible multipurpose classrooms, science labs, and library/learning center.