A Place to Protect

AS WILL ROGERS SAID, “Buy land. They ain’t making any more of the stuff.” That’s why the acquisition of a 133-acre piece of undeveloped, wooded land in the middle of Oklahoma City, just twenty-seven blocks north of the Oklahoma State Capitol, was so critical. Would the thousands of trees and shrubs and thousands (or, millions?) of small living creatures be razed and displaced for apartment complexes? Could a new county jail go there? “We think not,” said Christian Keesee, president, Kirkpatrick Family Fund (and ArtDesk publisher).

These questions and more percolated over the last many months—and decades—since the “Edwards’ Estate” became unoccupied in the mid-1990s. In the end, Kirkpatrick Family Fund and Kirkpatrick Foundation partnered to put forth a successful bid to acquire, and save, the property.

Purchased from the Commissioners of the Land Office on August 31, 2023, the 133 acres will become Red Ridge Nature Preserve, a new nonprofit currently under formation. Its mission will be to be preserve and protect the land’s delicate ecosystem and historic structures—the centerpiece, a 1934 historic Mediterranean-style residence that eventually was known as the Red Ridge Museum of Art. Designed by architect Harold Gimeno for Mr. and Mrs. R.J. Edwards, the museum exhibited artists Andrew Wyeth, Peter Hurd, Doel Reed, and even the West Coast Watercolor Society. In fact, an original watercolor rendering of the house, by Gimeno, still exists.

The full Red Ridge program plan—indeed, the place is the program—is in its earliest stages. Preliminary plans involve a renovation of Red Ridge manor and the other two houses, Windy Hill and Preacher’s Wall. Ultimately, the land will serve as a place of rest, rejuvenation, and contemplation for the benefit of Oklahoma City residents, visitors, and wildlife. – LOUISA McCUNE

For more information about Red Ridge Nature Preserve in Oklahoma City ▸ redridgeokc.org