Putnam City Centennial Center and Park

Welcome to the Putnam City Centennial Center and Park!

Address: 1914 Centennial Pkwy, Oklahoma City, OK. 73122

Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

Phone: 405-470-3950

In the Fall of 2025, the Putnam City Centennial Center opened as a landmark to help celebrate the rich history of the District. The Centennial Center was initially approved by voters as part of the 2014 Centennial Bond. The 2017 Momentum Bond added the Performing Arts Hall, which is an additional mid-size venue for elementary and middle school use, primarily. However, it will have multiple uses such as a larger space for professional development, community events, concerts and performances.

Once Capps Middle School was relocated to the former Ione Y property off 58th Street in 2021, it provided an opportunity to present a major structure that would serve the school district and community but also become the new icon of the District on historic Route 66, which now has an average daily traffic count of over 35,000 vehicles. In 1914, the first classes of the District were held in the Arnett Building, which was constructed in 1909. Because of the early beginnings of the District at this location, the property at the corner of Route 66 and State Street, in some respects, is hallowed ground, as it gave birth to a school district that now has graduated over 77,000 students who circle the globe. The Centennial Center is home to several centers and serves as the hub, the Town Center for Putnam City.

The Centennial Center comprises six centers:

Future Construction

Anticipated in 2026, to coincide with 100th Anniversary of Route 66, is the Putnam City Interurban Stop, to be constructed on the south side of the Putnam City Centennial Park. Through a grant, architects have designed and recreated a history period Interurban Stop, which served residents living in the area known as Putnam City, prior to the creation of the school district. In the early 1900s, I.M. Putnam, John Shartel and Anton Classen created an interurban system that connected Oklahoma City to surrounding areas such as Putnam City, Yukon, El Reno, Edmond, Guthrie and Norman. Prior to the beginning of Putnam City Schools in 1914, students living in the area known as Putnam City, attended one of five dependent schools, which went through 8th grade.  Prior to 1914, only two high schools, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, existed in Oklahoma.  Nationwide, only 16% of the population had a high school education. Students in Putnam City who wanted a high school education caught the Interurban at the Putnam City stop (located at 39th and State Street) and rode to downtown Oklahoma City to finish grades 9-12 at Central High School (now Oklahoma City University School of Law) located at 800 North Harvey Avenue. Because of its rich history as an interurban stop, which provided an opportunity for students to obtain a high school education prior to the creation of Putnam City Schools, it seemed fitting to reconstruct the original Putnam City Interurban Stop at the same location, now known as Route 66 (39th Street) and State Street.