An enticing coffee-table book about Oklahoma’s Route 66 was recently published by New Forums Press. It’s “Once Upon a Highway: Route 66 in Oklahoma” by Oklahoma State University architecture instructor John Womack.
Womack’s book contains more than 150 of his detailed pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations of Route 66 sights in the Sooner State. Womack’s illustration of the Blue Whale of Catoosa is shown above, and the old Dairy Ranch in Afton is seen below. More illustrations can be seen here.
On his Web site, Womack explains the book’s genesis:
Womack’s Route 66 project began in the fall of 2000 as a reaction to his deep interest in Oklahoma architecture. “As an architect I was of course interested in Oklahoma buildings and I had become quite impressed with the quality of design and construction of many these structures. Many towns in Oklahoma have a number of architectural ‘gems’ and I became interested in how I might record some of these in order to shed some light on the cultural and historical value such structures have for the people of Oklahoma and elsewhere. As I looked for a general theme or concept for such a study, the idea of doing something involving Route 66 gradually developed. I discovered that Route 66 provided a unique way of linking together so many sights and places in Oklahoma — from the eastern to western edge of the state, and I quickly became hooked on the subject — I loved it!”
Over the next five years Womack traveled the entire Oklahoma section of Route 66, recording various buildings and other structures in photographs, notes, and sketches. Several of the scenes illustrated in the book no longer exist. “I was amazed, and disappointed, to see how fast certain sights were disappearing on the old highway. In some instances it was literally ‘here today, gone tomorrow.” he says. As a result, Womack’s work has become a unique historical record of Route 66 in Oklahoma, and Once Upon a Highway has been endorsed by Oklahoma’s State Office of Historical Preservation and the Oklahoma Centennial Commission.
“Once Upon a Highway” lists for $33.25. It can be ordered here.
