Students show design proposals for Tulsa’s Route 66

A group of University of Oklahoma architecture students on Thursday unveiled their redesigns of 11th Street in Tulsa that incorporates modern looks but pays tribute to the street’s Route 66 history.

The News on 6 station in Tulsa had this report:

NewsOn6.com – Tulsa, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports – KOTV.com |

The Tulsa World newspaper also covered the event. This little nugget was dropped into the story about Russ Roach, chairman of the String of Pearls Advisory Committee.

A sign at Harvard Avenue read the “Ida Glenn Hotel,” a nod to the lease that spawned Oklahoma’s first major oilfield and the city of Glenpool. […]

“The primary mover on Route 66 will be, as it always was, the private sector,” said Roach, adding that he already has designs on making the Ida Glenn Hotel a reality. “… There are people out there that are receptive to this. They just need someone to help them, assist them. Part of the idea of this is to give people ideas.”

Another historically minded hotel in Tulsa would be a welcome thing.

Who knows whether these ideas ever will become reality? But one person interviewed in the News on 6 report noted that downtown Tulsa has greatly revitalized itself in the past five years, and that rejuvenation likely will spill over onto 11th Street. Indeed, a recent drive through that segment confirmed a steady upswing of 11th Street, especially east of Harvard.

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