The city of Vinita, Oklahoma, received a $25,000 AARP Community Challenge Grant to help improve its downtown, including the Route 66 corridor.
KSNF-TV reports about 1,600 towns applied for the grant, and only 129 won it. Here’s what Vinita will do with the money:
The Vinita Route 66 Breezeway Project will make the downtown area more pedestrian friendly…including the enhancement of a corridor within the Historic Route 66 Main Street area.
“We are looking at putting down new asphalt, we are looking at doing some signage lighting and coming up with an entryway and a sign,” says Starks.
This will also create new opportunities for community members to mingle.
“We can have different venues for different events we can have music we can have farmers market will have picnic table and benches for people to gather,” says Ronnie Starks.
The grant states the project must be completed by Nov. 5.
Vinita was one of the first towns established in Indian Territory, which later became Oklahoma. Among the historic buildings or businesses along the Route 66 corridor in Vinita are Clanton’s Cafe, the Hotel Vinita building, Randall Tire Co. and the Center Cinema, which is believed to be the oldest theater in Oklahoma.
(Image of downtown Vinita, Oklahoma, by Paul Wever via Flickr)