The fate of the distinctive sign for the now-demolished Glancy Motel in Clinton, Oklahoma, remains uncertain, though the city manager said its likely home still would be the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in town.
According to a recent print edition of the Clinton Daily News, city manager Robert Johnston said he was hopeful the Glancy sign would be moved to the museum by Route 66’s centennial in 2026.
But there are complications:
“Currently, there is not really a good place to relocate the sign,” Johnston said. The sign also needs some renovations, with options still being discussed.
“One of the realities is do we leave the sign in place for the centennial, or can we get it rehabilitated and
get it in a new place?” Johnston asked.He noted the dilemma of timing with the 2026 milestone approaching. He said they would prefer not take
the sign down or send it off for renovations so close to the centennial. “When the centennial comes, it would be nice that the sign is upright and visible,” he said.
The closed Glancy Motel was torn down in November to make way for an eventual Oklahoma Highway Patrol station, though the sign was left standing.
Local oilman Rick Koch had planned in 2021 to restore the Glancy and the long-defunct and adjacent Pop Hicks restaurant.
A fire destroyed the iconic Pop Hicks restaurant in 1999. Pop Hicks never was rebuilt because it lacked insurance. The restaurant originally opened in 1936.
The Glancy Motel at 217 W. Gary Blvd. (aka Route 66) was condemned by the city in 2019 after numerous code violations. It was built in 1950.
But Koch backed away from the project so he could concentrate on the closed Whitten Inn, formerly a Ramada Inn.
Other proposals for the Glancy site — including an RV park or an Airbnb location — weren’t as attractive to city officials as the OHP’s, or they lacked funding.
(Image of the Glancy Motel sign in 2012 by Jasperdo via Flickr)
Tear it down. It’s a fairly junky sign. It will live on in pictures.