The neon sign for the torn-down Glancy Motel in Clinton, Oklahoma, will be restored and moved to the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in town.
The Clinton Daily News (subscription required) published a photo of a company moving the sign Monday from its longstanding site at 217 W. Gary Blvd. (aka Route 66).
The newspaper reported the city transferred the sign to the Oklahoma Historical Society, which runs the museum at 2229 W. Gary Blvd.
The society will refurbish the sign, which hasn’t been lit in decades, and place it at the museum.
More from the newspaper:
“The OHS is proud to do its part to save the sign that once stood tall at a motel that welcomed hundreds of thousands of travelers during the heyday of Route 66,” said Trait Thompson, executive director of the OHS. “I am grateful to city leaders in Clinton for recognizing the historic importance of the sign and working with us to ensure future generations will be able to enjoy this icon of the Mother Road.”
The Friends of the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum has agreed to assist in raising funds for the cost of the restoration for the sign. The sign’s refurbishment will take place in Oklahoma City and will be stored there until the sign can grace the sky of its eventual new home.
“The Glancy Hotel was a Clinton institution, opened by Chester and Gladys Glancy in 1950,” said Brian Aneshansley, president of the Friends of the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. “Our group recognizes the importance of preserving this important piece of our community’s history, and we are thrilled it will be fully restored and placed on the grounds of the finest Route 66 museum in the nation, right here in our hometown.”
The newspaper also reported the museum will undergo an expansion once the Oklahoma Highway Patrol abandons its building in favor of a new one built on the former Glancy Motel site. The Glancy Motel sign will be placed at the former OHP site.
The motel was torn down in late 2023 after several efforts to preserve it fell through.
The city in 2019 condemned the Glancy Motel after numerous code violations.
(Image of the Glancy Motel sign circa 2009 by Jasperdo via Flickr)