Local officials, including the Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell, presided Friday over a groundbreaking ceremony to move the historic but long-abandoned Chrysler Plymouth tower sign in Bristow, Oklahoma, to Route 66 in town and restore the neon.
KJRH-TV in nearby Tulsa reported that a state Route 66 revitalization grant is covering $700,000 of the $1 million project, with the rest from the city.
Pinnell, who also leads the state’s tourism department and has been a strong proponent of Route 66, said the move and reinstallation is expected to be finished by summer 2026.
Here’s a video from the Bristow Historical Society of the ceremony:
The sign is about 100 feet tall, and the historical society claims it would be the tallest freestanding sign on Route 66.
Grover Hubert “Red” Beard designed the sign and installed it atop his 24-hour car dealership one block from Route 66 in 1949.
The sign went dark sometime in the 1950s.
(Image of the Chrysler Plymouth Tower in Bristow, Oklahoma, via the Bristow Historical Society)