The City of Vinita, Oklahoma, on Friday debuted a Route 66 Welcome Center inside a 1950s gull-wing style former Phillips 66 gas station along Route 66.
Regular visitor hours for the center at 502 S. Wilson St. (aka Route 66) will be announced at a later time.
According to KTUL-TV in nearby Tulsa:
City and state officials gathered for a ribbon-cutting of a newly renovated welcome center, housed inside a historic 1950s Gull Wing Phillips 66 gas station. The building, once a busy stop along Route 66, had sat vacant for more than a decade before being brought back to life.
“Outside the Tulsa and Oklahoma City area, we have to create sales tax for towns across Oklahoma. We got to get people to slow down and stop at all of these amazing Route 66 towns,” Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Matt Pinnell said. […]
The project was funded through a grant from the Oklahoma Route 66 Commission. Vinita received approximately $854,000 to renovate the property.
Here’s the station’s video:
More images from Friday’s ceremony:
According to online real estate records, the gas station was built in 1950.
(Image after the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Route 66 Welcome Center in Vinita, Oklahoma, via Vinita Main Street)