The historic Miami Marathon Oil Station on an old alignment of Route 66 in Miami, Oklahoma, sold for $18,000 at auction Friday, but its new owner remains unknown for now. The Joplin Globe newspaper reported the station's new owner declined to identify himself or do interviews. The deal for the station should be close in about 30 … Continue reading Marathon Oil station in Miami sold at auction
Category: Preservation
City of Lincoln approves funds for The Mill restoration
The city council of Lincoln, Illinois, this week approved $12,000 in motel-tax funds to help finish restoring The Mill, a now-closed restaurant on Route 66 that eventually will become a museum. According to the Lincoln Courier, the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County plans to use the money for plumbing and sewer-line work. The money will go to … Continue reading City of Lincoln approves funds for The Mill restoration
Vision Tulsa’s passage helps several Route 66 projects
Voters in Tulsa passed the Vision Tulsa sales-tax extension by a wide margin Tuesday, and a few Route 66 projects will receive pieces of the $884 million pie. The big project of Vision Tulsa is building low-water dams on the Arkansas River. But here are the Route 66-related projects Vision Tulsa will fund: --- Route 66 … Continue reading Vision Tulsa’s passage helps several Route 66 projects
An example of why Congress is unpopular
House Republicans in Washington opened an investigation into President Obama’s recent designation of three new national monuments, including Route 66's Mojave Trails National Monument, in the California desert. Obama used his authority under the 1906 Antiquities Act for the designation, doubling the amount of land he previously set aside and setting a record. The San Francisco Chronicle … Continue reading An example of why Congress is unpopular
Rapper will restore “The Outsiders” house
A rapper in the group House of Pain purchased a house in north Tulsa prominently used in the 1983 film version of "The Outsiders." He plans to restore the dilapidated home and turn it into a museum dedicated to the film and the S.E. Hinton novel on which it's based. Danny O'Connor, aka Danny Boy, of House of … Continue reading Rapper will restore “The Outsiders” house
Zettlers Route 66 store opening soon in Ash Fork
A couple from Montana is reviving an old business in Ash Fork, Arizona, as the Zettlers Route 66 store. Zettlers Route 66 will open Friday after owners Kirk and Yvette Slack finished about 15 months of cleaning and renovations to the building, reported the Grand Canyon News. The store features a working 1960s Coke machine, Native … Continue reading Zettlers Route 66 store opening soon in Ash Fork
Joplin may update its historic preservation plan
A consulting firm is helping the Historic Preservation Commission of Joplin, Missouri, update the city's historic preservation plan, reported the Joplin Globe. Peter Benton and Elizabeth Watson of Pennsylvania-based Heritage Strategies was hired by the commission and provide a draft of the updated plan. The Globe reported: A priority, Benton said, is to create and monitor … Continue reading Joplin may update its historic preservation plan
County seeks grant for Sidewalk Highway
Ottawa County in northeast Oklahoma is seeking more than $450,000 in federal Transportation Alternatives Program money to fix the "Sidewalk Highway" of original Route 66 south of Miami. According to an article in the Miami News-Record: If awarded, the money would be used to repair a one-mile segment in a project that would extend for three years to … Continue reading County seeks grant for Sidewalk Highway
Book review: “Route 66 Crossings”
Because so many Route 66 books have entered the marketplace over the past three decades or so, one initially wonders why Jim Ross' new volume about historic bridges on the Mother Road hasn't been done before. But as one dives deep into "Route 66 Crossings" (hardback, 200 pages, color photographs, University of Oklahoma Press, $29.95), becomes clear why … Continue reading Book review: “Route 66 Crossings”
Maplewood Big M proposed on Route 66
The St. Louis suburb of Maplewood, Missouri, wants to use a giant letter M, plus other letters that stood on a theater's marquee, as a gateway into the city at Manchester Road, also known as an early alignment of Route 66 in the St. Louis area. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The 90-year-old porcelain … Continue reading Maplewood Big M proposed on Route 66