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
Category: Preservation
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
1929 Marathon station in Miami will be auctioned
The historic Marathon station in Miami, Oklahoma, on old Route 66 will be auctioned at 9 a.m. April 8. The station, built in 1929, sits at 331 S. Main St., part of the oldest alignment of Route 66 in Miami. That segment leads to the so-called 9-foot-wide Sidewalk Highway on the south edge of town. Cindy … Continue reading 1929 Marathon station in Miami will be auctioned
Boots Court neon relighting set for April 9
The architectural neon lighting of the historic Boots Court, which has been absent for more than a decade, will be formally relighted the evening of Saturday, April 9, at the Route 66 landmark in Carthage, Missouri. The Route 66 Association of Missouri said in a news release the festivities will begin at 6 p.m. with entertainment … Continue reading Boots Court neon relighting set for April 9
Tulsa lands Bob Dylan archive
A few years ago, Tulsa was lucky enough to acquire the archive of folk-music legend Woody Guthrie. So it seems natural Tulsa also would acquire the archive of music legend Bob Dylan, who began his career as a Woody Guthrie disciple. The New York Times got the scoop this week of the Tulsa-based George Kaiser … Continue reading Tulsa lands Bob Dylan archive
Springfield may add TIF district to section of Route 66
Springfield, Illinois, may add a tax-increment financing district to declining Peoria Road, which is historic Route 66 in the town's north side. TIF districts are where taxes from rising property-tax values are used to pay a part of renovation costs or infrastructure improvements for businesses. Anecdotal evidence existed the Peoria Road district was in decline, but WRSP-TV had … Continue reading Springfield may add TIF district to section of Route 66