The "East Meets West" sculpture at the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza at Riverside Drive and Southwest Boulevard (aka Route 66) in Tulsa is inching closer to being installed. Dennis Whitaker at the city of Tulsa gave me this update, via e-mail: [T]he artist is finished with the car group and the foundry has already cast … Continue reading Notes from the road
Category: Signs
Skating rink on Route 66 will be converted into a church
The closed Starlite Skate Rink on Route 66 north of Sapulpa, Okla., will be converted into the new home of Sapulpa Life Church effective Sunday, reported the Sapulpa Daily Herald. The church is tailored more to young people, so it's possible the Skate Rink could be used at times for the purpose for which it … Continue reading Skating rink on Route 66 will be converted into a church
Here’s your sign
A few months ago, we tracked down who had painted hundreds, perhaps thousands of distinctive signs along the Route 66 corridor from the western Texas Panhandle to eastern New Mexico. It was Rudolph Gonzales, who has crafted his work along the Mother Road since the mid-1950s and is one of the last to do so … Continue reading Here’s your sign
Notes from the road
If you're traveling the Mother Road this week, you may have to make other plans for the midsection. As this map from the National Weather Service shows, the Route 66 corridor is under a winter storm warning all the way from about Springfield, Mo., to Gallup, N.M. -- much of it freezing rain. Authorities closed … Continue reading Notes from the road
Motel living
Here's a nice video of the sights and sounds of two Route 66 icons -- the Wigwam Motel of Holbrook, Ariz., and the Blue Swallow Motel of Tucumcari, N.M.
Tulsa district proposes rules to allow rooftop signs
Tulsa's Blue Dome District, of which an older alignment of Route 66 goes through, wants a change in the city's ordinances that would allow rooftop signs in the district's restaurants and bars. Elliot Nelson, owner of McNellie's Public House and El Guapo Mexican Cantina in the district, says the rooftop signs would help those businesses … Continue reading Tulsa district proposes rules to allow rooftop signs
Notes from the road
The Pontiac Walldog Committee, which has helped beautify downtown Pontiac, Ill., with a series of murals and related festivals, now wants to open a Walldog Mural and Sign Art Museum in Pontiac, according to news release from the city's tourism department. The primary purpose of the museum is to pay homage to the men and … Continue reading Notes from the road
Notes from the road
The historic Riviera Restaurant on Route 66 in Gardner, Ill., reopened on New Year's Eve. Check out this story in the Batavia Sun about it. However, there is one potential snag that will be worth watching: The new owner is dealing with a request from the Gardner Fire Department to put in an expensive commercial … Continue reading Notes from the road
Route 66 kiosk signs in Arizona vandalized
Special Route 66 signs at a kiosk north of Golden Shores, Ariz., were vandalized and will cost $2,000 to replace, according to a report by the Associated Press. The interpretive signs at the kiosk were erected less than two years ago. The signs were damaged by gun blasts. The Bureau of Land Management is asking … Continue reading Route 66 kiosk signs in Arizona vandalized
Cruise the Neon Road
KNME-TV in New Mexico has just posted on YouTube its award-winning "The Neon Road" documentary from 2003. It's about 25 minutes, but well worth your time.