With its enduring, endearing 2,400 miles of continuous roadway from Chicago to the Pacific Ocean, Route 66 has earned its place as a national treasure. The inspiration for Nat King Cole’s 1946 hit song “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66” and John Steinbeck’s classic, Grapes of Wrath, today’s quirky roadside art and attractions, spectrum of scenery and the sheer variety of personalities in the cities and towns throughout eight distinctly different states continue to offer a unique experience on the road.
“There’s a general understanding that Route 66 is this all-American highway, a great American road trip,” says Rhys Martin, president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association. “But when people actually get out here and experience it, they realize it’s so much more than that. For me, Route 66 represents connection, and that’s how it originally was built – to connect communities together. You can slow down and meet shop owners, talk to folks about their third-generation restaurant or their life dream to build a 21-foot-tall space cowboy. You get to connect to other people from all over the world that have decided to use Route 66 as the lens they view this entire country.”
Oklahomans are going all in to celebrate their 400 miles of drivable pavement – the most of any Route 66 state.
“Oklahoma gets it,” Martin says. “Everybody that lives along the road is very proud to be a part of the greater Route 66 community. So when somebody says, ‘Hey, we’re going to do something for Route 66,’ you already have so much buy-in from a lot of people. And when you have a lot of people swimming in the same direction, it makes events that much better.”
Centennial activities began this spring and conclude on Nov. 11, the official centennial date. Among numerous upcoming events, Martin is excited about Oklahoma’s seven towns hosting September screenings of new documentary Route 66: The Main Street of America by John Paget, also the creator of a 1994 award-winning Route 66 film.
“He’s come back to the road 30 years later and there’s going to be a rolling premiere at historic theaters from Tulsa to El Reno with filmmakers attending,” Martin says.
On Sept. 26, the Oklahoma Route 66 Association hosts a centennial car show at Sapulpa’s landmark Tee Pee Drive-In during the day, showing the movie Cars that evening. Nov. 11 is a fitting finale at the “Route 66 Tulsa Birthday Bash and Veteran’s Day Parade,” with music and other performances throughout the Arts District, ending with a concert at Cain’s Ballroom. See the entire slate of events at OklahomaRoute66.com.
After such a big milestone, the follow-up question is: what’s next for The Mother Road?
“The State of Oklahoma has an ongoing annual grant fund of $6.6 million,” says Martin. “Cities can apply for more things that include preservation and restoration. You have people talking about some of the original pavement in western Oklahoma and how to preserve it.
“We’ve already had a lot of incredible projects come through. That grant originally was going to sunset in 2026, but it’s been so successful and it’s helped so many of these small towns that aren’t used to having this kind of resource or really given permission to dream … and it will continue for a while longer.”
Route 66 Trivia
Trait Thompson, executive director of the Oklahoma Historical Society and a Commissioner of the Route 66 Centennial Commission, offers some Route 66 facts for your next trivia night:
• The “Father of Route 66,” Cyrus Avery, was from Tulsa.
• Lucille Hamons, who operated Lucille’s Service Station near Hydro, was known as the “Mother of The Mother Road.”
• The Threatt Filling Station, near Luther, was one of the only known Black-owned businesses on Route 66.
• The Round Barn in Arcadia was constructed in that shape due to a belief that tornados would go around it instead of through it.
• The small town of Erick produced two nationally known entertainers: Sheb Wooley and Roger Miller.
• The largest sculpture in Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park, near Foyil, is 90 feet high and contains 28 tons of cement, 6 tons of steel and 100 tons of sand and rock.
• Route 66 was not completely paved in Oklahoma until 1937.
• The Oklahoma State Capitol, on Route 66 in Oklahoma City, was the first to feature a statue of a Native American on its dome.
• The Turner Turnpike, one of the first major highways in the country to bypass Route 66, was completed in 1953.
• The Beckham County Courthouse was shown in the background of the Joad family’s journey in the film The Grapes of Wrath.
