TULSA, Okla. — One group dedicated to promoting Route 66 to travelers and preserving the historic byway is in a new home on Route 66.
The Oklahoma Route 66 Association started in 1989.
The interstate did a number on "America's Main Street" decades earlier—removing a lot of traffic from the road, starting in the 1950s.
2 News took an in depth look at the history and community around Route 66: READ MORE.
But, as Rhys Martin, President of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, told 2 News, it's had a rebirth in recent years.
"I grew up in the [Tulsa] area and for me, it was just 11th Street. But in 2005, the City of Tulsa passed a plan to help develop Route 66," said Martin. "That's why today we have a commission here dedicated to promoting the road and lifting it up. We have a neon sign grant."
"You can drive down 11th St. now and see all kinds of amazing small businesses, neon signs, roadside attractions like Buck Adams," he said, "and it feels like it did back in the day before the interstate came through."
It's not just the development along the road. Martin said he's seen Route 66 make a comeback with travelers.
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"You have a lot of folks, especially during Covid, that said, 'You know, I want to travel, but I don't really want to fly,'" he said. "And so, Route 66 has been here the whole time. And there are a lot of initiatives to help people enjoy what's on Route 66, go to these great mom-and-pop diners, roadside attractions like the blue whale, and kind of celebrate a little bit of what [author] Michael Wallis calls 'America before it became generic.'"
To cater to all these adventure-seekers from America and abroad, the Association is moving into the back of the Renaissance Square Event Center in Tulsa at 2620 E. 11th St.
Like the road it sits on, this building has a history of its own.
Constructed back in the late 1930s next to Max Campbell's Casa Loma hotel, it was originally a local factory for the Dixie Popt Corn Company, also making Zimzs Potato Chips.
The Association's headquarters used to be in Chandler, OK.
While known for its past, Martin said, “Route 66 has always been a road of the future."
"And granted, originally, that was just getting the road paved," he added. But now, with the coming evolution of electric cars and the idea of younger folks wanting to have real-life experiences as opposed to collecting things, Route 66 appeals to all of that. So, in the future, I see Route 66 continuing to rely on its history—but helping celebrate where we’re going as a country.”
The Association will celebrate its new office with an open house on Saturday, March 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Author Michael Wallis will sign copies of his book Route 66: The Mother Road. There will also be live music, face painting, and more.
For more details about the event and the building's history, click here.
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