Route 66

City crews installed more than 200 Route 66 signs(JPG, 68KB) along the 51.5 miles of Route 66 in OKC limits so residents and visitors can retrace America’s Mother Road and its many alignments through Oklahoma City. The alignments traverse five commercial districts in Oklahoma City including the Britton District, Western Avenue, NW 39th Street, the Asian District and Uptown 23.

Landmarks along Route 66 in OKC include:

  • Tower Theatre
  • Will Rogers Theatre
  • Milk Bottle building
  • State Capitol
  • Gold Dome building
  • Owl Court Suites
  • Phillips 66 station, Hudson and 23
  • Route 66 Bowl
  • Truss bridge over Lake Overholser

History

Route 66, also known as the Will Rogers Highway, was established 95 years ago on November 11, 1926. It originally ran nearly 2,500 miles from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. Oklahoma has more than 400 miles of the famed highway, more lane miles than any other state.

Tulsa businessman and Oklahoma’s first highway commissioner, Cyrus Avery, is considered the father of Route 66. He led the national committee that created the route and picked 66 to be the Route’s official number.

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