OKC honors Route 66 with four new Centennial Monuments

Published on September 17, 2026

Oklahoma City continues to celebrate its vibrant Route 66 history with the installation of new Centennial Monuments in districts that the Mother Road once passed through.

The monuments, an oversized artistic homage to Route 66 signage, are 16 feet tall and lit from within. They are being installed this week at the following locations:

Asian District - NW 32nd Street and Classen Boulevard.
Britton District – Britton Road and Classen Boulevard.
NW 39th Street District – NW 39th Street and Barnes Avenue.
Western Avenue – NW 43rd Street and Western Avenue.

"The Route 66 Monuments are striking and impossible to miss, and they are fitting landmarks for the Mother Road as it passes through OKC," Mayor David Holt said. "This is a perfect use of our MAPS 4 beautification funds."

The monuments, which cost $132,000 for all four, were funded through MAPS 4.

The Route 66 Centennial Monument Project is the first national monument for all of Route 66. With the four new installations, Oklahoma City will have six monuments.

Two additional monuments were installed in Oklahoma City over the past year: one at NW 23rd Street and Hudson Avenue in Uptown and another on NW 39th Expressway, just east of the historic Lake Overholser bridge.

About the Centennial Monuments

The monuments were created by Oklahoma City-based VOX Audio Visual. OKC artist Stan Carroll collaborated with VOX on the monument's design, and GS Signs, an OKC sign manufacturer, fabricates and installs them throughout the United States.

Thirty-two of the Centennial Monuments, an official project of the US Route 66 Centennial Commission, have been installed to date, from Illinois to California, with many more planned in Oklahoma and beyond.

For details about the Route 66 Centennial Monument Project, visit route66monuments.com.

About Route 66

In 2021, City crews recently installed 200 smaller Route 66 signs citywide so residents and visitors can retrace America's Mother Road and its many alignments through Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City's Route 66 alignments meandered over time as the city grew and demands for the road changed. These signs will improve wayfinding for enthusiasts looking to experience this iconic highway. A map of the alignments can be found on okc.gov/route66.

Route 66, also known as Will Rogers Highway, was established 95 years ago on Nov. 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.

About MAPS 4

MAPS 4 is a debt-free public improvement program funded by a temporary penny sales tax that will raise a projected $1.07 billion over eight years. Oklahoma City voters approved the sales tax to fund MAPS 4 in a special election on Dec. 10, 2019, moving forward with a unique and ambitious plan to transform our community. The temporary penny sales tax funding MAPS 4 began April 1, 2020, and ends in 2028. More than 70 percent of MAPS 4 funding is dedicated to neighborhood and human needs. The rest is for quality of life and job-creating initiatives. The MAPS 4 Citizens Advisory Board and its six subcommittees will guide MAPS 4 planning and implementation, making recommendations to the City Council. The Council has final authority on MAPS 4. The MAPS Investment and Operating Trust developed a strategic investment plan to support long-term sustainable funding for MAPS 4 projects' operational expenses and maintenance. Visit okc.gov/maps4 for more.

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