Southwest Tulsa, Sapulpa, and Bristow have almost everything that makes Route 66 special: beautifully restored buildings, old roads and bridges, and new places celebrating Route 66.
We left Tulsa on West 11th Street, which is Route 66. When it deadended at Southwest Boulevard, we turned left (south) to stay on Route 66. We immediately saw a big Route 66 sign on an elevated walkway over Southwest Boulevard. Just past it, on the right, is Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza.
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| Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza at the north end of the Eleventh Street Bridge (from Google Maps) |
Cyrus Avery is considered the father of Route 66. His role started in 1916, when he was responsible for construction of the Eleventh Street Bridge at the far end of the plaza. The bridge was updated with art deco accents in 1929. The bridge is now deteriorated and closed—you can make out the chain link fence in the photo above.
Then, in the 1920s, Avery argued that Route 66 should be routed through Tulsa and Oklahoma City, partly because the Eleventh Street Bridge was already in place for a highway to cross the Arkansas River. He thus brought business to Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
Just past the bridge. at 1450 Southwest Boulevard, is the new Route 66 Neon Signs Park, with reproductions of some of Tulsa's neon signs. A block past the park, at 1648 Southwest Boulevard, is a partly restored 1940s Cities Service Station.
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| Cities Service station in southwest Tulsa |
About 2 miles past the Cities Service Station is Historic Route 66 Village, which was closed when we drove by. About a mile past that, at 4207 Southwest Boulevard, is a really cool Route 66 gateway sign.
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| Route 66 gateway sign on Southwest Boulevard in Tulsa |
It’s about 8 miles past the gateway sign to Sapulpa, Oklahoma. In Sapulpa, Route 66 becomes Mission Street, then turns right (west) onto Dewey Avenue (OK 66). At Water Street, we took a quick detour, turning left (south) to see the Waite Phillips-Barnsdall Filling Station.
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| Waite Phillips-Barnsdall Filling Station in Sapulpa, Oklahoma |
It was built in 1923 and is beautifully restored. All the details make it one of our favorite gas stations along Route 66.
Back on OK 66, at the western edge of Sapulpa, is the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum.
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| Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum in Sapulpa, Oklahoma |
As you can see, it features the world’s tallest gas pump.
About a quarter mile past the museum, we took the next right onto West Sapulpa Road. This is a three-mile stretch of road that was built in 1924-1925 and was Route 66 until 1952. We immediately crossed Rock Creek Bridge #18.
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| Rock Creek Bridge #18 near Sapulpa, Oklahoma |
It was built in 1921 or 1924 (sources give varying dates), so it’s older than Route 66. It’s unusual because the “decking” is made of brick.
This three-mile stretch has several other original features, such as a retaining wall and this railroad underpass
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| Rock Creek Railroad Underpass near Sapulpa, Oklahoma |
West Sapulpa Road merged back into OK 66, where we continued west. In about 6 miles, OK 66 crosses I-25. We took the second right after I-25 onto Old Highway 66. This was the original “alignment” of Route 66 from 1926 to 1938. In about 2 miles, it crosses OK 66, continues another 2 miles or so, then rejoins OK 66.
About a half mile after rejoining OK 66, we forked right onto E0770 Road, which becomes West 181st Street South. This was Route 66 until 1965. It was first paved in 1924.
In about a mile, we turned left (south) on OK 48 to continue on the older alignment of Route 66. Just before OK 48 merges into OK 66, we turned right South 353rd West Avenue to continue on the older alignment. We were hoping to see a 1935 pony truss bridge crossing Sand Creek, just before West 211st Street South, but it’s now gone and the road is closed. So I’d suggest skipping this alignment. Instead, take OK 48 into Bristow.
We really enjoyed Bristow. It has many streets paved with bricks—I read that it has more than any other city in Oklahoma. Many of the buildings are built of brick as well.
Our first stop was Mainer Ford of Bristow at 512 North Main Street.
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| Mainer Ford in Bristow, Oklahoma |
The building on the left, with large arched windows, was originally Bristow Motor Company, built in 1923. The other sections are later additions.
On the southeast corner of Main Street and 9th Avenue, at 100 East 9th Avenue, is Bristow Body Shop.
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| Former Bristow Firestone Service Station in Bristow, Oklahoma |
It was built in 1930 as Bristow Firestone Service Station. I love the art deco trim on the upper windows.
We turned left (east) on 9th Avenue. On the southeast corner of East 9th Street and Pine Street, at 210 East 9th Avenue, is the former Beard Motor Company.
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| Former Beard Motor Company in Bristow, Oklahoma |
The Beard Motor Company Building was built in 1947 in streamline moderne style.
We turned right (south) on Pine Street, which becomes North Walnut Street. In three blocks, we turned right (west) on East 6th Avenue. Here we could see the Bristow Train Depot and Museum at 1 Rail Road Place. It was built in 1923.
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| Bristow Train Depot and Museum in Bristow, Oklahoma |
We turned left (south) on Main Street, then right (west) on West 4th Avenue to stay on Route 66. Here at 115 West 4th Avenue we saw one more Bristow gem: Bristow Tire & Auto Service.
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| Bristow Tire & Auto in Bristow, Oklahoma |
This gas station was built in 1923. It was built in Italian Renaissance Revival style—very unusual for a gas station. The arched windows and relatively flat tiled roof make it look vaguely like an Italian villa. If you look carefully, you can see the pressed tin ceiling under the canopy.
From Bristow, we continued west on OK 66 to our next stop: Depew, Oklahoma.
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