El Reno and Geary, Oklahoma

We’ve come to appreciate towns along Route 66 that make a real effort to capitalize on their location along Route 66 and try to attract visitors. Two of those towns are El Reno and Geary, Oklahoma. Special props go to Geary, which is on a very old Route 66 “alignment” and probably skipped by a lot of Route 66 travelers.

After seeing Lake Overholser Bridge on our way out of Oklahoma City, we continued west on Route 66 (OK 66). In about 16 miles, Route 66 bends to the right (northwest) into El Reno, Oklahoma.

Between Jenkins and Cooney Streets, we found a Route 66 oddity. In 1936, Route 66 traffic was so bad here that an underpass was built so students could get to school. The two underpass entrances are still there, though they’ve been sealed off. This is the west entrance.

West entrance to Route 66 pedestrian underpass in El Reno, Oklahoma

And this is the east entrance:

East entrance to Route 66 pedestrian underpass in El Reno, Oklahoma

Three blocks later, we reached downtown El Reno.

Downtown El Reno, Oklahoma

Here we turned left (west) on Wade Street and went two blocks to Choctaw Street. This intersection is the epicenter of El Reno’s Route 66 sights! On the southeast corner is the former 1934 Jackson’s Conoco, now Lee Donut.

1934 Jackson's Conoco in El Reno, Oklahoma

On the northwest corner is the former 1933-1934 Avant Cities Service, now a rental center.

1933-1934 Avant Cities Service Station in El Reno, Oklahoma

If you look past the paint, you can see beautiful art deco details in the Avant Cities Service station.

Close-up of some of the art deco details of Avant Cities Service 

On the northeast corner is a great Route 66 sign.

Route 66 sign in El Reno

On the left is a map of Oklahoma, with plenty of padlocks attached by visitors.

Route 66 does a dogleg here, turning right (north) on Choctaw, then left (west) on Sunset Drive (Business I-40). On the right side of Sunset Drive is a mural and a 1950s gas station.

Mural on Sunset Drive in El Reno

On the left side of Sunset Drive, a chicken from the old Squawk & Skoot restaurant is still sticking out of a wall.

Squawk 'n' Skoot sign in El Reno (from waymarking.com)

Sunset Drive is Route 66, OK 66 and Business I-40. We continued west on Route 66 for about three miles. When Business I-40 bent southwest, we turned right onto E 1020 Road. This is the 1926 “alignment” of Route 66. (Signs for Fort Reno will tell you you’re on the right road.)

In about 3 or 4 miles, we turned right (north) on US 270 to continue on the 1926 alignment. (If you stay straight on OK 66, you’re on the alignment built in 1931-1934. In about 4 or 5 miles, US 270 reaches Calumet, Oklahoma, and turns left (northwest). About 11 miles past Calumet, it arrives in Geary, Oklahoma, as Southeast South Street.

We turned right (north) on Broadway. On the southeast corner of Broadway and Main is the Canadian River Historical Museum housed in the 1903 Gillespie Building. On the northeast corner of Broadway and Main is a Rock Island Railroad caboose and a “hoosegow”: Geary’s jail from 1893 to 1909.

1893 Hoosegow in Geary, Oklahoma

We turned right (east) on Main Street and went one block to Canadian Avenue. On the northeast corner of this intersection is a public water trough, used in the early 1900s.

Public Water Trough in Geary, Oklahoma

We headed back south on Broadway, which becomes US 281. This would take us back to the 1931-1934 “alignment” of Route 66 and one of Route 66’s iconic sights: the huge Pony Bridge over the South Canadian River.