Oklahoma City

We really enjoyed our visit to Oklahoma City. In addition to the Route 66 sights OKC is known for, we stumbled onto an amazing neighborhood full of beautiful historic homes.

We drove into Oklahoma City in late afternoon, so we started our visit by checking into the Skirvin Hilton at 1 Park Avenue.

1911 Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City

The Skirvin was built in 1911 and has been beautifully restored. We chose it because it’s within walking distance of both the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Bricktown.

And we indeed walked to Bricktown, a former warehouse district that now has restaurants and entertainment. We had a fun dinner at Bricktown Brewery at 1 North Oklahoma Avenue.

Sign at the Bricktown Brewery in Oklahoma City

The next morning we had a great breakfast in the beautiful Craftsman-style restaurant at the Skirvin.

Restaurant at the Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City

Check the tiles on the columns!

Unfortunately, it was raining, so we didn’t walk to the Oklahoma City National Memorial as we had planned. Instead, it was our first stop on a driving tour of Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City National Memorial

In the distance, you can see chairs representing everyone who died.

Mementoes left by memorial visitors

We then took North Hudson Avenue north to rejoin Route 66 (Northwest 23^rd Street)…and found ourselves driving through a neighborhood of magnificent mansions. We later learned that this part of Oklahoma City is called Heritage Hills. The homes here were largely built between 1905 and 1930. One of the ones that blew us away is the Hales Mansion at 1521 North Hudson Avenue.

1916 Hales Mansion in Oklahoma City (from JournalRecord.com)

The Hales Mansion was built in 1916 in Classical Revival style.

Another amazing mansion is the 1905 Overholser Mansion at 405 Northwest 15^th Street (on the northwest corner of the intersection of Northwest 15^th Street and North Hudson Avenue).

1905 Overholser Mansion in Oklahoma City (from Wikipedia)

On the northwest corner of the intersection of North Hudson Avenue and Northwest 23^rd Street (Route 66), we saw a former Phillips 66 cottage-style gas station at 401 Northwest 23^rd Street. It was built in 1935.

Former 1935 Phillips 66 gas station

We turned left (west) on Route 66. Just past the old Phillips 66 station is the 1937 Tower Theatre, with a great neon sign, at 425 Northwest 23^rd Street.

1937 Tower Theatre in Oklahoma City (from okcfox.com)

In about 6 or 7 blocks, we saw the Gold Dome Building on the right.

1958 Gold Dome Building in Oklahoma City

The Gold Dome Building was built in 1958 as a bank. It was surrounded by a chain link fence when we visited, so we couldn’t get close.

Just past the Gold Dome Building, we turned right (north) on North Classen Boulevard to stay on Route 66. In one block, on the right is the Milk Bottle Grocery at 2426 North Classen Boulevard.

1930 Milk Bottle Grocery in Oklahoma City

This tiny building was built as a grocery store in 1930. The milk bottle on top was added in 1946. Unlike most giant roadside structures, the milk bottle wasn’t built to advertise the grocery. Instead, it was rented out to local dairies for advertising, like a billboard. Over the years it was repainted to advertise whichever dairy was paying at the moment. These days it advertises Braum’s.

Oklahoma City has had many Route 66 “alignments” over the years. We didn’t try to follow any of them heading west. Instead, we continued north on North Classen Boulevard for another mile, then turned left (west) on Northwest 36^th Street. In about 3 or 4 miles, we turned right (north) on North Meridian Avenue. In a few blocks, we turned left (west) on Route 66 (OK 66). In about 4 miles, we turned left (south) on Overholser Drive. In a few hundred feet, we arrived at Lake Overholser Bridge in Bethany, Oklahoma.

1924-1925 Lake Overholser Bridge in Bethany, Oklahoma

Lake Overholser Bridge was built in 1924-1925, so it’s older than Route 66. It’s considered an especially beautiful bridge for the time. By the 1950s, the bridge was too small to accommodate Route 66 traffic, so Route 66 was rerouted to a new four-lane bridge just to the north.

After crossing Lake Overholser Bridge, we continued another half mile on Overholser Drive, then turned right (north) on North County Road to rejoin Route 66 (OK 66) and continue west to El Reno, Oklahoma.