Eighty-four new or restored neon signs now light Tulsa’s 28-mile stretch of Route 66 after the city’s Route 66 Commission launched a matching grant for businesses.
The program aimed to revive the highway’s historic look and pull in more visitors, using neon as the road’s original form of advertising for motels, restaurants and other stops.
Tulsa businesses along the decommissioned route had struggled for years, but shop owners say the new signs are drawing nighttime crowds and photo-taking visitors.
Route 66 turns 100 as Tulsa pushes to preserve its legacy into the next century; the commission’s next proposal would help businesses restore building facades.
As its centennial dawns, can Route 66's revival balance nostalgic tourism with its complex and often painful histories?
Beyond shiny neon, will the centennial economically uplift the diverse communities living along the historic route?