TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Tulsa officials have announced a $19.5 million center aimed at enticing travelers along the historic Route 66.
Plans were announced Wednesday to build the Route 66 Experience along the Arkansas River just outside of downtown Tulsa, the Tulsa World (https://bit.ly/1Bec68Z ) reported. Construction is expected to start next year on the facility that’s set to open in 2019.
The Route 66 Experience is planned to feature $4 million worth of interactive exhibits. It will include restaurants, retail space, an event center and authentic soda fountain. The top level of the parking garage is planned to double as a drive-in theater with an outdoor video screen.
The idea is to “keep people on the road” and not just explain the history of Route 66, said Michael Wallis, a Tulsa historian who wrote a book called, “Route 66: The Mother Road.” Wallis also is known as the voice of the sheriff in the Pixar movie “Cars.”
Cyrus Avery II is part of Wallis’ nonprofit Route 66 Alliance, which is raising funds for the project. When the facility opens, Avery said Tulsa will become “the premier destination on Route 66.”
Roughly 85 percent of Route 66 still exists. It stretches 2,400 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica, California.
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Information from: Tulsa World, https://www.tulsaworld.com
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