*The Gold Dome on 23rd St is a quirky highlight.*

Best things to do on Route 66 in OKlahoma City

Route 66 was inaugurated in 1926 to be the first all-weather paved road between Chicago and LA. Faster and wider interstates would later make Route 66 obsolete.

As old Route 66 nears its centennial, there’s no better place to be nostalgic than in Oklahoma, which has the most drivable miles on Route 66 of any state. It was also home to the father of the Mother Road — Cyrus Avery from Tulsa — now dubbed the “Capital of Route 66”.

These Route 66 highlights in Oklahoma City are listed from east to west. Let’s start in Arcadia before heading into OKC.

👍 = recommended stop

1. Ruins of Route 66 Gas Station

Native rock walls are all that’s left of this former Conoco gas stand. There’s a narrow parking area just before the site heading west. Heading east, it will be too dangerous to stop here unless you turn around and go west.

2. Original Route 66 Roadbed 👍

One mile west of the ruins, the road bends right and up a hill. You should turn left down to an original alignment with original paving featuring two different surfaces.

First you’ll drive over Portland Concrete from 1928. Half a mile later it gets bumpier as the surface turns to asphalt on a concrete base completed in 1929. Except for minor repairs, this section is unaltered and has been open to traffic for almost 100 years.

This one-mile diversion links back to the main road that in 1952 bypassed this original alignment. Just before you return to the main road, don’t miss a house on the right side that looks like a 1930 Phillips 66 station!

3. Washington IRving Campsite

A roadside plaque marks the vicinity where writer and historian Washington Irving passed with U.S. rangers in autumn of 1832. His observations of Indian Territory wildlife are detailed in his book “A Tour on the Prairies”. Irving joined the first military exploration west of Fort Gibson, the westernmost U.S. military outpost at the time and about 130 miles east of here.

4. Arcadia Round Barn 👍

This free roadside marvel is worth a look inside and out. In 1898, a barn-building farmer soaked young burr oak boards in the river and they dried in a curved shape. As believed at the time, such roundness would repel tornadoes. The barn was used for hay until the upstairs turned into a dance hall.

As decades passed, the structure fell into disrepair. When the roof collapsed in 1988, the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society was formed to restore the barn, which reopened in 1992.

The barn hosts live music on weekends, including Saturday mornings year-round and on the second Sunday afternoon of each month.

107 E Highway 66, Arcadia | arcadiaroundbarn.com

5. Pops 66 Soda Ranch

Pop into Pops for a refreshing soda or thick ice cream shake with cherry on top. There a dozen shake flavors and hundreds of sodas from around the world. You can’t miss the entrance with a 66-foot, light-up soda bottle. Its coiled design recalls vintage neon signs once lighting up the Mother Road.

660 W Highway 66, Arcadia | pops66.com

6. Route 66 Mural in Britton

OKC’s only Route 66-themed mural is in Britton, an up-and-coming neighborhood. A beltline of Route 66 was added along Britton Road in 1931 until the early 50s.

Combine a mural photo op with a tasty meal at El Coyote New Mexican Bar & Cantina (website | 925 W Britton Rd) or coffee at The Owl Court (Mon-Fri 6:30am to 1:30pm | 799 W Britton Rd) in a former auto court motel.

If you miss coffee, there’s beer at Madhopper Brewing (website | 923 W Britton Rd) or cocktails at Woodworks Distilling Co (website | 912 W Britton Rd) in the old Ritz theater. The mural is on the parking lot side of the Ritz building.

Named after Santa Fe railroad attorney Alexander Britton, this town was founded in the 1889 Land Run and later absorbed into OKC.

7. State capitol 👍

The only capitol in the world with working oil wells on its grounds, Oklahoma’s State Capitol offers free 45-minute tours of the art and Neo-Classical architecture. No reservations needed for groups of 6 or fewer. Guided tours start Mon-Fri at 11am and 1pm while self-guided tours are possible Mon-Sat.

Interestingly, the dome is a recent addition from 2002. There were not resources to complete it when construction finished in 1917 and the U.S. entered WWI.

2300 N Lincoln Blvd, OKC | arts.ok.gov/tours/

8. Cheever’s Cafe 👍

All that driving works up an appetite, so dig into an excellent meal at Cheever’s, know for chicken fried steak that does not disappoint.

This building once housed a flower shop run by Oklahoma Belle Cunningham, the first child born in OKC after the Land Run. She married L.L. Cheever and sold roses as a side hustle. When her husband lost his job in the Great Depression, flowers became their main business and their house was attached this Art Deco storefront.

2409 N Hudson Ave, OKC | cheeverscafe.com

9. Phillips 66 Station

Next to Cheever’s on Hudson Avenue at 23rd Street is an old filling station now home to Kllr Coffee. However, this is not a retail location so there’s nothing to do here, but you’ll walk by it to get to Tower Theatre.

10. Tower Theatre

This streamline Art Deco movie house built in 1937 retains its original neon sign and auditorium thanks to substantial refurbishment. The building is closed unless hosting events, but through the glass doors you can see a giant original film projector in the lobby.

425 NW 23rd St | towertheatreokc.com

11. Route 66 Robot

Across 23rd Street from Tower Theatre is a quirky photo op with an eight-foot robot welcoming humans to this Uptown district.

12. Gold Dome Bank Building

This Space Age dome catches the eye of motorists at the busy intersection of 23rd and Classen. The story begins in 1958 when it opens as Citizens State Bank. Hailed as the most modern, beautiful and convenient bank in the Southwest, the circular design made drive-through banking a breeze. There was also a walk-up teller window.

The geodesic structure allows for a 17,000-square-foot ground floor free of columns and interior walls to speed up banking transactions. Protected by a corrosion resistant coating, the gold dome was also built to weather winds of up to 125 mph.

What it couldn’t withstand were banking failures of the mid-80s. Citizens went bust in ’86 and its successor was ready to sell the building to Walgreens 14 years later. Community activism stopped that demolition and later thwarted a planned gas station.

This magically mod site is currently fenced off and we anxiously await its fate. For a more detailed timeline with historic photos, take a peek here.

1112 NW 23rd St at Classen Blvd

13. Milk Bottle Grocery 👍

This triangular island was a stop on the Belle Island streetcar line that diagonally crossed Classen Boulevard. This brick building that replaced the station stop dates to 1930 and is notable for its small, irregular proportions and the oversized advertisement above.

The milk bottle has been unrelated to the businesses here. The first tenant was a dry cleaner, followed by a real estate office, BBQ restaurant, fruit market and grocer. The towering dairy icon appeared in 1948 and is true to the shape of a milk bottle, but made of sheet metal and not glass. Today it advertises Oklahoma’s family-owned Braum’s ice cream parlor chain while a nail salon occupies the retail space.

On the east wall is the mural “Buffalo Goddess 2” depicting a Native American woman riding the state animal with the words “Oklahoma City Where the Thunder Rolls”. Artist Chris Presley painted this mural in 2019 over a faded mural of the same name.

2426 N Classen Blvd, OKC at 23rd St

14. Lake Overholser Truss BRidge 👍

Opened in 1925, this steel truss bridge still carries local traffic west from Oklahoma City into Yukon. Below, the North Canadian River empties into Lake Overholser, a municipal reservoir.

The bridge is nearly 750’ long and, unusually, mixes two types of trusses — taller Parker trusses in the middle that camelback pony trusses bookend. With an extra wide (at the time) 20-foot roadbed, the bridge exceeded state standards.

By the 50s, however, it could no longer sustain the growing volume of cars and trucks. A four-lane highway was built just to the north in 1958. It’s remarkable that this 100-year-old bridge continues to carry modern vehicles and makes for a unique way to depart Oklahoma City.

Thanks for reading our guide to Route 66 in OKC! Wishing you happy trails west.

🚙 Driving east to Tulsa? Our sister company has you covered with best things to do in Tulsa on Route 66.

Route 66 OKC