Historic Route 66 Oklahoma City: An Insider's Guide to 1940 and 1950 Era Buildings

Use our insider's guide for your Historic Route 66 road trip. In our previous insiders guide, we recommended an overnight stay in one of the vintage hotels in downtown Oklahoma City. In that guide, we also recommended a visit to the exciting Bricktown Entertainment District which is a restored warehouse district. Stores there sell Route 66 memorabilia and there are restored buildings, restaurants and clubs in that area. Check our guide for further information.You don't want to miss this $2 billion Renaissance area. We also promised to publish a tour of late 1940 and early 1950 era buildings in Oklahoma City. So get your road trip planner out. The tour starts now.

Historic Route 66 Era Buildings: Downtown Oklahoma City

We start this part of the historic route 66 tour in downtown Oklahoma City at the Centre Theater circa 1947 located at 415 Couch Drive. The Centre Theater is a preserved theater housed in the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. You can just walk into the museum to see the original box office, poster display cases and the Plexiglas staircase railings from the lobby. There is a slight chance that a docent would be available to give you a short tour if you ask. You can also contact the museum ahead of time to arrange a tour or ask for the movie schedule to attend a movie. The Museum Cafe is right by the theater and serves great French fusion food. The tomato bisque soup is wonderful.

Located at 100 S. E.K. Gaylord Boulevard, is the art deco Santa Fe Train Station. It pre-dates the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889 and was refurbished around 1938-1940. The Amtrak Flyer takes off from there to go to Fort Worth, Texas. The Depot is located right by Bricktown, has a museum and is available for events. In this area of town, look for old trolley tracks, train tracks and railroad bridges.

The headquarters for the chain of Sonic Drive-in Restaurants is located in Bricktown at 300 Johnny Bench Drive. The restaurants re-create the feel of the 1950's with carhops who sometimes wear roller skates. Their grilled chicken sandwich is good but their Frito chili pie is awesome. Their restaurants are scattered throughout Oklahoma City.

Downtown Oklahoma City has several restored 1900's buildings which we did not cover in this article. However, if they are of interest, add them to your tour. They all have an interesting history. Check here for a guide to some of them.

Historic Route 66 Era Buildings: Mid-Town Oklahoma City

Our tour now heads to an area dubbed as Mid-Town. On your way there, you will pass through 1950's era buildings currently undergoing restoration. Scroll down to see a photo that is exactly what you see just as you drive up to the main intersection of Mid-Town.

Look for The Grateful Bean Cafe circa 1921 on your left at 1030 N. Walker. It was Kaiser's Ice Cream until 1990. The Grateful Bean is a non-profit organization that employs people who want to improve their skills. Quite often, these are homeless people. However, you get great service from a very loving group of employees with great food. The milkshakes, malts and sundae recipes date back to the early 1900's. Seattle expresso's are also served. Great food served by restored employees in a restored restaurant make this a wonderful place to visit. Employees are more than willing to take your photo with the Mid-Town Plaza behind you in the background.

Across from The Grateful Bean is the restored Mid-Town Plaza with new businesses opening daily. It is a triangular building built in 1926. Just East of the Plaza is the Sieber Hotel at 12th and Hudson. It is the first "Apartment Hotel" in Oklahoma City and was built in 1928. The Sieber is restored and you can see its historic features in the lobby.

Behind the Plaza is one of the oldest restaurants in Mid-Town. It is the Boulevard Cafeteria which has been in business since around 1955 and serves wonderful home-made food. Another one of my all time favorite restaurants is the Cafe Do Brasil in a restored building. It's at 440 NW 11th in Mid-Town. The Prato Sao Paulo is a dish I order. It is chicken breast, tomatoes, cilantro and black beans. I usually also order Cafezinho which is a small shot of Brazilian coffee. Mid-Town has some of the best restaurants in Oklahoma City.

Across from the Plaza to the East is Brown's Bakery at 1100 N. Walker. It has been in business since 1946 and serves home-cooked treats. Their showcases are full of scrumptious bakery items.

Historic Route 66 Era Buildings: Classen Boulevard Oklahoma City

In 1922, Classen Boulevard came through Mid-Town and continued North. It started out as a trolley line that became what was called a "free way" in 1947. We follow this route through Oklahoma City in our next article to view unique buildings built in the early 1950's. Our next historic route 66 insider's guide picks up at Classen Boulevard and 23rd street where several 1950 era buildings are still in business. This is now an Asian district with an atmosphere all its own.

Sources:
Author's Own Knowledge
http://www.dougloudenback.com/