Walking under the Mother Road April 17, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in History.7 comments
While Emily and I were cruising an older alignment of Route 66 in Tulsa a few weekends ago, she noticed what appeared to be an entranceway to an underground pedestrian tunnel that goes under Admiral Place (aka 66) near Harvard Avenue.
Sure enough, it was. It was locked at the time we checked it, but it was obvious from the shiny padlock that the tunnel still was still in service.
The pedestrian tunnel on Admiral Place in Tulsa, near Harvard Avenue.
We’d passed by this area dozens of times, but never noticed this entranceway on Admiral, mostly because it tended to be overshadowed by the striking architecture of the nearby Crosstown Church of Christ.
The tunnel entrance near Crosstown Church of Christ.
Apparently other Route 66 researchers had overlooked this tunnel, also. An online search for it revealed nothing. Jim Ross, author of “Oklahoma Route 66,” told me he had been unaware of it, and he knows as much about Route 66 in the Sooner State as anyone.
These structures hearken back to an era when Route 66 was so choked with traffic, officials deemed it necessary to build the tunnels so pedestrians — especially schoolchildren — could cross the road safely. A number of Route 66 tunnels still exist in El Reno, Chelsea, Sayre and Oklahoma City in Oklahoma. Another was partially excavated a few years ago in Odell, Ill. I’ve been told there are more in the Los Angeles area.
And there’s another tunnel in Tulsa on the newer Route 66 alignment of 11th Street, near Yale Avenue. However, this tunnel was closed many years ago, and only traces are left. The tunnel on Admiral remains the only Route 66 pedestrian tunnel that remains in use.
The Admiral Place pedestrian tunnel remains in use, although it is locked on weekends.
I surmised the Admiral Place tunnel was built after Sequoyah Elementary School, just two blocks north, opened in 1927.
John Murphey, with the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, inspected the tunnel with us on a recent evening when it was open. After seeing bits of exposed rebar, the now-unused lighting fixtures, and the structure’s Art Deco touches, he said it almost certainly dated before 1940.
John Murphey examines exposed rebar on the Admiral Place pedestrian tunnel structure.
(The “cage” over the top of the tunnel, which prevents litter and people from jumping into it, was built some years afterward.)
But, as old as the tunnel is, evidence is lacking on whether it existed when Admiral Place was designated as Route 66 from 1926 to 1932. The City of Tulsa possesses no records on its construction. A preliminary search of newspaper archives from that period revealed nothing.
About the only possible direct evidence so far of the tunnel’s age came from Gary Howell at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. He wrote in an e-mail:
I found records of where the State built a Pedestrian Underpass on 11th Street when we constructed the new US 66 roadway in Tulsa. This Pedestrian Underpass was completed March 11, 1934. I also found that all known Pedestrian Underpasses the State have built in Tulsa was from the 1932 standards.
I have not found any records of the State building a pedestrian underpass under Admiral Place.
So, even if the tunnel was built by the state, it’s likely the construction began shortly before or after Route 66 was moved to 11th Street in Tulsa.
Or the tunnel was built in the late ’20s or early ’30s, and records about this are missing. Perhaps supporting data will turn up later.
But in the meantime, you can still get your kicks under Route 66 in Tulsa.
(Photos by Ron Warnick and Emily Priddy)
Missouri association co-founder dies April 16, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, People.add a comment
Thelma White, a founding member of the Route 66 Association of Missouri and a longtime owner of Whitehall Mercantile in the Route 66 hamlet of Halltown, Mo., died at age 83 on Tuesday in a nursing home in nearby Springfield, according to an obituary in the Springfield News-Leader.
White, an Indiana native, was a representative for Ozark Christian College, the wife of a minister, and helped establish the Show-Me Christian Children’s Home.
The Mother Road portion of her life is described below from the obituary:
Retiring from education in 1985 gave her more time to devote to Whitehall Mercantile, the antiques and collectibles store on Route 66 in Halltown, Mo., which she and Jerry owned. This eventually led to her interest in Route 66 and she became a founding member of the Route 66 Association of Missouri. People from all over the world stopped in the shop for a chance to visit with “the godmother of road,” as she was named in one newspaper article. Being a good listener, having a kind heart and displaying a great love for Jesus, her Savior, are some of the qualities that drew so many people to Thelma. Her family and friends will miss her daily presence.
Whitehall Mercantile’s website contains more information about her life regarding the Mother Road:
A native of Indiana, Thelma came to Missouri in 1949 to attend Ozark Bible College in Joplin. There she met and married Jerry White who grew up on a farm a few miles south of Halltown. Both being educators, they taught in several schools around the state through the years. Their lives came full circle in 1974 when they moved to the farm where Jerry was born and raised.
From 1985 to 2005 Thelma ran the store and also accompanied Jerry on buying trips. In 2006 she was ready to retire and began cutting back her hours. Then in December 2007, she suffered a stroke and was no longer able to run Whitehall Mercantile. Jerry took over the operation of the store with the help of one part-time worker, Dixie Dameron.
She wasn’t a roadie at first, but store visitors sparked her interest in the Main Street of America:
“I had a lot of people coming in and asking questions about Route 66. I wasn’t too sure of the answers so I started asking my own questions. As I learned the answers, I began formulating a network of people and I funneled information about Route 66 to people in California, New Mexico, Illinois and Arizona.”
Thelma White co-founded the Route 66 Association of Missouri in 1990 with Jim Powell. White even wrote a booklet, “Personalities of Route 66,” which is still available at the store.
Guy Randall, in his Road Wanderer site, told about his encounter with Whitehall Mercantile and Thelma a few years ago:
Within the walls of this old building, first built in 1900 and used as a grocery store I met Thelma White. Thelma is a road legend in her own right and has been involved with Route 66 for many years. What a delightful lady she is too. In her antique shop there’s so much to see I was convinced that it would take days to see it all. Treasures lined shelves and were displayed in glass cases. Objects from Route 66, antiques from rural America, and curios of all sorts where piled high, some reaching the old tin ceiling of this historic old building. But of course the real treasure here is Thelma herself.
We stood talking about Route 66 and the history of Halltown and I new it was times like these that made my explorations along the Mother Road so special. This was Route 66 in all its glory. Simple times like this, enjoying the company of strangers soon to be friends, drawn together by a common interest is what traveling the forgotten stretches of highways like Route 66 is all about. An experience like this is sorely missing from the fast paced world of the Interstates.
The funeral for Thelma White will be at 1 p.m. Saturday in Halltown Christian Church. She is survived by her husband, a daughter, a sister and a number of other relatives.
Memorials can be made to Alpha Christian Children’s Home, P.O. Box 727, Perry KS 66073-0727.
(Hat tip to Jeff “Roadologist” Meyer)
Two Guns as a movie location April 16, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies, Television, Towns.2 comments
Billy and Anais Yeager spent some months in the Route 66 ghost town of Two Guns, Ariz., to film footage for their forthcoming independent film, “Jesus of Malibu.”
Here’s an edited section of a report by the Bravo Television about the Yeagers’ experience in Two Guns. (Warning: one brief scene near the end of the segment contains adult language.)
Billy Yeager told me by e-mail that he and his wife are planning to soon head to the Sundance Film Festival to market the movie.
“We have filmed now for over 1 year, in over 15 states, so many thousand of miles, I had to replace a 4 truck tires and even this week 2 new RV Trailer tires,” he wrote. They’re now in Chappell, Neb.
As this story from a year ago indicates, Billy Yeager comes across as a bit of an eccentric. But I’m unwilling to write him off as a crackpot until I see his finished film. Plenty of other film directors — Werner Herzog comes to mind — have skirted on the edges of madness and produced great, otherworldly movies. Go see “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” or “Baraka,” and you’ll understand.
A medley from the King April 16, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, Television.1 comment so far
Here’s something I’d never seen before … Nat King Cole performing a medley of five of his hits, including “Route 66.”
Farewell to a friend April 15, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, People, Restaurants.1 comment so far
Tony Paglia paid a visit to the Snow Cap Drive-In on Route 66 in Seligman, Ariz., the day after its longtime owner, Juan Delgadillo, died on June 2, 2004. Here’s a video Paglia made in tribute:
This is what he says about the video:
We visited the Snow Cap the day after its proprietor, Juan Delgadillo, passed away. He ran the place since 1953 and we had visited and enjoyed his prankster antics on our honeymoon in the summer of 1999.
The music is “Lullaby for DeVon Smith” by Paglia’s music project, The Orchid Pool. An Mp3 of the song is available here.
The Snow Cap lives on … Delgadillo’s family has taken up the mantle of serving up good food and lots of laughs.
New attraction opening near Oatman April 14, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Businesses, Towns.add a comment
A new Western-themed attraction is being built near Oatman, Ariz., called Route 66 Ranch, according to an article in the Mohave Daily News.
It’s the brainchild of Tom and Jennifer McCarthy, who also own the Oatman Stables horseback-riding business.
Plans for the Route 66 Ranch include 10 shops each with a different theme, a petting zoo and food and beverage vendors. McCarthy said each shop will have Western decor and facade and will be limited to what they can sell or make. For example, there would only be one candle maker or one blacksmith. [...]
McCarthy said while not all shop owners in Oatman have supported the idea, she wants to reassure them that the Route 66 Ranch is not trying to compete with Oatman. She said she believes many of the attractions the Route 66 Ranch will offer will be complementary to the events in Oatman.
“We would like to offer stagecoach rides in and out of town several times per day,” she said. “That way, instead of spending a couple of hours, maybe visitors will want to spend half a day here.”
At the Route 66 Ranch, employees will be in period-themed costumes and the attractions will be historically accurate.
A beer and wine license has been approved for the ranch’s 12 acres, although McCarthy said only about eight acres will be built on at the beginning. She said the entire property received the license in hopes that the ranch will be able to accommodate large parties that could spread out across the property.
An artist’s rendering of the future Route 66 Ranch can be seen here. The ranch is two miles west of Oatman on 66.
In fact, Route 66 Ranch is hosting a Bikers vs. Bulls event during the Laughlin (Nev.) River Run in a couple of weeks, where a biker wins a prize if one tames a bull the best. The ranch also soon will be hosting a Cinco de Mayo rodeo for kids.
Oatman itself attracts nearly a half-million visitors a year. So it makes sense that someone else would try to draw some of those tourists, also, with a related business. I agree that the McCarthys’ effort, if it is built as planned, would complement Oatman, not compete against it.
Bicycle ride set on Illinois Route 66 April 13, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in bicycling, Events.1 comment so far
A Historic Route 66 Recreational Trail Ride has been scheduled for Saturday, May 8, from Litchfield, Ill., to Staunton, Ill.
John Fritsche, who is an advocate for an expanded bicycle trail on Route 66 in Illinois, described the event as “a leisurely tour” of about four hours in the morning. It’s a distance of about 15 miles. He said:
In addition to traveling the roadway, you will pass many Historic sites that made this road an American Icon, then and now. The purpose of this ride is to promote the development of a dedicated recreational trail that would utilize the long abandoned and unused northbound lane of the Historic Route 66 “Mother Road”. Your support of a dedicated trail will make it possible that this pathway can be appreciated for generations to come.
The ride begins from Niehaus Cycle Sales in Litchfield at 8 a.m., with registration at 7 a.m. that day at the site.
Registration also is encouraged here before the event. It’s free and open to all ages. Helmets are required.