The city of Tulsa recently issued a request for a proposal from prospective contractors to place historical markers or plaques near Route 66 sites.
The request by the city is here; the proposal must be submitted by June 14.
In summary, the RFP says:
The City of Tulsa seeking professionally qualified individuals and firms to design historical markers along Route 66. This process will include writing tourist oriented narratives from previously completed technical research, incorporating complementary images into the narratives, and designing aesthetically pleasing pedestrian oriented signs appropriate for outdoor installation.
The RFP specifies 25 signs will be placed along Route 66 in Tulsa County. It cited the Campbell Hotel and the Avis Rent-a-Car facility in downtown, formerly a Phillips 66 cottage-style gas station as examples.
The markers will be part of Tulsa County’s Vision 2025 sales-tax initiative, which devoted a fraction of the funds to Route 66.
KOTV in Tulsa did a report about the RFP, where a local roadie, Rhys Martin, explained why the historic markers might be important from a tourism angle:
“One of the biggest questions I get from travelers that are coming through is, ‘Why should I stop in Tulsa?’ They don’t know much about it,” he said. “When there’s a historic marker, people will stop and look at it and learn about the city and its history.”
The reporter also talked to Ann’s Bakery owner Shannon Harris, whose business has been on Route 66 alignment of Admiral Place since 1938. She thinks such markers also would help draw tourists to that more-obscure stretch of Route 66 in Tulsa.
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(Image of the historic Meadow Gold neon sign in Tulsa)