Sign stolen from Owl Court motel in Oklahoma City

An old sign at the historic but long-closed Owl Court motel in Oklahoma City was stolen between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.

Owner John Dunning, who bought the property at 742 W. Britton Road about 12 years ago with plans to eventually restore it, said the sign probably is worth $800 to $1,000, he told KWTV.

“It is a late 1930’s Coca Cola advertising sign. It’s about six feet long, about four foot wide. It says, ‘Drink Coca Cola’ in the famous Coca Cola script,” Dunning told News 9.

And above the script the tin sign says ‘Owl Courts.’

Oklahoma City Police have been notified about the theft.

Here’s a photo of the main Owl Court building with the sign still on it:

Here’s the television station’s report:

News9.com – Oklahoma City, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports |

According to the National Park Service, the Owl Court was built in the early 1930s to serve travelers on the new 1931 Route 66 bybass around Oklahoma City. The Owl Court complex consisted of a gas station, motel, and cafe until the 1970s.

Dunning received a $4,776 cost-share grant in 2004 from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program to restore the motel’s roof.

Dunning also owns the nearby Western Trail Trading Post antique shop, which has plenty of Route 66 artifacts, including an old Western Trail neon sign.

(Hat tip to Ken Turmel; images of Owl Court sign via Facebook; image of Owl Court of Oklahoma City by Corry Young via Flickr)