The Tulsa Route 66 Commission soon will begin its fledgling neon-sign program with $40,000 in the bank for starters.
According to Public Radio Tulsa, the city recently gave approval for the grant program to begin along Route 66:
“It’ll be up to a dollar-for-dollar match. Whoever is creating this sign, the applicant is going to have to have it professionally done, and they’ll be able to get reimbursed after the sign is completed and installed,” said commission member Amanda DeCort.
Another $40,000 should kick in with the new fiscal year on July 1.
“And maybe we can find some other pots of money to add more funds to the program if it turns out to be a winner, which I think it will be,” DeCort said.
So the commission is looking at doling out at least $80,000 in neon-sign grants in less than six months.
The cost-share grants can be used to make new neon signs or rehabilitate old ones. Businesses on or near the 11th Street and Admiral Place alignments of Route 66 can apply for one, along with the Southwest Boulevard alignment in the southwest part of the city.
The city soon will launch a website providing more information on the neon-sign grant program.
Businesses that have kept up their neon signs — El Rancho Grande, Desert Hills Motel and Tally’s Good Food Cafe — probably will avail themselves of the program for repairs. But other signs along Route 66 in Tulsa need more extensive work.
One of the first neon signs that came to mind is the Oasis Motel’s (pictured above) in 9303 E. 11th St. It’s been hanging in there for a few years but could use some TLC now.
Another one that comes to mind is the rusty Tulsa Brake & Clutch sign in the 1300 block of East 11th Street (assuming it’s still there) and Thelma’s Bar (ditto).
(Image of the Oasis Motel sign in Tulsa by Steve Walser via Flickr)
I’d like to see the stem restored on Oasis Motel’s banana.