City officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday to mark the completion of the Route 66 Village Train Depot museum and events center in southwest Tulsa.
According to the Tulsa World, the $3 million project was funded by voter-approved Vision Tulsa sales tax.
“These things don’t happen by accident,” said Mayor G.T. Bynum, speaking to the crowd of several dozen who attended the ceremony. “They happen because there are people in this community who love Tulsa, who love Route 66, who love west Tulsa and want people who are traveling from all around the world to drive Route 66 to spend a lot of time and money in west Tulsa.”
As an event site, the 5,000-square-foot facility offers meeting rooms and a full commercial kitchen.
The depot is a replica of one built-in Tulsa’s Red Fork neighborhood in 1883.
More from Friday’s event:
A member of the Tulsa Route 66 Commission told the newspaper she was hopeful rental of the depot would be popular for local fundraisers, weddings, business seminars and meetings.
Nearby Webster High School already has contacted the operators about holding a dance there.
Route 66 Village also is home to the Frisco Meteor locomotive, antique train cars, a huge Route 66 shield, a commemorative replica of an oil derrick and the Route 66 Village Station, a visitor center designed as a vintage Phillips 66 gas station.
(Image of the Route 66 Village Train Depot via the City of Tulsa)