The director of the Will Rogers Memorial Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma, said the facility likely would close in January 2026 for a full remodeling project, then reopen by that spring.
Museum director Tad Jones gave the Claremore Progress newspaper some details:
Jones, who has been museum director since 2014, said plans to renovate every exhibit as part of the “World Citizen Experience” are in development. The highlights include an artificial intelligence-powered hologram of Will Rogers, a 3,000 square foot ballroom overlooking town, new exhibits in the basement and a space for rotating exhibits.
Jones said the memorial would likely close in January 2026 with a goal of opening with all renovations complete by that March.
Route 66 — also dedicated as the “Will Rogers Highway” in 1936 and 1952 as noted on some plaques along the historic road — turns 100 in 2026. Jones said re-opening then would let the museum and Claremore capture the rush of travelers making their pilgrimage along the Mother Road.
More about the Will Rogers hologram:
The AI Will Rogers, Jones said, will make the museum “cutting-edge.” He said there are “34 books that we’re gonna put into his brain.” The books, including biographies and Rogers’ own writings, will train the model to speak and act like him. […]
The Will Rogers AI model is being designed by Narrator Inc. Jones said Ari Palitz, the company’s founder, was part of the team that designed the Sam Walton hologram at the Walmart Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.
The state government is providing $7 million in municipal bonds for the project. The Will Rogers Foundation has raised about $3 million towards its goal of $10 million.
The renovations and expansion would be the first since the museum opened in 1938.
The museum often is a side trip for many Route 66 travelers, as it sits only a mile north of the Mother Road.
The witty Rogers, often cited as Oklahoma’s most famous son, was the No. 1 star in Hollywood, on radio and in newspapers at the time of his death during a plane crash in Alaska in 1935.
He was so popular, he probably would have won in a landslide if he’d run for president. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of sites in Oklahoma bear his name.
Rogers also promoted U.S. 66, including at the Bunion Derby footrace in 1928.
U.S. 66 began to be called the Will Rogers Highway during the 1940s. A well-known monument dedicating the Will Rogers Highway was installed in Santa Monica, California, near the Santa Monica Pier, in 1952.
(Hat tip to the Oklahoma Route 66 Association; image of the Will Rogers Memorial Museum by J. Stephen Conn via Flickr)