An art project called the Route 66 Christmas Tree Farm will be open to the public in early November in a long-vacant space in the Red Fork Historic District in southwest Tulsa.
The space will consist of hundreds of decorated artificial Christmas trees donated since January, plus a 1951 Ford Deluxe.
The project also will include a gift shop with Christmas-themed products by local artists and an outdoor community space with a stage for live music.
Even if you can’t see the Route 66 Christmas Tree Farm during the holidays, it will remain up year round.
The Route 66 Christmas Tree Farm is the brainchild of Josh Stout, who owns the Josh Stout Gallery across the street, plus Art Emporium 66 and The Sky Gallery, all in Tulsa.
“We were looking to add a little something for the holiday,” Stout said in a phone interview earlier this week, adding he was inspired by the annual Route 66 Twinkle Tour.
Stout said he put out a call early this year on social media that he’d take artificial Christmas trees for his project. He was expecting about 30 trees to be donated … 50 maximum.
Instead, Stout said he’s received over 500 trees from people all over the Sooner State, with new donations almost daily.
“People don’t want to throw these trees in the trash, and you can’t recycle them,” he explained. “People were hanging on to them. We still have trees coming.”
Stout also wanted to do something with the long-gutted and unused storefront at 4077 Southwest Blvd. (aka Route 66) he acquired in the Red Fork Historic District. He said a fire virtually destroyed the space in the 1970s. Through his research, Stout found it once housed Red Fork Salvage and several bars.
He said he held a specific vision for the space.
“Think of it as a life-size snow globe you can walk into,” he said. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”
Because the site has lockable gates in front of it, they allow visitors to see the Route 66 Christmas Tree Farm even when it’s non-holiday or non-peak hours.
He also said locals were happy that he plans to brighten the long-neglected space.
“There’s so much excitement around it,” he said. “They are excited about revitalizing this area, this space.”
Though the Route 66 Christmas Tree Farm will be up and running before Thanksgiving, Stout said he has set a lights-on ceremony for the space on Dec. 13 with a visit from Santa Claus and maybe his reindeer.
(Image of the beginnings of the Route 66 Christmas Tree Farm in Tulsa via its Facebook page)