The Wings of Freedom sober-living organization held a relighting ceremony Friday night for the repurposed, 66-foot-tall neon sign at the former Saratoga Motor Inn in Tulsa.
Ken Busby of the Route 66 Alliance in Tulsa was there to capture the moment in video:
Red Fork Depot in Tulsa also posted this image:
More from Cloudless Lens Photography:
Wings of Freedom erected the repurposed sign earlier this summer, but the neon tubing apparently was installed later.
Wings of Freedom acquired the Route 66 motel in 2020 to convert it into a transitional-living facility, called the Saratoga Sober Living Center.
The organization this spring received a $125,000 grant from the Oklahoma Route 66 Commission for remaking the sign.
The motel at 10115 E. 11th St. (aka Route 66) was known as the America’s Value Inn later in its lifespan, and its Googie sign was repurposed during the name change.
Route66Times.com reported the Saratoga, which opened in 1959, “was an 85-unit that advertised free TV and continuous hi-fi music.”
—