A now mostly obscure in name Tulsa oilman, around the early 1900's realized there was a need for a direct cross country transit route to get petroleum products from point to point. http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/back0303.cfm
Route 66 was developed in company with the federal transportation authorities from the West Coast, through Oklahoma and then to the Northern United States.
Publicity fun and various antics were introduced to entice Americans to try the road as an excursion and adventure, rather than just be a transit route for fuel and goods. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG02/carney/kicks.html Consider cars, money and time for leisurely travel were not necessarily a common part of the average American household at the time.
Here's a link of things to do and see these days as marked by the State of Oklahoma Travel and Tourism http://www.travelok.com/cities-and-regions
Here's a walkumentary of photos of some of the red dirt red hot spots in Oklahoma City's re-emerging Uptown District, or Old Route 66 as it is called by many.
This transit crossroads center of the United States which is the center of Oklahoma City and the State of Oklahoma as well. It is a common question "Where is the ..... on Old Route 66?", that the locals are delighted to share. Uptown is approximately 20 blocks North of Downtown Oklahoma City.
Route 66 is 23rd, a crosstown street is flanked by multiple neighborhoods of interest on the National Register of Historic Places :
Paseo http://www.thepaseo.com/ and tagalong
Central Park http://www.kerrcenter.com/nwsltr/2005/summer2005/community_gardens.htm
Jefferson Park http://jeffersonparkok.org/
Heritage Hills http://www.heritagehills.org/hh/
Mesta Park http://www.mestapark.org/
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