EAST SIDE RT 66 MUSEUM

The RT66 museum in Clinton, OK has over 35,000 unique visitors a year and growing. If a smart business has a successful product they don't just applaud its success, they build on it and expand its potential. The West OK Co-Op has brought that idea to its think-tank meetings on the regular.

Oklahoma is home to the longest drivable stretch of Route 66 in the nation with 426 miles. Along it there are many quirky stops and sites. Clinton is proud to be home to one of those sites with a top notch museum. This lead the Co-Op to discuss what else could be offered in the community to drive tourism, in the vein of RT66.
It started with the idea of doing exactly opposite of what Clinton already has. This specifically fills the gap of what isn't already present. The Route 66 museum is in a magnificent building designed by Rand Elliot. So, proposed was that the new RT66 experience be outdoors. The current museum is open during the day, so additions could be available at night. The Rt66 museum is very educational and requires a lot of reading, so the new experience could be more abstract, artistic, and experiential.
Many meetings later and the group had progressed to a neon styled art experience spread from Exit 69 to the McClain Rogers park that could also purposefully escort visitors along the Historic East Clinton "Loop" to help commerce in shops, eateries & future hotel/motels.
A project like this can grow in stages and much of it can be very affordable with modern LED technology. The main need is great creative minds.
Not only is it a tool for attraction but the lighting and interaction with lookers after dark can produce safety and deter vandalism in once dark empty areas of the night.
The West OK Co-Op is very excited about the potential of expanding its Route 66 tourism.