Sapulpa officially opened its long-anticipated Route 66 Park at the Historic Rock Creek Bridge on Friday, drawing a strong crowd and marking a major milestone in the city’s growing presence along the historic highway.
City officials, residents and visitors gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the new park, which sits along Route 66 at the historic “Bridge No. 18” on Ozark Trail and is designed to attract both locals and travelers passing through town.
During his address to the crowd, Mayor Craig Henderson said, “The folks who live on the coast used to call Oklahoma a ‘flyover state.’ For some folks, the only time they ever saw Oklahoma was when they were flying over it to get to the east or west coast.”
“In much the same way, back in about 2010, we used to call Sapulpa a ‘drive-thru city’; people drove through it, but they didn’t stop or stick around,” he said. “I’m very proud to be able to say this park is another example of everything Sapulpa has achieved over the last several years, and that we are no longer a place on the way to somewhere else, but we are a place to stop, a place to shop, and visit.”
Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell said the new park would be a place for people around the world to meet and find something that connects them.
“With all that’s happening in the world today, this a place where people from two different countries, two different cultures, they can meet each other and have that conversation: someone from Sapulpa and Germany, or from Wellston and Japan,” he said.
The park includes parking and seating, and a canopy that supposedly has an audio feature similar to the “Center of the Universe” in Tulsa, where you can stand and speak and hear your voice echo back to you.
Among the most unique features is the newly introduced “Signpost Park,” an interactive installation that invites visitors to leave their mark by attaching personalized signs, license plates, or markers to a series of wooden posts that look like shortened telephone poles.
“It’s really about creating a place where people from all over can connect to Sapulpa,” said Communications Coordinator Lucy Lawson. “If you travel Route 66, you’ll see opportunities like this in different places. We wanted something people could be part of.”
The concept encourages visitors to bring or create a sign representing where they’re from—whether it’s a hometown, state, or even another country—and attach it to one of the posts.
Lawson said the city is also working to make participation possible for travelers who may not arrive prepared.
“We are going to go ahead and put some different signs out there—some blank, some with different countries or states—so people can still leave their mark,” she said.
Local businesses are also getting involved. For now, visitors looking to purchase signs are being directed to Gasoline Alley (24 N Main), where custom designs are available upon request.
The park is already drawing out-of-town attention. Within the first hour of opening, a couple traveling from New York stopped by, becoming among the first visitors from outside the area.
The ceremony also included recognition of local State Representative Mark Lawson, whose work with the Route 66 Centennial Commission made the funding for all the new attractions along the Mother Road in Oklahoma possible. Mark Lawson is a fifth-generation Sapulpan and was the first one to attach a sign to the new signpost park.
As Sapulpa continues positioning itself as a destination along Route 66, Lawson said the interactive nature of the park sets it apart.
“We’re going to fill all those posts with arrows and signs and license plates,” she said. “It’s a way to commemorate travelers visiting Sapulpa.”