Sapulpa’s Route 66 Christmas Chute has announced it will not reopen for the 2025 season, opting to “push pause” in light of the City’s upcoming Dewey Street redesign.
“In 2025, The City of Sapulpa is scheduled to begin a massive streetscape redesign in downtown,” the Chute committee said in a statement posted to its website and Facebook Page. “Years in the making, the new streetscape on Dewey Avenue will transform the pedestrian experience of downtown Sapulpa. With this undertaking, the Christmas Chute Committee has decided the best way forward is to take a pause in 2025.”
Official numbers have yet to be released, but the Chute committee says that the 2024 holiday season was the best the Chute has had yet.
From November 14th to December 29th when it closed for the season, Sapulpa’s Route 66 Christmas Chute had nights with tens of thousands of visitors. “We are grateful for everyone who has discovered the magic occurring in Sapulpa, Oklahoma,” the statement said. “This year saw a record number of visitors to the Christmas Chute, including visitors from more than 40 states and over a dozen countries around the world!”
The Dewey Streetscape Redesign is part of the 2020 GO Bond and has been in the works for years as the City of Sapulpa worked through the process of gaining additional funding and getting approval from the State Historic Preservation Office. In November of 2023, the City announced the redesign would happen in 2025.
Although the Christmas Chute is planning a modified design to accommodate a new Dewey Street, “a lot of the design decisions for the chute cannot be made until the Streetscape project is closer to completion.”
As many Route 66 enthusiasts will know, 2026 is set to be a big year as the Centennial Anniversary of the Mother Road. The return of the Route 66 Christmas Chute to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the Route itself is bound to set high expectations, especially after taking a year off, but the committee says they’re taking the additional time to make sure the new Christmas Chute “will be the best iteration to date.”
“Have no fear, we will be back in 2026 to celebrate the Centennial Anniversary of Route 66 with the best Christmas Chute yet!”
For more information, visit route66christmaschute.com and stay updated on the Route 66 Christmas Chute Facebook Page.
