After the big city feel of Tulsa, and then the industrial area that followed, Sapulpa, Oklahoma welcomes you back to what the old Route is all about: small town America.
Sapulpa has a street called Main Street, but you get the real “main street” feeling along Dewey Boulevard, which is also Route 66. Aside from clean sidewalks and businesses that are still open, Sapulpa’s most attractive features are…
… the newly repainted signs on the sides of brick buildings. The town has carefully restored these “ghost signs” to match their original beauty. From this sign, advertising hardware and buggies…
… to this one, for the City Drug Store and ice cream fountain, the restored wall signs are quite impressive, and give you an idea of what downtown Sapulpa would have looked like as much as 100 years ago.
Not all of Sapulpa’s old ghost signs have been repainted, which is good, too. (Notice the sign in the upstairs window, advertising a surgeon.)
Wander one block north of Dewey Street, and you’ll find even more old buildings and painted alleys.
Note: This trip was first published in 2008.
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