Road of Flight: The People and Places of Tulsa's Route 66 - Oklahoma Center for the Humanities
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Road of Flight: The People and Places of Tulsa’s Route 66

Road of Flight will be featured in the Zarrow Center gallery December 2-22, 2022.

From Dust Bowl migrants fleeing black blizzards to Baby Boomers gassing up to get their kicks, historic Route 66 was the road of flight for more than half a century of American motorists. Tulsa was central to that tale from the highway’s earliest planning stages to current efforts at revitalizing the historic route in time for its centennial. But as that anniversary approaches, we ask: What does Route 66 mean to Tulsans today?

This exhibit, generated by Media Studies students at the University of Tulsa, seeks to answer that question through photographs, interviews, audio, archival research, and observation. Together, these student reporters document the people and places of Tulsa’s legendary roadway from the motor courts of East 11th Street to the neon-lit restaurants and cafés west of campus to the iconic art deco businesses on the edge of downtown.