Permanent, Vision 2025–funded public art is officially on display along the Southwest Boulevard stretch of Route 66.
Three Indiana limestone monoliths each has its own theme celebrating Tulsa’s history during the Route 66 era.
"I was recently with the crew that will be on the soon-to-be launched USS Tulsa. They're coming to visit us, and they said, 'Where could we go where we could see Tulsa's history?' I think this is the first place we'll bring that crew," said City of Tulsa Economic Development Director Kathy Taylor.
City Councilor Jeannie Cue said the Howard Park sculptures represent another step in revitalizing Route 66.
"We still have a lot of things that are coming up at the Route 66 Village. We have a retro gas station, we have a depot coming ... some exciting things there at the 17th Street bridge," Cue said.
Route 66 #1, #2 and #3 depict scenes of transportation, industry, culture and Native Americans. The Cherokee Nation helped artist Patrick Sullivan discover his ancestry within the tribe while he worked. Sullivan offered his own Cherokee blessing of the sculptures.
"I want to thank Mother Earth and Father Sky and dedicate these sculptures to lovers of Route 66 everywhere in the hopes of a better future or us all," Sullivan said.
The $90,000 enhancement project was funded by the Vision package voters approved in 2003. It’s Sullivan's second work commissioned by the city. The other is a sculpture honoring major contributors to America’s roads, housed at the city’s traffic operations division.
