Now a former National Guard armory in Chandler, Oklahoma, built by the WPA in 1937 during the Great Depression and abandoned when the Guard built a new one in the 1970s, has been rescued from destruction to tell the story of route 66.
The Chandler Route 66 Interpretive Center, at 400 East Route 66, presents exhibits featuring virtual hotel rooms, vintage billboards, a gift shop, and period video viewed from the seats of a 1965 Ford Mustang.
It currently welcomes 700 to 800 visitors a month, with approximately 20% international travelers. The building’s transition from National Guard armory to decaying building on the verge of dismantling to Route 66 tourist destination is the town's preservation success story.
Located in the middle of Oklahoma, Chandler (pop. about 3,000) contains a number of attractions for fans of The Mother Road. You’ll find the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Museum, a county museum of pioneer history, a cottage-style Phillips 66 gas station, the colorful PJ's Bar-B-Que, and one of the remaining painted barns advertising Meramac Caverns.
