Vinita Oklahoma on Route 66

 

Vinita, Oklahoma (founded 1870) is the county seat of Craig County, OK and has almost 5,200 people living there.

On the western edge of Vinita is this old Phillips gull wing gas station, named after the angled canopy over the gas pumps. The building has been restored and is a visitor information center.  When I was there it was being manned by Jeff Lair, he brought a restored car that had been his father's.

Relax Inn motel is a great place to be relaxin'. Or at least, I'd expect it to be. It was formerly the Motel Vinita. It, like many motels in Vinita looks well cared for. 

Quite close to the Relax Inn is the Route 66 Inn at Vinita, a U-shaped building with parking out front and a fenced-off grassy play area.

On the right is an abandoned service station. The office portion of it is gray painted stone and then there are two service bays next to the office. Older photos show a canopy in front of the office which would have been over the gas pumps. 

One side of the street in downtown. Prominent is the Center Theater, which is still open and showing movies.  Sheep Detectives, Mortal Kombat 2, and Mandalorian and Grogu were playing when I was in town.

 The other side of the main street with a number of commercial buildings, all occupied with local businesses.

 Clantons Cafe is a small restaurant with a big "EAT" sign. It opened in 1927 and serves Southern cuisine.

 McKisick Jewelers started in 1939, but is no longer operating. The two-story building is in pretty rough shape. The roof is collapsed and you can see the sky through the upstairs windows.

Vinita Inn is a small L-shaped motel which has both a one-story and two-story section. It doesn't look open, but it is being maintained. Route 66 is on the left. 

I've never heard of two railroad tracks crossing at a 90 degree angle (except model railroads), it doesn't sound safe to me.  Here in Vinita there is one. I got a picture looking down the tracks with a train going down the perpendicular tracks.

 This is my first post about Route 66 in Oklahoma, but I've also been down the route in Arizona and California. You can see all my Route 66 posts here.