Oklahoma Route 66 Museum
Clinton, Oklahoma
For almost 30 years this operated as the Museum of the Western Trails. A change in management in 1995 scrapped the Old West theme and replaced it with a newer Old West theme -- the Mother Road, Route 66. It was a smart move.
The museum pushes all the right nostalgia buttons, from its retro neon sign to a cherry-red '57 Chevy in the front bay window to a restored vintage diner out back. Inside, a walk along the "Main Street of America" gives visitors a chance to look at old cars and old souvenirs and displays about old Route 66 places that don't exist any more.
The Oklahoma Route 66 Museum is sometimes confused with the National Route 66 Museum, which is only 25 miles west on Route 66.
A half-million-dollar renovation in 2012 provided a technological update to the exhibits in the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, but its heart remains nostalgically pure.