BRISTOW, Okla. — Bristow’s historic Chrysler Tower is getting an upgrade thanks to a $700,000 Route 66 grant.
The goal that started five years ago is now coming to fruition for Linda Trigalet, a grant writer at the Bristow Historical Society.
The grant Linda secured will use the $700,000 to renovate the Chrysler Tower and move it to a newly created plaza for everyone to enjoy.
“We’re really excited to land this grant,” said Linda. “This is our third attempt in as many years. The school nearby will be able to use the area. The community is very excited about it and it’s just amazing to be able to preserve this piece of historic Route 66 transportation history.”
She hopes new tourists and those who live in Bristow will be able to recognize the significance of the famous road running through their town.
“Right up on Main Street, this 100 foot tower hopefully will help them understand the importance of Route 66. The mother road helped build this town because all the little family-owned shops that’s up and down our historic main street capitalized on that transportation.”
Joe Trigalet, the program manager at the Bristow Historical Society, said this renovation is going to change Bristow for the better.
“Linda and I went to a National Parks Service seminar seven years ago and they had a session in that seminar on endangered neon signs and we had taken a picture of that. We were going to show them and lo and behold, it was number three in the slide pack of signs that needed to be saved.”
Joe shared the history behind why the sign was created.
“This tower was raised as an advertising sign for the Beard Motor Company and it was raised the 1st of June of 1949.”
According to the Trigalets, this tower was known as Route 66’s largest free standing advertising sign for years.
“It’s been 75 years the tower has been there,” said Joe. “We’re going to save it and move it.”
Joe explained part of their plan for the tower once they move it to the corner of 9th and Main Street.
“The tower itself is pretty rusty, but the rust will be taken off. It will be painted to preserve it. Those letters are six feet high and they will come off individually and be restored and put back up. Then the neon will be put on the tower and then the ‘Plymouth” is the horizontal, so it will all be neon."
The Trigalets said they hope to start breaking down and moving the tower in the next few weeks.
Their goal is to be done with the renovations by the Route 66 centennial.
