For 2,448 miles, Route 66 winds its way from Chicago to the Pacific Coast, cutting through flatlands, canyon country, and everything in between. But if there’s a single stretch of the Mother Road where the revival is burning the brightest right now, it’s a few short blocks of Tulsa’s 11th Street — the Meadow Gold District.
Named for the towering vintage neon sign that dominates the neighborhood skyline, this pocket of Tulsa, Oklahoma has transformed from a row of shuttered storefronts into one of the most spirited commercial corridors on all of Route 66. What makes it work isn’t a developer’s master plan. It’s a collection of passionate locals who decided to build something worth stopping for.
The Meadow Gold Sign and the District It Created
The neighborhood’s namesake is hard to miss. The Meadow Gold sign — a restored neon landmark that originally went up in 1934 — glows over 11th Street as one of Tulsa’s most recognizable icons. When it was threatened with demolition in the early 2000s, a preservation effort saved it. That rescue proved to be a turning point, anchoring the identity of a neighborhood that would eventually attract artists, restaurateurs, and Route 66 devotees from across the country.
Today that sign presides over a district that has earned Tulsa its designation as the official Capital of Route 66 — a title that feels fully warranted the moment you pull onto 11th Street and see what’s been built here.
The Land of the Giants
You’ll see them before you see anything else. Towering over the rooflines of 11th Street, a growing collection of fiberglass giants stands watch over the Meadow Gold District — the kind of larger-than-life roadside figures that defined mid-century American highway culture.
It all started with one woman and one space cowboy.
Mary Beth Babcock opened Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios in 2018, and not long after planted a 21-foot fiberglass space cowboy named Buck Atom outside her shop. The reaction was electric. In June 2024, a 19-foot space cowgirl named Stella Atom joined him, followed that August by Meadow Gold Mack the Friendly Lumberjack — a 20-foot original 1960s fiberglass figure that stood in Illinois for decades before finding a new home on Route 66. Cowboy Bob, a 21-foot guitar-strumming cowboy, arrived in the fall of 2025, and Rosie the Riveter — modeled after Naomi Parker Fraley, the native Tulsan who inspired the iconic “We Can Do It!” poster — became the fifth giant in October 2025.
Every figure stands between 19 and 21 feet tall, each one the vision of Babcock and created by Mark Cline of Enchanted Castle Studios. Together, they form what locals have come to call the Land of the Giants — a corridor of mid-century Americana that gives drivers a reason to slow down, pull over, and stay awhile. The fundraising effort behind them says a lot about this community: Babcock sold miniature sculptures and commemorative bricks, and even Taylor Hanson of the band Hanson contributed to help bring Stella Atom to life.
Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios
Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66 is located inside a repurposed classic 1950s PEMCO gas station at 1347 E. 11th St. The shop is packed with Route 66 memorabilia, graphic prints, logoed tees, and bobblehead versions of the giant standing outside — the kind of place where you come in for one souvenir and leave with five. Babcock’s vision stretches well beyond retail; she’s the driving creative force behind the entire Land of the Giants project, and Buck Atom’s is where it all began.
66 Collective
The 66 Collective is a group of shops housed in the historic Hardesty Press Building on Route 66 in Tulsa, featuring several local businesses and murals on the exterior. Cowboy Bob stands sentry right outside. Inside, you’ll find Buck’s Vintage — offering cowboy boots, bolo ties, pearl snaps, and belt buckles — alongside other independent retailers who’ve made this revitalized building one of the more interesting stops in the district. The shelves are stocked with embroidered bolo ties and Route 66-themed goods. It’s the kind of collective that feels organic rather than curated — because it is.
Decopolis
At 1401 E. 11th St., Decopolis offers a Tulsa Visitor Center and a mini Art Deco Museum as part of its Route 66 location, with free admission and an interior Art Deco-themed town square featuring artifacts from Tulsa’s Jazz Age buildings. Owner William Franklin’s obsession with Tulsa’s Art Deco heritage has produced something genuinely unlike anything else on the Mother Road. Alongside the museum, you’ll find Oklahoma and Route 66 souvenirs, local art prints, and rotating events including painting parties and book club gatherings. Decopolis also expanded with a second Route 66 location featuring the TulsaRama Ice Cream Parlor, the FableRealm Bookstore, and William’s Tulsey Town Art Gallery — a full afternoon’s worth of wandering spread across two stops on the same stretch of 11th Street.
The Sky Gallery
Right in the heart of the district, The Sky Gallery brings together Oklahoma artists and quality craftspeople working in wood, ceramic, glass, jewelry, painting, photography, and many other mediums. Owned by Tulsa artist Michael Benton and his wife Janet, the gallery got its name from a skylight in the building — and if you’re one of those visitors who actually looks up at the ceiling, you’ll see it’s been painted to look like the open sky above. It’s a fitting touch for a space dedicated to local creative talent. The Sky Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
Red Light Chicken
Red Light Chicken serves up fried chicken, crispy chicken sandwiches, and southern comfort food from its location in the heart of the Meadow Gold District at 1401 E. 11th St. A concept from the McNellie’s Group, Red Light Chicken relocated from downtown Tulsa to Route 66 — and it’s a natural fit. You order from a vintage Shasta trailer, and the menu is straightforward in the best possible way: bone-in fried chicken in regular or spicy, honey butter rolls, mac and cheese, green beans, and coleslaw. Bring an appetite. This is the kind of meal that fuels a road trip.
Mother Road Market
At the corner of 11th and Lewis, the Mother Road Market anchors the western edge of the district with something genuinely rare: Oklahoma’s only nonprofit food hall. Opened in 2018 inside the historic 1939 Scrivner-Stevens Co. Grocery building, it’s been named Best Food Hall by USA Today’s 10Best three years running and has helped launch more than 300 local food entrepreneurs through its Kitchen 66 incubator program. The ever-rotating vendor lineup spans hot chicken, tacos, burgers, sushi, soul food, brunch, ice cream, and more — plus a full bar, a Route 66-themed mini golf course, live music on the back patio, and sunset views of the Tulsa skyline.
Ike’s Chili
Some things on Route 66 don’t need a revival because they never went anywhere. Ike’s Chili has been serving Tulsa since 1908, with a recipe passed down through four generations — and Will Rogers was said to stop in for a bowl every time he was in town. Now located at 1503 E. 11th St., Ike’s is the oldest restaurant in Oklahoma, and it earns that title with every bowl. The signature “three way” piles spaghetti high with beefy chili and tops it with beans — pure comfort food, the kind of no-nonsense meal that was built for the long road ahead. One year younger than the state of Oklahoma itself, Ike’s Chili is living proof that some recipes don’t need improving.
A District Worth the Detour
The Meadow Gold District rewards the kind of traveler who’s willing to slow down. There’s no single headliner here — it’s the accumulation of things that makes it work. The silhouettes of five giants against an Oklahoma sky. The warm glow of restored neon after dark. Chili that’s been on the menu since before Route 66 existed. Local art that you can’t find anywhere else. A converted printing press building full of vendors who actually care about what they’re selling.
With Route 66’s centennial falling in 2026, Tulsa’s stretch of the Mother Road is drawing more attention than ever. The Meadow Gold District has earned every bit of it.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Meadow Gold District
Where is the Meadow Gold District in Tulsa?
The district runs along E. 11th Street — Historic Route 66 — in Tulsa, primarily between Lewis Avenue and Peoria Avenue.
What is the Land of the Giants?
The Land of the Giants refers to a growing collection of oversized fiberglass statues installed along 11th Street in the Meadow Gold District. The figures include Buck Atom, Stella Atom, Meadow Gold Mack, Cowboy Bob, and Rosie the Riveter — all standing between 19 and 21 feet tall.
Is there parking in the Meadow Gold District?
Street parking is available along 11th Street, and several businesses have lots. Ike’s Chili has parking in the rear. The area is very manageable on foot once you’ve parked.
Is the Meadow Gold District free to visit?
Walking the district and seeing the Land of the Giants statues costs nothing. Decopolis’s mini Art Deco Museum is also free to enter, with donations welcome. Shopping, dining, and gallery purchases are obviously up to you.
