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Hotel at Crybaby Hill to highlight Route 66

An artist's rendering of the Palmera Motor Court.
Screenshot
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Sharp Development
An artist's rendering of the Palmera Motor Court.

Tulsa visitors will soon be able to stay on the city’s stretch of Route 66 while enjoying Mother Road flair.

The city announced Thursday the construction of the Palmera Motor Court. The hotel by Sharp Development will include a restaurant, pool and poolside bar with vintage Route 66 signage, architecture and landscaping.

“One of the biggest deficits when it comes to Route 66 is either vintage accommodation or vintage-style accommodation, like what Sharp Development has proposed for the hill,” said Rhys Martin, president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association.

City designer Ellen Ray estimates the hotel will cost around $23.4 million. Up to $4.5 million of that will come from money left over from the city’s Project 2025 voter package.

Crybaby Hill is slated to eventually feature the hotel, plus a roadside attraction and an interactive experience telling the history of Route 66, according to a city news release.

Ray said the concerns of Tulsans who live on and around Crybaby Hill were taken into consideration in the hotel’s design.

“We heard all along from the neighborhood that even if it was going to be a hotel, that they would like there to be some options there that would be good for people in the neighborhood. So, ‘I want somewhere that I can walk and get a glass of coffee,’ or ‘I want the bar at the hotel to be a place where locals can also hang out’,” Ray said.

She said the hotel development plan includes adequate parking.

In the release, Mayor G.T. Bynum said development of Crybaby Hill — specifically, for promoting Route 66 — has been years in the making.

“I look forward to seeing the new opportunities this development will bring to Tulsa’s riverfront and our beloved Mother Road,” he said.

While city officials are excited about the project, planners do not anticipate the hotel to be complete by the Mother Road’s centennial in November 2026.

Max Bryan is a news anchor and reporter for KWGS. A Tulsa native, Bryan worked at newspapers throughout Arkansas and in Norman before coming home to "the most underrated city in America." Several of Bryan's news stories have either led to or been cited in changes both in the public and private sectors.