Chandler
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Chandler

Chandler

Small Route 66 town in central Oklahoma, with an Art Deco interpretive center.

Chandler is a small town on Route 66 in central Oklahoma, serving as the county seat of Lincoln County. It is one of the better-preserved stops along the historic highway, with a downtown that still feels like a mid-century road trip.

The Route 66 Interpretive Center, housed in a restored 1934 Art Deco armory, traces the history of the Mother Road through Chandler and beyond — one of the better roadside museums on the whole highway. The town is also the birthplace of composer Roy Harris, known for his distinctly American symphonies. A few miles east on the old alignment, the Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum occupies a restored 1921 filling station and holds a good collection of vintage bikes.

The historic downtown preserves an unusually complete set of early 20th-century brick storefronts from the Territorial and early statehood periods, several listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Chandler was founded in a single day during the 1891 Land Run that opened Sac and Fox territory, and the Territorial Homes nearby reflect that rapid domestication of the frontier.

Guide

Getting There

Chandler sits on US Route 66 in central Oklahoma, about 65 kilometres east of Oklahoma City. The quickest approach from Oklahoma City is via Interstate 44 east to Exit 158, then State Highway 66 into town — the old Route 66 alignment runs right through the downtown. From Tulsa, head west on the Turner Turnpike (I-44) about 100 kilometres; take Exit 158.

There is no public transport to Chandler. A car is essential. The town makes a logical stop on an eastbound or westbound Route 66 road trip between Oklahoma City and Tulsa, and the drive on the old surface road alignment through Lincoln County is quieter and more scenic than the interstate.

Guide

Things to Do

Chandler is one of the more rewarding Route 66 stops in Oklahoma — small enough to cover in a few hours, but with enough surviving historic architecture and a genuinely good museum to make it worth the detour. The old downtown retains its early 20th-century brick streetscape largely intact, and the Route 66 Interpretive Center in the restored armory is one of the better roadside museums on the whole highway.