The Rock Shines Again
The Rock Cafe’s historic neon sign is re-installed at the Rock Cafe in Stroud.
The iconic neon sign outside of the Rock Café in Stroud, Oklahoma is shining brightly again thanks to assistance from the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and a grant made possible by the State of Oklahoma’s Route 66 Commission.
The Rock Café has sat alongside Route 66 since 1939, when it was constructed out of the very stone that had been excavated by the paving of the famous highway. The neon sign dates to the 1940s and the days when the Rock was open 24 hours and served travelers going from Chicago to LA. After the Turner Turnpike was built in the 1950s, the locals who had made the restaurant a tradition kept it alive to today’s era of revitalization along the Mother Road.
Today, Route 66 caters to people from around the world that travel the historic highway for a slice of authentic Americana. Although the Rock isn’t open 24 hours a day any more, their neon sign is a big part of their identity. Famously, when the Pixar team stopped by in 2001 to research their new movie Cars, owner Dawn Welch had to rapidly flip the switch on-and-off to show off the illumination within the glass tubes because it shorted out almost instantly.
The sign was restored later that year with a grant from the National Park Service. It survived a devastating fire in 2008, which gutted the restaurant itself. The Rock rebuilt, and the neon tubes continued to shine bright. Years of weathering and a particularly damaging storm in 2024 meant it was time for another refresh.
The Oklahoma Route 66 Association, a statewide non-profit dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the highway, developed a neon sign program that was funded through a grant by the Oklahoma Route 66 Commission.
“The City of Tulsa has had a successful neon sign grant for years,” said Association President Rhys Martin. “We wanted to try and replicate that success along the entire corridor and were so excited when we were awarded funds from the Oklahoma Route 66 Commission last year.” Several other projects are in the works across the state.
Encino’s Signs took the sign down last October and took it back to their shop in Tulsa, which is about an hour away. Many Route 66 communities have to rely on companies from far away to repair these vintage signs. But the work is critical to preserving the road’s legacy and character.
"It's exciting to see the sign light up once again at the Rock Cafe!” said Kaisa Barthuli, Program Manager of the National Park Service’s Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. “The NPS awarded a grant to restore the sign in 2001, but as we know preservation work is never done. The Oklahoma Route 66 Association's neon sign grant program helps fill the critical need for ongoing preservation support. Kudos to Dawn, the Association, and all involved who make the enduring, authentic legacy of the Rock Cafe possible."
Beverly Thomas, manager of the Rock Cafe, is particularly excited for the return of the sign. “I have looked out the windows of the Cafe for close to 3 months and the constant missing piece to our landscape was our beautiful neon sign,” she remarked. “Just like the 1940’s and now in 2025 it will once again be a beacon to weary travelers. I pray they come in and take a load off. Have a meal, snack and share their story with us before they venture out of the beloved Mother Road.”
Photo by Wyatt Barrett
