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Chandler Armory, Oklahoma

Museum
In Chandler, Oklahoma
0.1 mi from Route 66
National Register of Historic Places

The Chandler Armory in Chandler, OK, is an Art Deco National Guard building that the Works Progress Administration built from local red sandstone in the 1930s. Since 2007 it has been home to a museum called the Route 66 Interpretive Center, which explains how the highway was built and what happened along it. The museum leans on films and sound rather than display cases, and it lies less than a mile off the old road.

What is Chandler Armory?

Brian W. Nolan, a Guard officer and local architect, split the design into two halves. Under a curved, barrel-vaulted roof, the east side held offices, classrooms, gun bays and an ammunition store. The west side is a drill hall with wooden floors and a stage, and a narrow rifle range runs beneath it. It reportedly has the state's only brick outhouse, with its original French fixture.

The museum favors audio and video over objects. One plays road footage filmed from a 1965 Ford Mustang; in a mock motel room, visitors lie on a bed and watch clips overhead.

History of Chandler Armory

Built from 1935 to 1937, the armory housed Battery F of the 160th Field Artillery, part of the Oklahoma National Guard's 45th Infantry Division. The military left in 1971; the building then sat empty until 2007. It joined the National Register in 1992.

Visiting Chandler Armory: tips

It is less than a mile off the old road. Check that it is open before you go. The Chandler Bookstore, the Mascho Building and the Flynt Building are each about 0.5 miles away.