Milk Bottle Grocery
- Retro roadside
- In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- On Route 66
- National Register of Historic Places
The Milk Bottle Grocery is a small, three-sided store in Oklahoma City, OK, with a tall metal milk bottle standing on its roof. It sits on Classen Boulevard, which carried U.S. Route 66 through the city when the bottle was put up around 1948. The bottle was meant to grab the attention of passing drivers and to promote dairy at the same time. Listed on the National Register, it makes a quick and cheerful photo stop.
What is Milk Bottle Grocery?
The building occupies a corner lot where Classen Boulevard slants across Oklahoma City's grid of streets. That angle gave the store its wedge shape, and it is one of only a handful of triangular buildings in the city.
Up on the roof is the star of the show: a big metal milk bottle carrying the Braum's name. It was sized to be seen from moving cars, so it works as a sign for the little store underneath and as a plug for the dairy business in general.
History of Milk Bottle Grocery
The store dates from 1930. Its footprint gave it its first well-known name: from 1940 it traded as the Triangle Grocery. Around 1948 the bottle arrived, and the shop took the name it still carries. Back then Classen Boulevard was part of Route 66, so the rooftop bottle faced a steady flow of cross-country traffic.
The building was listed on the National Register in 1998. For several years a Vietnamese banh mi shop, Saigon Baguette, used the space, and in 2014 plans were announced to return the building to its original appearance.
Visiting Milk Bottle Grocery: tips
The grocery sits about 2 miles off the main route, an easy detour on a drive through Oklahoma City. Treat it as a short photo stop. Stepping back across the street helps fit the whole wedge-shaped building and the bottle into one frame.
To turn it into a longer outing, the Gaylord-Pickens Oklahoma Heritage Museum is about 0.8 miles away, and the Oklahoma City National Memorial is about 1.7 miles away.
Practical info
- Address
- 2426 N Classen Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73106
- Hours
- Open 24 h
- On site & nearby
Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix
Where to eat near Milk Bottle Grocery
All diners on Route 66 →
On the map
Full mapMilk Bottle Grocery with the 6 closest stops and places to eat (fork and knife). Tap a marker for details.
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Stops near Milk Bottle Grocery
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0.8 mi from Milk Bottle Grocery
1.7 mi from Milk Bottle Grocery
1.8 mi from Milk Bottle Grocery
1.8 mi from Milk Bottle Grocery
2.2 mi from Milk Bottle Grocery
.jpg/500px-Bricktown_May_2016_02_(American_Banjo_Museum).jpg)
2.2 mi from Milk Bottle Grocery
Questions about Milk Bottle Grocery
Is the Milk Bottle Grocery on Route 66?
Classen Boulevard, where it stands, carried U.S. Route 66 through Oklahoma City when the bottle went up. Today it is less than a mile off the main route line.
How old is the Milk Bottle Grocery?
The store was built in 1930. The rooftop milk bottle was added around 1948.
Own or run Milk Bottle Grocery? Send us a photo or a correction.