Tulsa’s historic 66 Motel was originally called El Reposo Court.
The motel was built around 1933 on the original two-lane Route 66 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Its early name, El Reposo Court, reflected the motor-court model that became common along American highways: a group of individual cottages where travelers could park directly beside their rooms.
The property later became known as the 66 Motel, connecting its identity more directly with the highway. Its buildings used concrete block, stucco, flat roofs, horizontal lines, and glass-block windows, features associated with vernacular Moderne roadside design.
The motel is a useful reminder that Route 66 businesses often changed names as ownership, road traffic, and tourism patterns changed. It is also sometimes confused with other Oklahoma motels whose names include “66.” The Tulsa property is specifically the former El Reposo Court at 3660 Southwest Boulevard.