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Press Release

May 13, 2014

Contact: Pat Smith, Director
Oklahoma Route 66 Museum
2229 W. Gary Blvd.
Clinton, OK 73601
580-323-7866
Rt66mus@okhistory.org

Oklahoma Route 66 Museum to Open "Hotel Calmez: Clinton's Beacon on Route 66" Exhibit

CLINTON, Okla. -- On June 26, 2014, the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum will be unveiling a new exhibit entitled "Hotel Calmez: Clinton's Beacon on Route 66" detailing the history of Clinton's iconic hotel. The exhibit will be on display through December 2014.

The 1920s witnessed great progress for Clinton. The town grew into the Hub City of western Oklahoma, and local businessman Claude M. Calmes chose to construct a grand hotel. Inspired by a hotel operating in Galveston, Texas, Calmes built the Hotel Calmez in downtown Clinton bringing comfort without extravagance to the booming community. The Calmez opened with great fanfare and celebration in 1929 only weeks after the crash of Wall Street and birth of the Great Depression. From its inception, the Calmez acted as a gathering place for travelers and tourists on Route 66, as well as the residents of Custer County. The hotel thrived during the first half of the 20th century, but the prosperity did not last. By the late 1990s, unforeseen circumstance ultimately doomed the building. To learn the complete history of the Hotel Calmez, please visit the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum this summer and fall.

The unveiling of the exhibit will take place on June 26, 2014, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Along with the display the Calmes family will be joining the festivities. Come in for some fun, food, drinks and music celebrating part of Clinton's history.

This special exhibit can be viewed at the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Oklahoma, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. on Sundays through the month of August. Beginning in September, the museum will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. For additional information, please contact Pat Smith at 580-323-7866 or email rt66mus@okhistory.org.





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