Blue Whale of Catoosa
Route 66 Roadside Landmark Built By Hugh Davis In The Early 1970s; Owned By The City Of Catoosa · Catoosa, Oklahoma
An 80-foot concrete and steel whale grinning beside a spring-fed pond on Route 66 east of Tulsa, built in the early 1970s by Hugh Davis as an anniversary present for his wife Zelta, who collected whale figurines. It became a local swimming hole where generations of Catoosa children jumped off the whale's tail, closed when the Davises grew old, and was rescued by volunteers and then the City of Catoosa, which has repainted and repaired it repeatedly since. A $1.8 million renovation finished in 2026, and a 4,000-square-foot visitor centre with a gift shop, exhibits, restrooms and concessions opened on 30 May 2026, along with expanded parking, a whale-tail sculpture, a whale-pod playground, a neon sign and a walking trail. Swimming is permanently banned and the original side slides are out of use, but visitors still walk in through the whale's mouth, fish the pond, feed the turtles and picnic under the shelters. It is one of the most photographed roadside attractions on the whole of Route 66 and costs nothing to visit.
2600 East Route 66, Catoosa, Oklahoma, 74015, United States
Sunday 11 AM-4 PM; Monday-Wednesday 9 AM-4 PM; Thursday 9 AM-7 PM; Friday-Saturday 9 AM-4 PM, free (check cityofcatoosa.org or call 918-857-0676).
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