About Will Rogers Archway
Most highway service plazas sit beside the road. The Will Rogers Archway sits on top of it.
Built in 1957 and opened in early 1958, the structure spans the Will Rogers Turnpike near Vinita. Traffic on Interstate 44 passes directly beneath the building while travelers inside can look through windows at vehicles rushing below. The design turned a routine fuel and food stop into a bridge occupied by restaurants and retail space.
The building was the first over-the-road service plaza of its kind and later became famous for housing what was once promoted as the world’s largest McDonald’s. That record eventually disappeared, but the architecture remains unusual enough without it. A highway rest stop simply does not need to hover over the highway.
The plaza remains an active part of the turnpike, so businesses and operating arrangements can change. Drivers should use normal signed entrances rather than attempting to stop on the roadway for photographs. The strangest view may actually be from below, where a restaurant appears to have been built directly across six lanes of interstate traffic.