Rooms to let on Broadway for the first time in decades; tiny, new hotel opens in downtown Elk City
Family history and Elk City history united at the Bluebird.
ELK CITY, Okla. (KFOR) – Julie Bonner always liked this street.
"All of these buildings are so familiar to me," she remarks as she walks.
Her Broadway memories in Elk City go back to when she was a kid.
Her mom used to take her through a now familiar door.
"We would come in here and shop for shoes," recalls Julie. "It was called The Bootery."
Julie took flight and flew the coop for a while.
She got married and had a family.
She taught high school English for 18 years, but the faded neon lights of this avenue stuck in her memory.
Bonner says, "For a long time I would drive down Broadway and think, 'What do we need? What do we need that we don't have?'"
Last year she took a chance on an idea she had for this old retail space.
Bonner thought it might just be big enough for a boutique style hotel – three rooms, no employees, just her.
She smiles. "I come up and clean the rooms myself. It's been very easy."
The rooms are named for grandparents Rachel, Jessie and Marie.
The Bluebird Inn is named for the figurine her Nana gave her as a child.
"I thought it was perfect. It made me think of her."
Family history and Elk City history united at the Bluebird.
Her tiny hotel isn't too far off the track.
Guests can see Route 66 a block away out the front windows.
No front desk, no bell to ring for service.
Guests check in online and settle in.
The light is back on again along this section of Broadway, a bright idea that took flight.
Bonner has her grand opening set for Saturday, April 17 from noon to 2 p.m.
For more information, or to book a room, go to The Bluebird Inn website or the Bluebird Inn's Facebook page.