Conoco Oil built it; but did they realize they were building a classic?

In a lot of ways The Glass House doesn’t make any sense.

Spanning all four lanes of the Will Rogers turnpike east of the Vinita exit, the Glass House offers visitors views of cars and trucks roaring down the highway and barreling right under them. It’s a great show, but unlike some interstate restaurants elsewhere — most notably in the western Chicago area, space wasn’t a problem when they built it The restaurant could have been built on either side of the road.

So why did they built it right square over the middle of a highway that, in 1957, was pretty much in the middle of no where? (Vinita was still several miles away in 1957)

Actually, the Turnpike commission did build all of the Turner Turnpike restaurants on one side of the highway or the other. The Turner Turnpike links Tulsa and Oklahoma City. But the problem was: how do you serve hungry people heading in both directions? At Chandler, the answer to build a big pedestrian bridge across the highway so everybody could get to the restaurant.

Problem was the pedestrian bridge was cold, and people had to climb a lot of steps. Moreover, that stretch of Oklahoma is windy. You had to be pretty hungry to brave it. The restaurant didn’t do too well .

By 1957 the Turnpike commission was ready to try again. They were building the Will Rogers turnpike, and they decided they needed to tweak the restaurant concept.

This time, instead of locating the road house on one side or the other of the highway, the Commission decided to drop the Glass House right in the middle of it. Eastward or westbound travelers would have exactly the same number of steps to take to get to the food and restrooms. Moreover, although it was elevated, travelers wouldn’t have to climb steps — escalators were installed.

The place was a hit from the beginning — and for reasons the planners never suspected.

The Glass House just fascinated people, especially kids. Even today, people sit and stare at the cars zooming under them some for an hour or more. The place not only offered good food, it offered a great show.

High school prom dances were held there.

Locals started hanging out.

Travelers whether they were hungry or not found it hard not to pull off, ride the escalators and have a look around.

The place had become a tourist attraction.

Originally, there were three road house restaurants on the Will Rogers. One at Miami, another at Claremore and the Glass House at Vinita.

Over the years the restaurants were operated by Host and Howard Johnson’s. Today only one of the three restaurants still stands — The Glass House — and it is currently leased to McDonald’s.

But the restaurants accessible from only half of the highway gradually found themselves struggling as more and more fast food restaurants popped up. Eventually, they became economically untenable. They were wonderful old buildings, built in the style of the roadhouses of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. But in the end they were torn down.

What most people miss about The Glass House is that it is just a great piece of architecture. Gracefully arched in proportions that work, it’s hard to stand and study The Glass House from any direction without enjoying interesting lines.

Moreover, in what had to be only a stroke of luck, The Glass House catches the sun elegantly backlighting the lanes of the Will Rogers early in the morning and late in the afternoon casting unceasingly interesting patterns.

Hungry travelers may be looking for a quick burger and a clean restaurant. The place is a little shopworn, and that’s too bad. Because The Glass House is one of America’s great pieces of roadside architecture — and if you haven’t walked through the place and taken a look lately, you ought to.