Route 66

Route 66
Fredddie, originally SPUI · Public domain · source
Name	U.S. Highway 66
Other names	Main Street of America; Will Rogers Highway
Length mi	2448
Established	November 11, 1926
Decommissioned	June 27, 1985
Terminus a	Chicago, Illinois
Terminus b	Santa Monica, California
States	Illinois; Missouri; Kansas; Oklahoma; Texas; New Mexico; Arizona; California

Route 66 was a landmark United States numbered highway that linked the Midwestern Chicago metropolitan area with the Pacific Coast at Santa Monica, California. Designed during the 1920s road-building era, it served as a primary artery for migration, commerce, and tourism across eight states and became a potent cultural symbol in American culture. The corridor influenced transportation policy, regional development, and popular media throughout the twentieth century.

Route description

The corridor originated in Chicago and traversed Illinois cities such as Joliet, Illinois, Springfield, Illinois, and Decatur, Illinois before entering Missouri through St. Louis. In Missouri the alignment passed towns including Cuba, Missouri, Rolla, Missouri, and Joplin, Missouri en route to the small Kansas segment near Galena, Kansas and Baxter Springs, Kansas. Continuing into Oklahoma, the roadway crossed Tulsa, Oklahoma and Oklahoma City before clipping the Texas Panhandle via Amarillo, Texas. In New Mexico the route reached Albuquerque, New Mexico and Santa Rosa, New Mexico; in Arizona it traversed Holbrook, Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona, and Kingman, Arizona before entering California through Needles, California and terminating at the Santa Monica Pier near Los Angeles, California. The route incorporated segments of preexisting auto trails such as the National Old Trails Road, Ozark Trail (road)],] and Butterfield Overland Mail corridors and intersected major highways like U.S. Route 1, U.S. Route 20, Interstate 55, and Interstate 40.

History

Planned in the 1920s amid debates in the American Association of State Highway Officials and the Bureau of Public Roads, the highway formalized earlier efforts by civic boosters in Chicago, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Los Angeles, California. Construction and paving benefited from work by contractors associated with figures like Herbert Hoover (then Secretary of Commerce) and followed federal legislation such as the Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 and the National Highway System (1926). During the Great Depression the route facilitated migration to the Dust Bowl destinations and provided pathways for families aided by organizations like the Red Cross and advocates such as John Steinbeck (who chronicled migration in The Grapes of Wrath). World War II increased military and industrial traffic linking bases like Camp Claiborne and plants in Los Angeles; postwar expansion and the Interstate Highway Act of 1956—championed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower—led to gradual replacement of the highway by interstates such as Interstate 44 and Interstate 40. Decommissioning by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials culminated in removal of the US route designation in 1985. Subsequent scholarship by historians at institutions like the Library of Congress and the National Trust for Historic Preservation reevaluated the corridor's role in twentieth-century migration and commerce.

Cultural impact and legacy

The corridor inspired literature, music, film, and television: authors like John Steinbeck and Jack Kerouac referenced the route; musicians including Bobby Troup (composer of "Get Your Kicks"), Woody Guthrie, and The Rolling Stones drew motifs from road travel; filmmakers such as John Ford and Sergio Leone used desert and small-town visuals popularized along the corridor; and the television series Route 66 (TV series) dramatized mobility and youth culture. Preservationists and cultural commentators at institutions like the Smithsonian Institution, Museum of Modern Art, and American Film Institute have curated exhibits examining roadside architecture, neon signage, and motel culture exemplified by operators including Motel 6 origins and independent entrepreneurs. The highway shaped demographic shifts tied to programs like the GI Bill and suburbanization patterns analyzed by scholars at Harvard University and University of California, Los Angeles.

Landmarks and attractions

The corridor hosts a wide array of landmarks: historic diners such as Snow Cap Drive-In in Seligman, Arizona and Delgadillo's Snow Cap; roadside attractions like the Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas and the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona; architectural examples including the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas and the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico; natural sites like Petrified Forest National Park and Grand Canyon National Park (accessible via spur roads); and civic monuments such as the Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac, Illinois and Museum of Route 66 collections in Clinton, Oklahoma. Communities like Seligman, Arizona, Williams, Arizona, and Galena, Kansas maintain heritage districts featuring neon signs, Art Deco facades, and vintage service stations restored by organizations such as the National Park Service and local chambers of commerce.

Preservation and restoration efforts

Grassroots groups including Route 66 Associations in each state, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and local historical societies have pursued designation of segments as National Scenic Byway corridors and placement on state registers managed by agencies like the California Office of Historic Preservation and the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division. Restoration projects have rehabilitated landmarks through partnerships with foundations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and grants administered by the Federal Highway Administration and state departments of transportation. Academic programs at Northwestern University and Arizona State University study the corridor's material culture while nonprofit entities like Main Street America and the Historic Route 66 Preservation Foundation coordinate volunteer-driven masonry, signage restoration, and interpretive programming. Economic revitalization initiatives link heritage tourism to local development strategies endorsed by municipal governments in Seligman, Arizona, Shamrock, Texas, and Williams, Arizona.

Category:Historic roads in the United States