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| Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program | |
|---|---|
| Name | Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program |
| Established | 1999 |
| Parent | National Park Service |
| Headquarters | Santa Fe, New Mexico |
Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program is a federal initiative administered to assist preservation of historic resources associated with U.S. Route 66. The program supports documentation, stabilization, and conservation of buildings, bridges, signs, and cultural landscapes along the sixteen-state corridor that stretches from Chicago to Santa Monica Pier. Launched at the turn of the 21st century, it operates within the administrative framework of the National Park Service and collaborates with state historic preservation offices and local communities.
The program was authorized following advocacy by preservationists, historians, and elected officials including members of the United States Congress and leaders from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Its creation responded to scholarship produced by entities such as the Historic American Buildings Survey, the Historic American Engineering Record, and heritage studies commissioned by the National Park Service. Early stakeholders included the Route 66 Association of Illinois, the Route 66 Association of Missouri, the Arizona Route 66 Association, and representatives from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) network. Legislative interest intersected with heritage tourism debates involving representatives from Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, prompting interagency memoranda and program guidelines drafted by NPS staff in coordination with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
The program's core mission aligns with preservation principles advanced by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and practice promoted by the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Objectives include documentation modeled on the Historic American Landscapes Survey, grant assistance patterned after earlier programs by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and technical guidance consonant with Secretary of the Interior policies. The initiative seeks to protect vernacular sites linked to major cultural figures and events referenced in studies about John Steinbeck, Woody Guthrie, Jack Kerouac, Bob Dylan, and the broader literature of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression era migrations.
Activities include competitive grantmaking similar to programs run by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts, production of multiple preservation planning documents like those produced by the Historic Preservation Fund, and sponsorship of educational outreach mirroring efforts by the Smithsonian Institution and Library of Congress. The program supports field surveys executed in partnership with university programs such as the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Oklahoma, the University of New Mexico, and laboratory conservation partnerships with the Smithsonian Conservation Institute. It issues technical bulletins referencing methods endorsed by the American Institute for Conservation and participates in conferences alongside organizations like the Society for American Archaeology and the Vernacular Architecture Forum.
Funding streams have combined federal allocations channeled through the Historic Preservation Fund with matching contributions from state transportation departments such as the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Missouri Department of Transportation, and local tourism bureaus including the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau. Administrative oversight remains with the National Park Service office responsible for national heritage areas, with grant review panels comprising representatives of the State Historic Preservation Officer offices, scholars from institutions like Northwestern University and Arizona State University, and nonprofit advisors from the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Route 66 Alliance. Audits and program evaluations have been conducted in line with procedures used by the Government Accountability Office and Congressional Research Service analyses.
Significant projects funded or assisted include restoration of motor courts referenced in studies of Amboy, California and preservation work on neon signage typified by efforts in Shamrock, Texas and Winslow, Arizona. Bridge stabilization projects mirrored techniques used on historic spans like the Chain of Rocks Bridge and the U.S. Route 66—Meramec River Bridge rehabilitation. Rehabilitation of service stations drew on precedents set at sites such as Phillips 66 heritage restorations and diner restorations connected to Stuart's Diner-style projects. Collaborative documentation projects produced comprehensive inventories analogous to the Historic American Buildings Survey records for roadside architecture including motels, cafes, and service stations that are emblematic of postwar automobile culture chronicled in oral histories collected by the Library of Congress Veterans History Project and regional museums like the Route 66 Museum (Clinton, Oklahoma).
The program partners with a wide array of stakeholders: state preservation offices, municipal governments in cities such as Chicago, St. Louis, Tulsa, Albuquerque, and Los Angeles, academic centers including California State University, San Bernardino, nonprofit advocacy groups like the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Route 66 Association of California, tribal governments including Navajo Nation and Tohono O'odham Nation, chambers of commerce, and heritage tourism organizations modeled after the American Association of State and Local History. Volunteer efforts parallel initiatives run by AmeriCorps and local historical societies, while interpretive programming leverages museum partnerships with institutions such as the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History and regional cultural centers.
Impact assessments have noted benefits to heritage tourism economies in corridors studied by researchers from Arizona State University, University of Illinois, and Oklahoma State University, with increased visitation at restored landmarks contributing to local revitalization documented by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Critics drawn from preservation scholars affiliated with the Vernacular Architecture Forum and urban planners in institutions like the University of Chicago have raised concerns regarding prioritization of resources, potential commodification of landscapes, and tensions between preservation standards articulated by the Secretary of the Interior and commercial redevelopment interests represented by state departments of transportation and private investors. Debates parallel controversies in other preservation initiatives involving the National Park Service and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation about balancing authenticity, adaptive reuse, and economic development.
Category:Historic preservation in the United States Category:U.S. Route 66