Photo: Ron Mader, Kingman, Mohave Museum (Some rights reserved)
Quick links: Recommended listening, Headlines, History, Questions
Planning your trip along the historic Route 66, what John Steinbeck called The Great Western Road? Planeta.com is updating our city and state guides along the Mother Road, aka Main Street of the USA, and beginning an index of favorite places. // ¿Estás planificando tu viaje por la histórica Ruta 66, lo que John Steinbeck llamó The Great Western Road? Planeta.com está actualizando nuestras guías de ciudades y estados a lo largo de Mother Road, también conocida como Main Street de los Estados Unidos, y comenzando un índice de lugares favoritos.
Headlines
Route 66 at 100: The Native American story behind the US’s most famous highway
The ‘Depression Burger’ of Route 66
The Forgotten Remnants of Route 66 – CityLab
Why Route 66 Is on the List of America’s Most Endangered Places
Route 66 restaurants serve big helping of nostalgia
‘Save Route 66’ pushes to make road a national monument
History
Born in 1926 as a dusty path across eight states, Route 66 transformed into a 2,448-mile artery of American dreams. Winding from the shores of Chicago to the Pacific coast of Santa Monica, it carried countless souls seeking adventure, opportunity, and escape. Though officially retired in 1985, its spirit endures.
Once a patchwork of alignments and improvements, Route 66 stitched together towns, cultures, and landscapes. Today, designated sections in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona whisper tales of the past as part of the “Historic Route 66” National Scenic Byway.
This iconic road wasn’t just concrete and asphalt; it was a symbol of progress, resilience, and the boundless spirit of exploration. So, buckle up, and let your imagination journey down the “Mother Road” – a timeless thread woven into the fabric of America.
Background
Route 66 spanned more than 2,400 miles // 3,862 kilometers and ran through eight states. The “Mother Road” was created in 1926 after the Bureau of Public Roads launched the nation’s first federal highway system, bringing together existing local and state roads from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles.
Questions // Preguntas
- What are recommended radio stations along Route 66? // ¿Qué emisoras de radio se recomiendan a lo largo de la Ruta 66?
Recommended Listening
Route 66 changed tribes’ connections and culture – Long before it was fully paved, the road that became Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif., was designated as one of the nation’s original numbered highways 100 years ago. Crossing vast stretches of Native American land in places like Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona, it eventually delivered a steady stream of mobile customers to enterprising Native merchants selling everything from trinkets to fine jewelry and textiles to frybread. The signature eye-popping billboards and kitschy neon signs that defined the route are mostly gone, but a few hold-out examples of 50s road-trip culture remain. And a number of new businesses are expecting to cash in with renewed interest in an old highway. Guests: Ron Solimon (Laguna Pueblo), owner of Solimon Business Development and Strategy, a board member for the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development, and chair of the Laguna Community Foundation; Delene Santillanes (Diné), marketing and projects coordinator for the City of Gallup tourism department and a new board member of the New Mexico Route 66 Association; Dr. Troy Lovata, professor of archaeology in the University of New Mexico honors college
Route 66 Museum, Clinton, Oklahoma
okhistory.org/sites/route66.php
Route 66 Museum
okhistory.org/sites/route66
roadsideamerica.com/story/19922
Texas / Amarillo
bigtexan.com
New Mexico
Albuquerque
rt66nm.org – Facebook
Arizona
historic66az.com – centennial – Facebook
Arizona / Joseph City
jackrabbittradingpost.com
Arizona / Chee’s
Relocated from Route 66 to I-40 (Arizona, exit 351)
cheesindianstore.com/about-us.html – facebook
Roadtrippers
Arizona / Kingman
mohavemuseum.org
California
califrt66museum.org
California / San Bernardino
How Taco Bell ‘stole’ the taco – BBC
Tradition and tacos at the Mitla Café
Briefly
- One of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System
- Established November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year.
- The highway ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles // 3,940 kilometers
- Officially removed from the United States Highway System in 1985.
- Portions of the road that passed through Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona have been communally designated a National Scenic Byway by the name “Historic Route 66.”
- Albuquerque is home to the longest urban stretch of Route 66. Officials are planning to construct a new Route 66 Visitor Center in the city. Land has been purchased on West Central at the apex of Nine Mile Hill.
Vegas Connections (and the lack thereof)
theconstantrambler.com
tripadvisor.com
Elsewhere on the Web
saveroute66.com (archived)
americanindiansandroute66.com (archived)
100 years of Route 66 – The Kitchen Sisters Present
Saving Places
From July 2 to August 3, 2018, Saving Places is traveling from Chicago to Los Angeles, uncovering new stories and meeting the diverse people who live along the historic route. By the trip’s end, we hope to capture the spirit of Route 66 and share it with travelers old and new, real and virtual—anyone who dreams of the open road.
savingplaces.org
Wikipedia
National Historic Route 66 Federation
U.S. Route 66
Cities
States
Planeta.com