Ever puzzled why Route 66 is so well-known? Route 66 holds a novel place in American popular culture and folklore, weaving itself into the material of the nation’s id and worldwide status. The historic route is an emblem of American wanderlust, private freedom, and the pursuit of a greater life.
The legacy of Route 66 is etched into the American consciousness with a timeless promise across the thrill of the open highway. From the eponymous 1960s television series to the Rolling Stones masking the Bobby Troup basic to seize the spirit of rock and roll, US 66 stays a part of American legend.
| Purpose | Description |
|---|---|
| Historic significance | Route 66 was one of many first highways of the U.S. Freeway System and has a wealthy historical past associated to westward migration. |
| Cultural icon | Route 66 has been featured in quite a few songs, novels, films, and TV reveals, making it an emblem of America’s highway tradition. |
| Scenic magnificence | Route 66 covers numerous components of American panorama, passing by way of deserts, mountains, farmland, and nice plains. |
| Distinctive points of interest | It’s identified for its outdated roadside diners, motels, museums, vacationer stops, and kitschy Americana which provides it a novel allure. |
| Symbolism | Route 66 has develop into an emblem of the liberty of the open highway, alternative, and the pioneering spirit of America. |
Route 66 Historical past
Getting your kicks on Route 66 began in 1926 as a part of the newly based Numbered Freeway System. The roadway’s goal was to attach main cities and small cities throughout the US. In a short time, the numbered highways turned very important transportation arteries, Route 66 greater than most due to the way it related Center America and the West Coast.
The unique start line of Route 66 was in Chicago, Illinois. The historic route traveled by way of rural and concrete communities, crossing Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona earlier than ending in Santa Monica, California. The freeway was often known as “Will Rogers Freeway” and the “Most important Avenue of America.”
Through the 1930 Mud Bowl and Nice Despair, the freeway served as an escape path to new alternatives with vacationers transferring east-west searching for jobs. The route supported a tradition of roadhouses, mom-and-pop shops, cafes, and plenty of fuel stations that sprang up alongside the route.
In the present day, this iconic highway journey is romanticized and provides vacationers a glance into basic Americana, from Chicago to the Pacific Coast in California. Curiosity in a Route 66 highway journey emerged as soon as extra after the Pixar/Disney 2006 launch of the favored film Cars, partly impressed by the outdated Route 66 freeway.
Regardless of its decommissioning, Route 66 stays a well-liked vacationer vacation spot with loads of points of interest drawing vacationers who wish to expertise the nostalgia and historical past of the “Mom Highway.”
Attention-grabbing Details & Trivia About Route 66
1. It Was One Of America’s First Totally Funded Federal Roads
Route 66 was one of many first totally funded roads on the Federal Freeway System. Within the early 1900s, the USA was nonetheless largely a rural nation, and transportation infrastructure was missing. Route 66 was seen as a technique to join the Midwest, Southwest, and West Coast, making it simpler for folks and items to journey throughout the nation.
2. Its Reputation Helped Its Decommissioning
Route 66 was formally decommissioned in 1985. The freeway’s recognition helped to lift consciousness of its significance and the necessity for its enchancment, the development of bypasses, and the widening of lanes.
However with extra consciousness got here bigger crowds. As site visitors volumes elevated, Route 66 turned worn, congested, and harmful. The outdated, two-lane sections of highway couldn’t deal with the rising quantity of site visitors, and accidents turned extra frequent.
3. The Nationwide Park Service Performs a Position in Preserving Route 66
The Nationwide Park Service maintains the Nationwide Register of Historic Locations, which consists of an exhaustive checklist of districts, websites, buildings, constructions, and objects vital to American heritage. This contains Route 66.
A number of landmarks and constructions alongside the freeway are listed. In 1999, the Nationwide Park Service established the Route 66 Hall Preservation Program, which is solely centered on conserving and revitalizing the historic hall.
4. Route 66 Passes By 10 Protected American Public Lands
In addition to numerous distinctive roadside points of interest, Route 66 additionally passes a number of nationally registered historic locations, three nationwide forests—Mark Twain Nationwide Forest, San Bernardino Nationwide Forest, and Kaibab Nationwide Forest—and one Nationwide Park—Petrified Forest Nationwide Park in Arizona.
Petrified Forest Nationwide Park is cut up between two sections: the Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest. In between the 2, you’ll cross the unique Route 66. It’s marked by a turnout, deserted phone strains, and a 1932 Studebaker introduced in by the park service.
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5. John Steinbeck Didn’t Journey with Migrant Employees on Route 66
Opposite to fashionable perception, John Steinbeck didn’t journey the size of Route 66 with migrant staff to analysis The Grapes of Wrath. He did journey a bit of Freeway 66 in 1937 together with his spouse. This helped inform the story that has develop into one of many Nice American novels.
6. The Freeway Symbolizes Westward Enlargement
The Mom Highway’s unique route in 1926 traveled just a few blocks away from the St. Louis Arch’s present location. When the Arch’s development started in 1963, the primary adjustment was made for the highway to cross near the monument.
Route 66 and the Arch are each symbols of American westward growth. The proximity of the 2 additional solidifies the symbolic connection between the Arch and the spirit of the freeway.
7. Route 66 contributed to Allied Success in World Conflict II
Just a little-known a part of the freeway’s historical past is the essential function it performed in facilitating troop motion throughout World Conflict II. As the primary artery connecting the Midwest, Southwest, and West, the roadway helped with the mobilization and deployment of American forces.
The infrastructure proved invaluable for environment friendly connection between army bases, transferring convoys, and transferring items and supplies between industrial facilities and army installations. That’s one more reason the freeway exudes pure American spirit.
8. Entrepreneurial Spirit Modified the American Panorama
In a way, Route 66 gave rise to the roadside attraction. Because the freeway turned a serious transportation artery, vacationers introduced a possibility for roadside companies to draw consideration. Enterprise homeowners acknowledged the potential to capitalize on the rising vacationer site visitors with the rise of the automotive, the highway journey, and the transitioning American journey expertise.
And so the spirit of entrepreneurialism endured in inventive and unconventional approaches to attracting guests. Even when the freeway was not the beginning of quirky artwork installations or vacationer gimmicks, over time, it turned synonymous with the roadside attraction.
9. The Highway Has Its Personal Competition
The Route 66 Festival is an annual occasion held in varied cities alongside the freeway. The official begin of the competition is debated, however the first documented competition came about in 1991 in Springfield, Illinois, earlier than extra coordinated occasions emerged.
The competition celebrates all issues Route 66, together with the route’s historical past, tradition, and quintessential roadside points of interest. Discover basic vehicles listening within the daylight, get pleasure from conventional American meals, and participate in actions that characterize the spirit of the open highway.
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10. Quick Meals Began on Route 66
Route 66 exemplifies the significance of the automotive in American tradition, and with the liberty of motion got here the will to maneuver quick, and that meant consuming quick. Alongside the freeway, enterprise homeowners experimented with new ideas, similar to drive-thru eating places and self-service eating.
These concepts catered to the wants of time-crunched vacationers, similar to touring salesmen following the route east and west. Companies like Pink’s Big Hamburger in Springfield, Missouri, and the unique McDonald’s in San Bernadino exemplify the altering panorama of American meals tradition.
11. It Takes Nearly 40 Hours to Journey Route 66 With No Stops
In response to Route66RoadTrip, it takes between 32-38 hours to journey the whole thing of Route 66 from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California. That point doesn’t account for pit stops or visiting any of the scenic and distinctive cultural points of interest when touring the nationwide scenic byways. It’s advisable to spend no less than every week touring the route.
Many sections alongside Route 66’s unique course are not drivable, with detours related to the present interstate freeway system. However with somewhat planning, you possibly can nonetheless journey the scenic byways to the Grand Canyon, or take the panoramic and fashionable route by way of Santa Fe, and get your kicks with Nat King Cole alongside the best way.
Talking of music…
12. The Rolling Stones Traveled Route 66 on Tour
Essentially the most well-known model of the Bobby Troup blues hit (Get Your Kicks On) Route 66 was recorded by The Rolling Stones in 1964. In precise truth, they traveled Route 66 throughout their 1964 tour. Their supervisor advised the route as a technique to expertise the American heartland.
The band traveled from Chicago to St. Louis, by way of Tulsa and Amarillo, and stopped in Albuquerque. The journey is alleged to have related the Rolling Stones with the legacy of American journey and the spirit of the open highway and sure helped the Stones give it their all within the recording studio.
To this present day, it’s nonetheless the most well-liked model of the music. Whereas the Stones have extra hits than we are able to depend, it’s nonetheless one in all their most iconic numbers.
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Historic Route 66 Highway Journey Itinerary
So how about your individual, non-Pixar, non-Mud Bowl highway journey? The journey begins at Route 66 Protect close to Grant Park in downtown Chicago. As you head west, comply with the Route 66 points of interest, state by state, till you attain the Pacific coast.
| Day | Exercise | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Begin your journey at Route 66 Protect close to Grant Park in downtown Chicago. | Chicago, Illinois |
| 1 | Drive west alongside Route 66 and cease on the Previous Log Cabin Inn for a plate of fried hen and do-it-yourself rhubarb pie. | Pontiac, Illinois |
| 1 | Go to Henry’s Rabbit Ranch and meet the rabbit wrangler, Wealthy Henry. | Staunton, Illinois |
| 1 | Spend the night time at The Wagon Wheel Motel or The Blue Swallow Motel. | Cuba, Missouri |
| 2 | Cease on the restored Vehicles on the Route service station and meet Tow Tater, the 1951 increase truck that impressed Tow Mater in Vehicles. | Galena, Kansas |
| 2 | Go to the Cadillac Ranch, a unusual roadside artwork set up that includes a row of Cadillacs buried nose-down within the floor. Keep in Amarillo. | Amarillo, Texas |
| 3 | Go to Petrified Forest Nationwide Park to see the Painted Desert, historic constructions, and 250-million-year-old bushes. | Petrified Forest Nationwide Park, Arizona |
| 3 | Cease in Winslow, Arizona, for the Standin’ On The Nook Monument and an incredible burger at Relic Highway Brewing Firm. Spend the night time in Winslow or in Flagstaff. | Winslow, Arizona |
| 4 | Drive by way of the Mojave Desert, see Lake Havasu, and finish your journey in San Bernardino. | Los Angeles, California |
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Douglas Weissman is an acclaimed journey author, identified for his gripping storytelling and uncanny skill to move readers to the locations he explores. Hailing from Simi Valley, CA, Douglas has journeyed by way of continents and cultures, from the plush landscapes of South Africa to the bustling streets of India. He provides readers an intimate view of the world, constructed upon his intensive expertise in luxurious journey, journey excursions, household holidays, and extra.
His contributions to the sphere of journey literature have been widely known. He completed second within the Imustbeoff Journey writing competitors and was featured as a storyteller on the Match For Pleasure Podcast. His experience was additionally utilized in BestLife’s article on preserving journey reminiscences, revealing his dedication to not simply experiencing the world, however encouraging others to immortalize their adventures.
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