Endangered Site: Historic Route 66, U.S.A.
The 2,400 mile highway was eclipsed by interstate highways that bypassed neon signs of roadside diners
- Smithsonian magazine, March 2009, Subscribe
Writing about the Joad family's journey from the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma to the promised land of California in The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck famously called Route 66 the "mother road." But today it's more of an impoverished great-grandmother.
The 2,400-mile highway, which starts in Chicago and passes through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in Los Angeles, will turn 83 this year—and it's not aging gracefully. Derelict gas stations, restaurants and trading posts, often vandalized, line its rural stretches, their neon signs long since dimmed. Developers are bulldozing quirky motels to make room for generic high-rises. And in places where traffic was once so thick it took ten minutes for a pedestrian to cross the road, you can spread a cloth and have a picnic, says Michael Wallis, a leading advocate for the preservation of the route.
Soaring automobile sales, coupled with the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921—which called for the networking of roads—provided the impetus for the highway. Cyrus Avery, an Oklahoma state highway official, and Springfield, Missouri, entrepreneur John Woodruff mapped out Route 66's diagonal course based on existing trails blazed by Native Americans, explorers and soldiers. And though it wasn't the first or longest of its kind, Route 66 was the shortest, most temperate year-round stretch between the Midwest and the West Coast. During World War II, soldiers hitchhiked on it. After the war, Americans took to the highways as never before, and a distinctive roadside culture—diners, motor courts and kitschy tourist traps—grew up along Route 66 to cater to them.
"It became a stage on which Americans acted out their aspirations," says Roger White, curator of road transportation at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Dubbed the "Main Street of America" by Avery, it inspired Bobby Troup's song "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" (recorded by Nat King Cole and, later, the Rolling Stones), Jack Kerouac's beatnik bible On the Road, the 1960s television series "Route 66" and, most recently, Pixar's animated film Cars.
Route 66's popularity led to its downfall, with traffic swelling beyond its two-lane capacity. In 1956, legislation created the Interstate System, and over the course of three decades, five separate interstates bypassed segment after segment of Route 66. Its signature black-and-white shield markers were taken down, and in 1985, Route 66 was officially decommissioned.
But Route 66 would not go quietly. "I got tired of people talking about the road in the past tense," says Wallis, who, in 1990, wrote Route 66: The Mother Road, a seminal biography of the highway. Today, 85 percent of Route 66 remains drivable, and some businesses thrive among the casualties. Ted Drewes Frozen Custard stand is still serving up cones in St. Louis; Stanton, Missouri's Meramec Caverns still gives tours; and the famous Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona, still offers a night's stay in a 30- by 16-foot concrete wigwam. "It's a labor of love, these motels," says John Lewis, an owner of the Wigwam. "I don't think the guests fully realize the effort it takes to keep these things going."
Driving a stretch of the route between Albuquerque and Gallup in the late 1980s, New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici was saddened by the deteriorating filling stations and shuttered mom-and-pop stores. He introduced a bill to preserve the highway. Authorized in 1999, the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program has been involved with 86 projects, including the repair of Lewis' wigwams. But while the legislation authorized the program to receive up to $10 million over the course of its ten-year life span, actual appropriations have been averaging around $300,000 a year, which is reduced by more than half by the salaries of two staff members and travel and administrative costs. "It's done some wonderful things," says Kaisa Barthuli, the program's manager. "But folks are a little discouraged." And the ten-year preservation effort is scheduled to end this year. A proposal to extend the program is part of an omnibus bill that is not expected to pass. "We're keeping our fingers crossed," says Barthuli. "We have a lot more work to do."
Most supporters of the preservation of Route 66 agree that the highway needs money, awareness and a national voice that can speak and act on its behalf. The World Monuments Fund named Route 66 to its Watch List of endangered sites in 2008, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation included its motels on a list of "America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places" in 2007. Wallis and others, including representatives from the eight state Route 66 associations, are in the process of forming a national nonprofit called the Route 66 Alliance to help with fundraising.
"It's a tremendous cross section of American history along those 2,400 miles," says Barthuli. "If we lose those stories, we're really losing a sense of ourselves."
Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.
Comments (29)
+ View All Comments
Can anyone tell me why there is a different US Rt 66 that runs thru Pennsylvania?
Posted by Karl Heineman on July 19,2012 | 10:06 AM
I've been on some of the stretches when I stayed in Amarillo, back in '98. This coming October, I'm taking a road trip out to Joshua Tree (from Austin), and will be taking a big chunk of the Mother Road back home.
And yes, Joy...I'm sure your diary would be well worth reading. Bolgger.com would be a good (free) blog site to post it, day by day...I'd sure read it.
Dave
Austin
Posted by Dave on June 27,2011 | 08:45 PM
In the summer of 1962, my family finally escaped its 'exile' in Pennsylvania and drove west to California connecting with Route 66 in Missouri. We deviated off onto the old Oregon Trail and headed to the Pacific Northwest to visit relatives. But in that stretch of Route 66 in the Midwest, I remember we turned off south to visit a mausoleum someone built for himself and his wife. Romanesque columns, it was circular and had marble figures of the two of them. Anyone know where this is/was?
Oh and I do have fond memories of the Burma Shave signs!
Posted by Lon Hall on June 27,2011 | 07:13 PM
We are a recently retired couple who are eager to take a trip on Route 66, stopping at as many historical places we can find and to patronize whichever businesses are left. But where do we get the information necessary to do this? Where are the maps, the lodging, the restaurants, the gas stations? The historical markers? And how do we know it's up to date?
Why don't the state chapters dedicated to the preservation of the Mother Road get together and make a website with all of the above included, so we could follow it? Next thing you know, there could be an iPhone App telling us where to go, turn by turn! People could choose between a week's trip, or the two-week version, or the stop-at-every-single-possible-artifact version!
Please let me know where to get current info enabling us to make a trip within the next year.
Posted by S Martin on January 14,2011 | 11:38 AM
My husband and his friends have had a lifelong dream of travelling Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles by motorbike, and next year this will happen! They are all in their 60's and we, the wives, will travel comfortably by car behind them. Our plan is to do this trip in May, hoping that the weather will be kind to bikers. Is this a good time of the year to do this? Your article has made them even more keen as it is an extraordinary piece of History that may disappear forever before too long.
Posted by Gill Goodall on August 2,2010 | 09:34 AM
We picked up a caddy in chicago in april 2008 and drove the full length of route 66 keeping to the old road staying at old motels and eating in old diners this was an ambition of mine i had for many years. it was a big hilight of our lives seeing the old towns and sights all the way ,it took us 4 weeks .they must keep this road preserved We hve had 7 trips to the usa seeing a lot of your wonderful country Eg sun studios,rca studios nash monument valley canyon de shelle and lots more
Regards
Peter & Sandra Males
Melbourne
Australia
Posted by Peter & Sandra Males on June 5,2010 | 03:02 AM
Thanks for sharing your stories. We are happy to provide info free to fellow Roadies. Oklahomaroute66.com
Posted by Mike Hickey on April 13,2010 | 07:41 PM
I recently read about a new bill headed for the President's desk to allocate money to attempt to attract foreign tourists to America.
Funny thing is, thousands of foreign tourists flock to America every year to travel Route 66 on motorcycles, classic cars (some of those cars shipped across the ocean from home and back again), and on tour buses.
How do I know this? Because thousands of those foreign tourists have been stopping in Erick, Oklahoma specifically to see Harley and Anabelle Russell - also known as The Mediocre Music Makers - for more than 10 years now. Furthermore, Harley and Annabelle have been attracting these thousands of foreign tourists to their Sandhills Curiosity Shop every year without utilizing any government funds (local, state, or federal) whatsoever.
And to top it all off, Harley and Annabelle attract these thousands of tourists to their "Theater" without selling anything or charging any admission fee.
The U.S. Government is now about to lay out millions of taxpayer dollars to attempt to do what Harley and Annabelle have been doing for years without once having to pick the taxpayers pockets to do it.
For anyone curious to find out how they do it, just see: http://www.filmbaby.com/films/4471
Posted by Joe Summars on March 1,2010 | 11:47 AM
U.S. Federal stimulus packages are inherently flawed and doomed for failure. It takes blood, sweat, and tears to bring life back to a dragging economy or a dead, historic highway like Route 66.
The documentary "Harley & Annabelle - Living Legends in Erick, Oklahoma" (now available at Filmbaby http: www.filmbaby.com) tells a real-life, blood, sweat, and tears success tale on Route 66.
Two years in the making, this documentary reveals the story of transformation of a couple of struggling, conventional-business entrepreneurs into wholly unconventional entertainers now responsible for dealing out "Insanity At Its Finest" for thousands of travelers coming to Erick, Oklahoma from around the world specifically to see Harley & Annabelle, "The Mediocre Music Makers" and their "Sandhills Curiosity Shop".
A more complete synopsis of the documentary is provided on its Filmbaby page.
Joe Summars
FLUXFAZE Creative Enterprises, LLC
Posted by Joe Summars on December 19,2009 | 10:49 PM
fund raiser caravan bikes cars etc...route 66 the old way!!!
some type of activity to get ppl. to take notice. I've never been on that route before my time but I've heard about it and until now I thought it was still around. So how many others think the same way.... countless......
Posted by jackkie on September 28,2009 | 04:22 PM
I loved the post by "E" on March 6. Route 66 would make a great bike route. I realize that parts of it are still a working highway, but on those parts, the bike trail could run alongside the road. This would be a great project for some creative collaboration between groups such as Rails-to-Trails, American Trails, Friends of Route 66, the US government, etc. Just think of all the benefits of such a coalition: create jobs, preserve a piece of American history, conserve gas, promote exercise, good for environment, economic stimulus... the list goes on and on.
Posted by Kevin on August 6,2009 | 08:51 PM
I am a British Postman and would like to cycle Route 66 on one of our Royal Mail delivery bikes with a colleague to raise money for charity. I have checked out the route and have found out that alot of the route is on Interstate roads which i assume you cannot cycle on. Can you email me your cycle route that you took or tell me where i can get hold of one. Thanks Very Much Neil Cadenhead.
Posted by Neil Cadenhead on July 23,2009 | 10:14 AM
Route 66 is only 2 Blocks north of where I live in area code 63040 Grover Mo. Back in the 70's before we moved to our present home we would take a ride in the country on Sunday going out 66 through Grover, and today it has 1 stop sign which it didn't have then. The road still had a lot of old houses and a historic bldgs, one was a grocery store, P. O. and auto repair. We rode the 2 lane on our way too Pond, Mo. and visited the old bldgs, that had been converted into antique shops. There was a rock bldg, I am told was probably built as a trading post prior to the Mother Road. There was no place to eat as all of the old Mom & Pop places were long gone. The Big Chief restaurant had been closed for years but 2 attempts to revive it have failed in recent yrs. In 99 when we 1st. moved here I meet a lady at a local FF place who had lived in Grover all of her life. She was in her mid 80's then and her father had started a Grocery store and was given the job of Post Master. He also repaired cars in the 1930's & 40's. After Marie's husband passed away I started eating breakfast with her and although a bit frail and quiet, this woman had a memory that would fill a basket. She and I became good friends and sometimes we would talk for hours about her life in Grover. After her father died she became P. M. and held that job for 39 yrs. What a pleasure it was to listen to her talk. Especially about the characters that stopped for a cold soft drink, and head on west to California. Rte. 66 was the way west from StLouis long before it was route 66.Back then it was just a dirt road for the wagon trains from StLouis. Today most of the bldgs are gone, very few remain. I have seen a lot of change on Rte,66. Marie passed away about 5 yrs, ago. Oh the memories she shared about life in those days. Route 66 is a legacy of American History and will live on in the minds of those who know the story. I am reminded of that fact every day as I ride down Hwy 109 and cross over The Mother Road.
Posted by Allen Smith on July 15,2009 | 02:50 AM
My family, and I live on route 66 in Kingman,AZ. It truly is the most awe inspiring road in the USA. From Oatman through Kingman,and past the Grand Canyon Caverns to Seligman, you can feel what the migrants of the depression felt. See the vast beauty of the country side, and know at the end of route 66 lay the promised land. Car clubs, and motorcyclists, from around the world, come here to the mother road,rte66, every year, to experience just that! To know, to feel, to see. They too, find that special place in there heart, for Route 66. I need your help. The City of Kingman has been petitioned by some of the ranchers along rte66, just north of Kingman, to rezone there property next to 66, from AG, to COM. This rezoning could affect up 20 miles along Route66, to Industry, Chemical Plants,and Junk Yards. This would disfigure the country side, and surly spoil our national heritage. If you could please help,contact us @ butch@butchmartin.com, or Kent @ az2live@ frontiernet.net thanks.
Posted by Kent Russell on July 2,2009 | 12:49 PM
+ View All Comments