Albuquerque, New Mexico — There are faster ways to get from Chicago to Los Angeles, but none of them have the appeal or cultural cachet Route 66.
to John SteinbeckIt was the mother road that led the poor farmers down Dust bowl Desperate for sunny California. to Native Americans all the wayIt was an economic boon that also left scars. For black travelers, it provided refuge during segregation. And for music lovers, this was the place to get their kicks.
Route 66 It marks its centenary this year. Although it lost its status decades ago as one of the country’s main arteries, people from all over the world still flock here to take a quintessential American road trip and enjoy the neon lights, motels, attractions and culinary demonstrations.
Every city has its own history and charm, said Sebastien de Borders, a Dutch businessman who with his wife breathed new life into the Aztec Hotel in Seligman, Arizona.
“It’s an essential part of American culture and history,” he said of the highway. “The historical aspect is just a very big and important part of American culture, with its influence and character.”
Route 66, which runs approximately 2,400 miles (3,860 km) from Chicago through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in Santa Monica, California, was put together a century ago from a combination of Native American trade routes and old dirt roads with the goal of connecting the industrial Midwest with the Pacific Coast.
Oklahoma businessman Cyrus Avery, known as the “Father of Route 66,” saw it as more than just a way to cross the country efficiently. It was an opportunity to connect rural America and create new commercial enclaves.
Avery knew that No. 66 would be market-ready and could be etched into drivers’ minds, and he was right: Route 66 has been immortalized in movies and books, including Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” and Jack Kerouac’s book. “On the road” And songs like Bobby Troup’s “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” which was an anthem of optimism and mobility in the post-World War II era.
Since its designation in November 1926 as one of the nation’s original numbered highways, America’s Main Street has come to embody the promise of prosperity.
It became a literal path of hope for immigrants fleeing farms ravaged by drought and poverty during the 1930s’ Dust Bowl and floods. Great Depression. During World War II, it was used to transport troops, equipment, and workers to the West.
The post-war boom of the 1940s and 1950s was the heyday of Route 66, as it became a popular vacation route. Cars became more affordable, disposable income increased, and people began to chase freedom on the open road.
“People generally have a sense of adventure and curiosity,” said author and historian Jim Hinckley. “And you can find that on Route 66. This is the road of dreams.”
Roadside restaurants and motels flourished, as savvy businessmen dreamed up ways to separate motorists from their money. There were rattlesnake pits, totem poles, trading posts, caves where Old West outlaws allegedly hung out, and modern engineering marvels like the gleaming steel arch in St. Louis.
Barns were painted with larger-than-life advertisements, billboards advertised local attractions, and neon was everywhere.
Cherry on top? Food.
There were places to go, but also to sit and enjoy part of the house. The Cozy Dog Drive In — famous for its breaded hot dogs on a stick — has fit both bills since 1949. Inside the dining room in Springfield, Illinois, travelers tell tales of life on the highway.
“The road wouldn’t be alive without the stories of all the places along it that brought it from town to town,” said Josh Waldmeier, third-generation owner. “We live off each other. The road nourishes us, and as long as we bring our feelings and love back to the road, it will resonate with travelers and people’s stories.”
Route 66 was an economic boon to Native American tribes along the way. But although it brought tourists, it also left scars on tribal lands and perpetuated stereotypes.
More than half the highway passes through rural India, and vendors’ signs often casually reference tipis and feathered headdresses—symbols that are easy to assign to marketing but not always representative of the distinct cultures found along the route.
in Laguna Pueblo West of Albuquerque, restaurants and service stations sprung up, some run by Pueblo military veterans who were adept at fixing everything from flat tires to faulty radiators.
Pueblo women have also adapted, turning utilitarian pottery into works of art coveted by tourists. Homemade bread and pies sealed the deal.
Businessman and tribal member Ron Solomon said Laguna chiefs have long viewed the road — or “hi ya nahi” in the language of the Keres — as a “trade corridor.” Taking advantage of this potential, the tribe built a multimillion-dollar empire of casinos, burger stands and other businesses.
There were also dangers along the way, especially during the Jim Crow era, when black travelers had to rely on them Guides like the Green Book To find safe housing and services.
“Especially for long-distance travel, segregation was a fact of life,” said Matthew Pierce, state historian with the Oklahoma Historical Society. “So black motorists needed to know a safe place to go.”
The threat filling station near the central Oklahoma community of Luther was not listed in the Green Book, but it served as a safe haven between the two. Sunset citieswhere non-white people have to leave at sunset. The station offered barbecue and even baseball.
Edward Threatt, whose grandparents opened the station around 1933, remembers a TV show about travelers getting kicks on Route 66. “By and large, the black traveler didn’t get much of a kick on Route 66,” he said. “And if they get some kicks, it won’t be the kind of thing you would think about.”
president Dwight Eisenhower The vision of a modern interstate highway system eventually led to the decommissioning of Route 66 as a federal highway in 1985. Some towns along the route died out, and the responsibility for preserving their sections of the famous road fell to local governments, state historical societies and private companies.
The driving force was Angel Delgadillo, a barber who lobbied the Arizona Legislature to designate the road as a historic highway. It saved Seligman from becoming a ghost town and set a condition for preservation elsewhere.
In New Mexico, original neon sign graphics have been preserved, Route 66-themed murals abound, and developers in Albuquerque have restored parking lots along the longest urban stretch of road still intact.
More than 90% of the road is still drivable in California. Cadillac Ranch in the Texas Panhandle offers the opportunity to spray paint half-buried cars. On the Mississippi River, travelers can walk or bike across the old Chain of Rocks Bridge.
More than 250 of the trail’s buildings, districts, and road segments are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But it’s more than just bricks and asphalt that fuels the fascination.
“Some of the most interesting and fun things that happen to people when they travel on the road is bumping into someone they know or some completely unexpected event occurring,” said author and historian Jim Ross. “This is a wonderful part of the Route 66 experience.”
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Associated Press writers John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois, and Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.