Route 66 Established 82 Years Ago Today

November 11, 2008 at 3:36 pm in Driving, History, Transportation

The Mother Road. The Will Rogers Memorial Highway. The Main Street of America.

Even if you simply know it as that place to “get your kicks,” Route 66 has a place in American history and pop-culture. And while it was decommissioned in 1985, there is still a great appreciation for the route west from Chicago that ended at the Pacific Ocean on Santa Monica Blvd. As a whole it doesn’t exist anymore, you have hop on and off of the closest interstate (following the 44 and 40 from St. Louis).

Local Route 66 icons include the Aztec Hotel on the corner of W. Foothill and Magnolia in Monrovia, the Astro Motel in Pasadena, The Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, 7th and Broadway (which is where Clifton’s is…hmmm…coincidence? I think not!) was once the terminus of Route 66 until it continued to Santa Monica and the ocean. Click here for more details of the western end of 66.

Read more about Route 66 and other cross country history at Neatorama.

Check out a few of the websites dedicated to Route 66:

Happy Birthday 66! I hope to make a proper tour of 66 someday. Who’s with me? Who’s been already? Who has pictures to share?

4 Comments »

http://frazgomeanders.blogspot.com frazgo

I was a kid when we made the big “California Trip” in an RV in 1972. I remember large parts, mostly TX, NM, AZ and big chunks of the CA desert and parts of the SGV was “Route 66″. Two lane roads, lots of “belly grabber” dips, twists and accidents. The Interstates may have smoothed out the trip and made it faster but a lot of the character that was there was bowled over and given the chain treatment.

I still would like to retrace old Route 66. I”ve done a few parts in recent years, but would like to do even more of it. Preferably in my 1972 Centurion, but I’d need riders to offset its thirst for premium and 10mpg on a good level stretch.

I always find the irony in that I now live blocks from Route 66 that first took me here and that one of my best friends in town just happens to own the Aztec and has brought that icon back to life and restored it to is original 30′ state.

I’d have to dig hard for pics to share as most are old silver I never digitized to put up on flickr. Lemme look around a bit.
Matt Mason

I’m dying to get on Route 66. I have a fabulous about it with lots of history and photos, have read some of the websites, and am mildly obsessed. Count me in! Needless to say, classic eats will be eated, yes eated, on ole Route 66.
Matt Mason

Duh, that would be “fabulous book.”
http://la.metblogs.com/2008/11/12/found-on-road-alive-1972-chevy-chevelle-ss/ Found on Road Alive: 1972 Chevy Chevelle SS | Los Angeles Metblogs

[...] wonder how many times this beast ran up old Route 66? (Shameless plug for the post Julia did on the topic [...]

Route 66 Established 82 Years Ago Today

Search

Sponsors

Archives

Recent Comments

Sponsors