Route 66 is many things to many people. Each individual tends to experience the road
differently. There is a spirit, a feeling, that resides along this highway. The spirit of
Route 66 lives in the people and their stories, the views and structures, and travelers'
perceptions of them along the route. To gain an understanding of Route 66 and the spirit
of Route 66, there is no substitute for driving the highway.
When Route 66 was decommissioned and its signs were removed, the ability of drivers to
easily find Route 66 was lost. To help people locate the road, several states have
installed Historic Route 66 signs along portions of the road. These signs do not typically
appear on interstate highway exits, do not usually give directions, and are often stolen
for souvenirs. Finding Route 66 can be an adventure and a challenge requiring a good sense
of direction, several maps and guidebooks, a navigator, and patience to decipher the
highway's various alignments. Recently published guides to the highway and publications by
state Route 66 associations are available.
The experience of Route 66 is formed by the travelers and the people, sights, sounds,
and tastes they encounter. The surroundings are constantly changing, and there is a sense
of mystery about what lies around the bend. Regional differences in rural landscapes and
natural features figure prominently in the experience, as do small towns and cities.
However, the Route 66 experience lies less in the individual scenes than in their
association with the road. The following is only one of many possible experiences and
interpretations of the people, places, and vistas that can be found driving Route 66.
Starting at the interstate off-ramp, Route 66 transports drivers into the countryside,
where they slow down and become aware of the road's texture and rhythm. The scenery comes
into focus the shape of the land, the plants, the farms, the industry, the communities,
the people, the life. The road follows the natural topography of the land, which makes the
horizon appear closer and more intimate. Distance is measured by the number of towns,
sights, and people encountered. The driver is both spectator and participant, ready for
the road.
Driving through the woodlands of Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas is like driving through
a continuous rural community, punctuated periodically by small towns. Travelers can almost
always see houses and barns. Settlements, towns, and cities blend into one another across
wooded and gently rolling hills and valleys. In rural areas there is a feeling of being
surrounded by lush green foliage. Creek and river crossings are commonplace, and many
noteworthy bridges are still in use. Along the road, in various states of repair and
operation, are reminders of the route in its heyday the Coral Court, Chicken Basket, Dixie
Truckers Home, Cozy Dog Drive Inn, Park In Theater, Abbylee Court, Tri-County Truck Stop,
and Funk's Grove, to name a few.
Cultivated fields and pastures, occasionally separated by hedgerows, line many of the
rural road sections for as far as the eye can see. The road, field, and sky meet at the
horizon, bounded by an endless stream of telephone poles. There are few surprises here.
Grain elevators loom in the distance, and roads are flat and straight. Everything seems to
conform to the straight, the square, and the parallel.
Competition for motorists' attention along Route 66 brought billboards and flashing
neon signs that displayed messages in huge, gaudy letters, often outshining the actual
attraction. Images of folksy hillbillies, lumberjacks, rustic architecture, and down-home
cooking were immortalized. Meramec Caverns, a genuine attraction, advertised throughout
the region on rooftops and barns. Over time, the painted advertisements themselves became
regional landmarks.
Route 66 can be hard to follow through Chicago and St. Louis. Surrounded now by
development, office parks, and malls, these remnants, like the Del Rhea Chicken Basket and
Ted Drewes' Frozen Custard, seem disconnected, yet continue to thrive. Others have gone
the way of the Coral Court, now closed despite its being on the National Register of
Historic Places.
Heading west through Oklahoma, Texas, and eastern New Mexico there is an obvious
transition between Midwest and West, between land that is arable, lush, and green and land
that is grazed and sparsely vegetated. Forests are left behind and trees grow only here
and there. Oil pumps bow with hypnotic regularity, silently counting underground wealth.
Cattle chutes and holding pens are next to the railroad tracks that serve them. Hazy,
obstructed views give way to a sky so expansive it seems to level everything beneath it.
Even the arc of Route 66 flattens out into a straight line.
Towns are often separated by miles of fields and fenced rangeland. Solid brick and
stone storefronts face each other across the highway that is their main street. While a
depressed economy has inadvertently saved many of the important structures along the road
from demolition, some are now boarded up, giving main streets a deserted feeling. Oriented
to the highway, they await better times.
Cowboys and Indians, steak and potatoes, oil and Cadillacs, and Will Rogers are all
frequently seen on signs, place mats, and postcards promoting the region. Some roadside
entrepreneurs have gone to such extremes that their advertisements are the primary appeal
not their product or attraction. Billboards announced rattlesnake pits in the 1940s and
50s, but seeking their ruins today can be an adventure.
Today, such handmade wonders as the Blue Whale and Galloway's Totem Poles can be
considered monuments to tourist attraction. They also represent automobile-scale folk art
and reflect the ingenuity and imagination of their makers. Local efforts have been made to
maintain some of these, and despite being closed and/or fenced off, Route 66 buffs
continue to pay their respects.
In Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Amarillo, a few early art deco buildings stand amid glass
and chrome skyscrapers. These cities held some of the last portions of Route 66 to be
bypassed by the interstates, and some businesses maintain an association with the road
even though the surrounding neighborhoods may not.
In western New Mexico and eastern Arizona, Route 66 dips, curves, and winds across arid
rangeland, American Indian reservations, and national forests to the edge of the Mojave
Desert. Much of the rural landscape has been grazed by cattle, sheep, and horses for
centuries. Average annual rainfall is under 20 inches. Livestock grazing is the
predominant land use. Barbed wire fences are everywhere. Windmills mark stock tanks where
livestock and wildlife come to drink. These, along with railroad tracks and telephone
poles, are often the only reminders of human habitation. This is a land where distant
mesas and mountains can appear nearby in the clear, dry air. Locations for towns were
determined by topography and availability of water and are usually separated by many
miles.
Once beyond the large towns or cities, there are few signs, few fences and paved roads,
and fewer delineations of private property. Some new tourist attractions such as the Route
66 Diner in Albuquerque and tribally owned bingo parlors and discount centers are
beginning to appear. Most towns have a distinct downtown or business district, but
interstate-era strip development has grown up around them.
The expansive views and unusual land formations coupled with the cultural diversity of
the area give this region its reputation for mystery and magic. Businesses along Route 66
have exploited that allure and attempted to make it more appealing to the public. Trading
posts, even those located on reservation land, cater to tourists. Cow skulls, silhouettes
of howling coyotes, wooden Indians, tepees and rubber tomahawks, and cactus jelly have
come to represent the southwest region to travelers. Rock shops sell Apache tears,
petrified wood, and desert roses. Today, nostalgia for these regional souvenirs is a large
part of the appeal of the roadside attractions.
Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Gallup, and Flagstaff are national centers for American Indian
trade and exhibitions. Evidence of both American Indian and Spanish roots is everywhere,
from the names and faces to the architecture and food. Route 66 is the main drag through
them all, and many well-known traders, galleries, restaurants, and museums remain
side-by-side with the railroads and reservations.
The Mojave Desert dominates the western Arizona and eastern California section of Route
66. To Dust Bowl and Depression-era travelers, this section of Route 66 must have seemed a
cruel joke, a final test of their determination to reach California. Cars no longer have
to be towed or driven backwards up Sitgreaves Pass between Seligman and Kingman, but this
legendary piece of highway that twists and turns across rangeland and desert, past ruined
mines and tourist camps, is still daunting. Likewise, driving the 150 or so miles of
Mojave Desert from Needles to Barstow gives a real sense of its size and of the fear that
crossing it inspired. Services are scanty. Though the road can seem endless with little
respite from extremes of heat and cold, its function as a connector and an economic
lifeline continues. For most of this stretch, the road is a well preserved two-lane, and
the impact of the interstates can be forgotten. The silent desert feels eternal and the
views of canyons, buttes, and snow- capped mountains are unspoiled.
From Seligman to Barstow, settlements and towns often shimmer in heat waves radiating
from hot pavement. Route 66 frequently follows the railroad that was this area's first
lifeline. Seligman has always been proud of Route 66 and is a headquarters for road buffs.
Much of Route 66 in downtown Kingman is part of a commercial historic district. In
Oatman attractions as dissimilar as tame burros and the honeymoon hotel room of Clark
Gable and Carole Lombard lure tourists to stop and walk the streets of this picturesque
western ghost town. Between Needles and Barstow stone graffiti is scrawled between the
highway and the railroad. Rusted shells of automobiles, shacks, and abandoned gas stations
are scattered along the road. A here today, gone tomorrow feeling lingers in the dry air.
Once over Cajon Pass, Route 66 winds through the arid mountain landscape next to
barricaded and overgrown sections of an older alignment. Along the way to San Bernardino,
a few dilapidated tourist cabins, garages and cafes are slowly turning to dust.
The advertising images popular in this region include bleached bones, vultures,
rattlesnakes, cactus, palm trees, burros and gold prospectors. Promotional strategies
swing from the understated to the miraculous. The role of the desert as a place to test
religious faith also appears. Biblical quotes and beliefs in eternity, peace, and love are
expressed on hand-lettered signs and menus, in roadside graffiti, and on murals.
The last leg of Route 66 to the Pacific coast has undergone the most change. Once
famous for its wide boulevards and manicured landscapes, Los Angeles has now become a
megalopolis laced with freeways and parking lots. Drive-ins, shopping malls, and housing
developments have largely replaced the vineyards and orange groves that once separated
these communities. Still, an occasional 1940s or 50s drive-in theater, motor court, or
service station provides a brief look into the past.
One important element of Route 66 is the people who live and work along the highway.
These people have faced the challenges of everyday life along the road and have enriched
the experiences of travelers who stopped for gas, food, or lodging. They offer Route 66
memorabilia, the latest version of a green chili burger, or a room for the night. In
addition, they may tell stories of the last Route 66 association cruise that came through
or when the next one is due: they may tell what Route 66 has meant to their town or area;
they may talk about Mickey Mantle, Will Rogers, Garth Brooks, or some other well-known
person who came from a town along Route 66; they may recommend sights or attractions; they
will probably remark on how things used to be and how they are now: and they may joke
about getting your kicks on Route 66.
Much of the current formal interpretation of Route 66 heritage focuses on the
automobile touring experience of the 1950s and 1960s. Local and regional history
organizations have produced exhibits in their museums that display road-related artifacts
and depict this era. Various Route 66 organizations sponsor automobile caravan tours or
"cruises." Tour companies have offered organized bus tours of Route 66, and
bicycle tours are becoming popular.
The highway can tell many more stories than those of the 1950s and 1960s. Route 66 has
an infinite number of insights into the history, people, and places along its course. The
stories of this road range from the science and technology of road building to personal
remembrances of individuals who have traveled the highway. Properly preserved, presented,
and integrated, Route 66 and its resources could bring these stories to life.
The highway continues to evolve and impact the people and places it touches, so some
stories have yet to happen. A representative sample of Route 66 stories would include:
- the evolution of the national highway system and Route 66
- the automobile industry and its changing technology
- American mobility and transportation changes, rail to highway evolution
- the technology of highway construction
- the geography of the mid western and western United States
- the cultures of the region (American Indian, Hispanic, rural, urban, etc.)
- the romance and mystique of the road
- tourism and the growth of the service industries
- the economic impact of Route 66
- the role of Route 66 during the Great Depression
- the role of Route 66 in the Dust Bowl
- Route 66 as depicted in music, film, literature, and television
- the built environment of the highway architecture, bridges, signs, etc.
- the people and communities
- federal programs (employment transportation funding)
- ecosystem diversity
- the evolution of the trucking industry
- the highway's role during World War II
- the postwar travel industry boom
- population migration between regions of the United States
Reprinted from:
Special Resource Study Route 66
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service (See Credits)
NPS D-4 July 1995.
