Brand USA now focusing on Route 66 tourism in Missouri

A recent article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch confirms what we'd suspected -- that Brand USA next would be concentrating on promoting Route 66 in Missouri. We'd noted a few weeks ago that Brand USA, aka DiscoverAmerica.com, had posted high-quality YouTube videos promoting parts of Route 66 in Illinois for potential British, Japanese and German … Continue reading Brand USA now focusing on Route 66 tourism in Missouri

Artist will hold public unveiling of Gay Parita painting

Route 66 artist Jerry McClanahan will have a public unveiling of his newest painting of Gary Turner's Gay Parita gas station at the station near Halltown, Mo., on Saturday, May 17. According to a news release from the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, a meet-and-greet with hot dogs and soda will be at noon, with the official unveiling at … Continue reading Artist will hold public unveiling of Gay Parita painting

New office building goes up next to Lucille’s gas station

Ken Turmel of PostmarkArt fame recently was traveling old Route 66 in western Oklahoma and noted a new building had been constructed in place of the long-closed Hamons Court motel next to the historic Lucille's gas station near Hydro. He posted these photos of the new building on his Facebook page: From this photo by Carleta Latham in 2006, you … Continue reading New office building goes up next to Lucille’s gas station

Route 66 Arcade Museum opens Thursday

If you're old enough to remember pinball machines, coin-operated video games and brightly colored and noisy arcades, downtown Atlanta, Ill., has just the place for you. The Route 66 Arcade Museum in Atlanta, Ill., is slated to open Thursday, according to a news release from Bill Thomas, the chief mover-and-shaker of the revitalization of Atlanta's … Continue reading Route 66 Arcade Museum opens Thursday

Tornado kills at least one in Quapaw, Baxter Springs

A tornado has killed at least two people one person and destroyed a fire station in the Route 66 town of Quapaw, Okla., near the Kansas border, according to the Tulsa World and other media outlets. One media outlet also reported a death in the nearby Route 66 town of Baxter Springs, Kan. The twister … Continue reading Tornado kills at least one in Quapaw, Baxter Springs

A sneak peek of the Autry Museum’s Route 66 exhibit

The "Route 66: The Road and the Romance" exhibit at the Autry National Museum in Los Angeles won't open until June 8. However, Maren Dougherty, director of communications at the museum, sent images of some of the photographs, artwork and artifacts that will displayed. So here's a bit of a preview of the exhibit. Arthur Rothstein (1915–1985), Landscape … Continue reading A sneak peek of the Autry Museum’s Route 66 exhibit

The road ahead … and behind

I'm closely following National Geographic writer Andrew Evans' trip on Route 66. If you aren't following his Twitter account and his real-time posts from the Mother Road, you should. By my reckoning, he's fired off more than 200 tweets -- most of them with photographs -- and he hasn't even made to the midpoint of his journey. During … Continue reading The road ahead … and behind

More about the U-Drop Inn’s upcoming changes

A few weeks ago, we reported on some upcoming changes with the historic U-Drop Inn gas station and restaurant in Shamrock, Texas, plus more that were hinted. KFDA-TV in Amarillo filed a follow-up story. If the video doesn't embed properly just hit the link. KFDA - NewsChannel 10 / Amarillo News, Weather, Sports City officials … Continue reading More about the U-Drop Inn’s upcoming changes

An interview with the owner of Grady’s 66 Pub

A student with the Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology made this video about Grady Cross, owner of Grady's 66 Pub on Route 66 in Yukon, Okla. Cross was a guitarist for regionally popular country-rock band, Cross Canadian Ragweed, until it broke up a few years ago. He saw his music club as a way … Continue reading An interview with the owner of Grady’s 66 Pub

California Route 66 association opposed solar plant near Helendale

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors rejected an appeal from the California Historic Route 66 Association to halt the building of a 20-megawatt solar plant near Helendale, Calif, reported several media outlets. The Victorville Daily Press initially reported Monday about the appeal: The California Historic Route 66 Association is appealing the approval of the facility proposed on … Continue reading California Route 66 association opposed solar plant near Helendale