San Bernardino soon will open a Route 66 museum

A Route 66 museum soon will open in San Bernardino, Calif., with a sneak preview during the Route 66 Rendezvous classic-car festival next month, according to the San Bernardino County Sun.

The museum, at Fifth Street near Mount Vernon Avenue (map here), will open at 10 a.m. Sept. 17 during the Rendezvous. The museum will hold its grand opening sometime in November.

The owners of the museum are Danny Castro, a San Bernardino native who’s been collecting literally tons of Route 66 memorabilia for 35 years, and Albert Okura, of the Juan Pollo restaurant chain and owner of the Route 66 hamlet of Amboy, Calif., including Roy’s.

According to museum board member, Steve Portias, while most of the museum focuses on San Bernardino, the collection also “keys in” on Barstow, Amboy, Needles and Kingman areas.

“They have done a lot of research on items that will bring so many memories to people,” said Portias, president of Inland Vans Berdoo, honored in the Route 66 Cruisin’ Hall of Fame.

The museum is sponsored by the California Historic Route 66 Museum Association. In California, there also are Route 66 in museums in Victorville and Barstow.

7 thoughts on “San Bernardino soon will open a Route 66 museum

  1. Unfortunately this article is riddled with a lot of misinformation.

    1) Danny Castro and Albert Okura do not co-own the museum. Danny Castro is the current president of the California Historic Route 66 Association. Albert Okura owns Juan Pollo and the building. He has donated the space to the Association for the museum. The museum is a non profit venture.

    2) “Roadsigns Route 66 Magazine” does not exist. The California Historic Route 66 Association produces a newsletter simply called “Roadsigns”.

    3) Although a friend and supporter, Steve Portias is not a “museum board member”. He is not affiliated with the California Historic Route 66 Association. He is a member of the San Bernardino History & Railroad museum.

    4) An official name has not been selected for the museum.

    5) An official month/date has not been selected for the opening.

    6) The accompanying photo to this article states the girls in the photo are museum volunteers. They are employees of Juan Pollo.

    Thank you 🙂

    1. Museums on just Route 66? I’ve got 10 by my count, not counting the San Bernardino one that’s not going to be open for a few months.

  2. There has been three “route 66” museums in California, Barstow, Victorville and San Bernardino (in the McDonalds museum on E Street). The collection is moving to the new location on 5th Street in San Bernardino.

    1. I’m counting museums that use Route 66 as an dominant theme, Darleen. I’ve been to McDonald’s museum in San Bern, and unless it’s changed drastically since the last time I was there, I’d say the Route 66 portion is very secondary.

  3. My favorite was always the one in the (makeshift) hall at the Dixie Truckers Home back in central Illinois. It’s not there anymore, but I always liked the informality of it. I think that was the effect Tom (Teague) was looking for. Keep it in perspective, reality-based hat’s off to a road. The one in Clinton, OK was nice, but way over on the other side of the spectrum. Route 66 as tourist attraction, which, of course, carries on the old tradition in places like Oklahoma with regards to the Route.

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