The Google Doodle on Google’s homepage on Saturday will contain a commissioned work of an artist’s representation of Route 66.
Allison Hacker of M Booth Communications alerted us to the forthcoming Google Doodle in an email about two weeks ago:
While every Doodle has a story behind it, this specific one has a 2,448-mile-long journey. To truly honor the beloved route and get inspiration for what would become an animated sketchbook video Doodle — and the first Google Doodle of its kind — Google Art Lead Matthew Cruickshank set out in his ‘72 Chevelle in Chicago and drove the entire route to Los Angeles.
Along the way when he’d spot something interesting, he’d pull over on the side of the road to paint or sketch his surroundings. This adventure led him to create over 100 paintings and sketches on the road, each influenced by the historic locations along the route.
Hacker wouldn’t give an estimate of how many people view a typical Google Doodle, except to say that “millions” see it daily.
The nearly 2 1/2-minute Doodle contains music by Bobby Troup, singing “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” which he wrote in 1946 while traveling the Mother Road itself.
Here is the YouTube version of the Google Doodle:
Among the landmarks I spotted (a partial list) were the late Bob Waldmire’s schoolbus home n Pontiac, Illinois; Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield; the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis; Devil’s Elbow Bridge; 66 Drive-In in Carthage, Missouri; Coleman Theatre in Miami, Oklahoma; Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park in Foyil, Oklahoma; the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Oklahoma; Round Barn of Arcadia, Oklahoma; Golden Driller of Tulsa; the Britten Leaning Water Tower of Groom, Texas; Cadillac Ranch of Amarillo; La Bajada Hill near Santa Fe, New Mexico; the Continental Divide; Oatman Road in Arizona; Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, California; and the Santa Monica Pier.
The Route 66 Doodle will be on Google’s homepage for 24 hours, or until Sunday morning.
UPDATE: We’ve corrected some time elements about the Doodle. Also, here’s a blog spot about its creator, Matthew Cruickshank.
(Screen-capture image from video of the Route 66 Google Doodle)
A 60’s car with a hood prop rod? Obviously drawn by a “young person”.