Route 66: The Road Ahead Initiative wants a new name, logo

The folks behind the Route 66: The Road Ahead Initiative are hoping someone in the community can come up with a new name and logo for the group with a contest. From the news release this week: The past two years, a group of Route 66 stakeholders, facilitated by the World Monuments Fund and the National … Continue reading Route 66: The Road Ahead Initiative wants a new name, logo

Review: “Route 66: In Search of Ghosts and Treasures”

A new Route 66 book designed mostly for children finds a way to explain what still exists on the Mother Road and what is gone. Adults also might find pleasure with the text by Phyllis Chandler Grey and illustrations by Texas Tim Webb in "Route 66: In Search of Ghosts and Treasures" (hardback, 66 pages, … Continue reading Review: “Route 66: In Search of Ghosts and Treasures”

A new look at Cuba’s murals

Antigravity Photography used a drone to provide a new way to see Cuba's murals along Missouri's Route 66. I wasn't sure how drone photography was useful for showing murals. But you'll see, as I did, how their panning abilities can show a very long mural in a few seconds. And the drone footage also allows … Continue reading A new look at Cuba’s murals

Kingman looking for donations for neon-sign park

The Route 66 Association of Kingman in Kingman, Arizona, is seeking donations of old neon signs and money to help set up neon parks along Route 66 in town, according to an article in the Kingman Daily Miner. The parks will be linked with other developments along the Route 66 corridor such as the Route … Continue reading Kingman looking for donations for neon-sign park

The curse of Grants uranium mines

The nonprofit magazine In These Times recently published an in-depth article about uranium miners in the Route 66 town of Grants, New Mexico. The mines operated in Grants and Church Rock, New Mexico, from the 1950s to the 1980s. Many miners contracted cancer and other diseases from radiation exposure. The federal government under the Radiation … Continue reading The curse of Grants uranium mines

The tunnels beneath Flagstaff

Northern Arizona University student Nikki Charnstrom last fall began to hear about tunnels that snaked under downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, including Route 66. But finding information about the Flagstaff tunnels proved more difficult. In an interview in Flagstaff Business News: “Everyone I asked said no, they didn’t know about the tunnels, so it sparked my interest in forgotten … Continue reading The tunnels beneath Flagstaff

Suit settled in Whisler’s Drive Up case

A restaurant in Springfield, Missouri, that was sued last year for using essentially the same name as the Whisler's Drive Up restaurant in Carthage, Missouri, will change its name this weekend after a settlement was reached. The Whisler's restaurant in Springfield will change its name to Springfield Sliders on Saturday, reported the Springfield News-Leader. The … Continue reading Suit settled in Whisler’s Drive Up case

More 1990s videos on Route 66

Anthony Reichardt has posted more than a dozen videos he shot during Route 66 trips in a 1959 Cadillac from 1992 to 1995. The latest batch includes an interview with Aleene Kay Albro, who co-owned Buffalo Ranch in Afton, Oklahoma, from 1953 to 1997. She died less than two years after this video, and Buffalo Ranch … Continue reading More 1990s videos on Route 66

The home of the Bel-Aire Motel Sputnik

I missed this when it happened last summer, but Ace Sign Co. of Springfield, Illinois, restored the Sputnik sign that stood atop the Bel-Aire Motel and displays it in its museum. The Bel-Aire, a longtime Route 66 motel, was torn down last year after hundreds of code violations. According to a story on the Illinois Route 66 … Continue reading The home of the Bel-Aire Motel Sputnik

La Bajada Hill may become a national monument

In the wake of Barack Obama last week designating a big chunk of Route 66 in the Mojave Desert as the Mojave Trails National Monument, pressure is building on the president to designate La Bajada Hill in New Mexico as a national monument, as well. The Christian Science Monitor, in a story Saturday about Obama's executive actions, … Continue reading La Bajada Hill may become a national monument