The Blue Front Cafe, a breakfast-and-lunch fixture along Amarillo's Sixth Avenue (aka Route 66) for at least 60 years, is being put on the market for $225,000. The restaurant at 801 Southwest Sixth Ave. is listed by the Gaut-Whittenberg-Emerson real-estate firm of Amarillo. According to the listing, the restaurant's roof and gas line were replaced two … Continue reading Amarillo’s Blue Front Cafe goes up for sale
Author: Ron Warnick
I'm the editor and publisher of Route 66 News, a clearinghouse of events, information, and entertainment pertaining to historic U.S. 66, the Mother Road.
Senator urges executive order to create Mojave Trails National Monument
U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California has asked President Obama to bypass Congress and create the Mojave Trails National Monument in Southern California that would encompass Route 66 from the edge of Needles to Ludlow. Feinstein sent a letter Aug. 3 to the president urging him to take action after two such bills have languished in … Continue reading Senator urges executive order to create Mojave Trails National Monument
Pontiac shield featured on cover of National Geographic Route 66 calendar
The giant Route 66 shield mural featured on the back of the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac, Illinois, is the cover image of the 2016 Route 66 wall calendar published by National Geographic. The cover image is seen above. The inside of the calendar features images from the Blue Swallow … Continue reading Pontiac shield featured on cover of National Geographic Route 66 calendar
Random stabbings in Bloomington include German tourist
Two people were stabbed Wednesday in downtown Bloomington, Illinois, in what police described as a random attack. One of the victims was a German tourist who was visiting the city's Route 66 visitors center amid a Route 66 trip. According to the Bloomington Pantagraph, the tourist and a Pantagraph employee who happened to be working … Continue reading Random stabbings in Bloomington include German tourist
A look at off-limits Route 66 in McCook
A few weeks ago, Roamin' Rich Dinkela -- with the help of a drone helicopter -- created this video about the closed section of Route 66 near McCook, Illinois. The approximate one-mile section of Joliet Road, aka Route 66, was closed about 2001 when the road became dangerously unstable because of alleged undermining by Vulcan … Continue reading A look at off-limits Route 66 in McCook
Albuquerque plans to upgrade city neon signs to LED
Deep in a KRQE-TV story about the City of Albuquerque's Route 66-themed signs -- including the archways over Central Avenue -- is this item -- the city eventually will upgrade them to LED. Apparently neon owned by the city has been experiencing trouble staying lighted for extended periods -- to the chagrin of residents and … Continue reading Albuquerque plans to upgrade city neon signs to LED
KY3’s reporter’s Route 66 videos
In recent weeks, Paul Adler, a reporter for the KY3 television station in Springfield, Missouri, traveled Route 66 from Santa Monica to help promote the town's Birthplace of Route 66 Festival and broadcast a bunch of on-the-scene segments. Adler in recent days has uploaded many of those reports. You can view all 24 videos in … Continue reading KY3’s reporter’s Route 66 videos
More 1993 videos of a Route 66 trip
Anthony Reichardt of Santa Ana, California, has uploaded four more videos from 1993, when he and a friend drove a 1959 Cadillac down old Route 66. The first is Thelma White, longtime proprietor of Whitehall Mercantile in Halltown, Missouri. She also was a co-founder of the Route 66 Association of Missouri. She died in 2010, but … Continue reading More 1993 videos of a Route 66 trip
Route 66’s close link to “The Graduate” movie
Do you recognize this church? It's not on Route 66, but close. Perhaps this climactic scene will jog your memory: https://youtu.be/l4YUbYU6LmQ?t=1m47s The place where Dustin Hoffman repeatedly screams "Elaine!" at a just-married Katharine Ross in the 1967 movie "The Graduate" actually is the La Verne United Methodist Church of La Verne, California, which sits about … Continue reading Route 66’s close link to “The Graduate” movie
23,000 attend Birthplace of Route 66 Festival
About 23,000 people visited downtown Springfield, Missouri, during the past weekend's Birthplace of Route 66 Festival, only in its fifth year of existence. About 5,000 also attended the Route 66 parade during the festival, according to city officials cited Sunday by KSPR-TV in Springfield. More than 400 entries were in the parade. Business owners, including … Continue reading 23,000 attend Birthplace of Route 66 Festival