The "East Meets West" sculpture at the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza at Riverside Drive and Southwest Boulevard (aka Route 66) in Tulsa is inching closer to being installed. Dennis Whitaker at the city of Tulsa gave me this update, via e-mail: [T]he artist is finished with the car group and the foundry has already cast … Continue reading Notes from the road
Category: Art
One big cartoon
A few days ago, a group of artists from Cartoonists Across America & the World was putting the finishing touches on a Route 66-inspired mural created by cartoonist Phil Yeh. The mural is at D Street and 10th Street in San Bernardino, Calif.
Notes from the road
I've tried to glean a deeper look at the crisis in Needles, Calif., over the possible loss of its only grocery store, Bashas'. The grocer chain filed bankruptcy a few months ago, and it is set to close 10 stores in response, including Needles'. This recent story in the Mohave Daily News provides additional information … Continue reading Notes from the road
Here’s your sign
A few months ago, we tracked down who had painted hundreds, perhaps thousands of distinctive signs along the Route 66 corridor from the western Texas Panhandle to eastern New Mexico. It was Rudolph Gonzales, who has crafted his work along the Mother Road since the mid-1950s and is one of the last to do so … Continue reading Here’s your sign
Four-wheeled flourishes
The Route 66 town of Pontiac, Ill., has come up with a novel way to decorate its downtown, reports the Bloomington Pantagraph: The Pontiac City Council voted Monday to spend about $8,000 to purchase nine fiberglass models of 1957 convertibles, three of 1930s-era pickup trucks and artist supplies. The cars will be about 5½ feet … Continue reading Four-wheeled flourishes
More Route 66 in miniature
Here is Willem Bor's latest Route 66 miniature creation -- the Little Juarez diner in the ghost town of Glenrio, Texas. It is in 1/25 scale. You can read more about Bor's creations here.
Route 66 in miniature
Willem Bor of the Netherlands is a big Route 66 fan, and has decided to make models of landmarks along the Mother Road. The models are in 1/25 scale. Here's one of Lucille's near Hydro, Okla.: Here's one of the 66 Super Service Station near Alanreed, Texas: These amazingly intricate and accurate models are not … Continue reading Route 66 in miniature
Notes from the road
If you're traveling the Mother Road this week, you may have to make other plans for the midsection. As this map from the National Weather Service shows, the Route 66 corridor is under a winter storm warning all the way from about Springfield, Mo., to Gallup, N.M. -- much of it freezing rain. Authorities closed … Continue reading Notes from the road
A video farewell to Bob
Here's a video tribute to Route 66 artist and ambassador Bob Waldmire, who died about a month ago.
Notes from the road
The Pontiac Walldog Committee, which has helped beautify downtown Pontiac, Ill., with a series of murals and related festivals, now wants to open a Walldog Mural and Sign Art Museum in Pontiac, according to news release from the city's tourism department. The primary purpose of the museum is to pay homage to the men and … Continue reading Notes from the road