Coffeehouse / art gallery opens in Fontana

Tazza Mia in the Route 66 town of Fontana, Calif., is a combination coffeehouse, art gallery and pottery studio. It opened during Cruise Night and Market Night in downtown Fontana last week, reports the Fontana Herald News. Another thing significant about Tazza Mia is it held an exhibition by artist Pete Morris, which included a … Continue reading Coffeehouse / art gallery opens in Fontana

A closer look at “Ultragate”

The Riverfront Times in St. Louis has a more in-depth look at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, which once carried Route 66, and artist James Woodfill's sprucing-up of the bridge, which he has called "Ultragate."

Old Chain of Rocks Bridge gets colorful decor

The Old Chain of Rocks Bridge, a section of Route 66 that spans the Mississippi River in St. Louis, was spruced up last week with the addition of red, orange and yellow banners designed by Kansas City artist James Woodfill, reports the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat. The creation is called "Ultragate." Woodfill said the placement of … Continue reading Old Chain of Rocks Bridge gets colorful decor

An excellent likeness

OpenThreads, who like me has an account on Flickr, attempted to re-create Ernst Hass' famous photograph of Central Avenue, aka Route 66, that was published in Life magazine in 1969. Here's the original: Here's OpenThreads' re-creation, in the year 2006: Not bad, huh? Here's OpenThreads' full-size version of the image. In case, you're wondering, that … Continue reading An excellent likeness

New Route 66 photography site

In the last few weeks, Studiobrian of Chicago has set up a Route 66 blog to highlight the photographs he's taken along the Mother Road, which he has Photoshopped nicely into art-quality images. Studiobrian writes: the artwork here was inspired from my travels along route 66...I assume that those who find their way to this … Continue reading New Route 66 photography site

New mural depicts Route 66

Elizabeth Long, a high-school graduate of Marshfield, Mo., and a student that Kansas City Art Institute, painted a 40-foot-long mural depicting Route 66 at the RVExpress RV Park in Marshfield, reports the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader. Long received pictures of Route 66 landmarks from Mother Road author Skip Curtis. She spent about 100 hours this summer … Continue reading New mural depicts Route 66

New book about Oklahoma Route 66 is out

An enticing coffee-table book about Oklahoma's Route 66 was recently published by New Forums Press. It's "Once Upon a Highway: Route 66 in Oklahoma" by Oklahoma State University architecture instructor John Womack. Womack's book contains more than 150 of his detailed pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations of Route 66 sights in the Sooner State. Womack's illustration … Continue reading New book about Oklahoma Route 66 is out

Route 66-loving artist revamps Web site

Artist Gerald "Maestro" Gaxiola has informed me that he's revamped his Web site. There you can look over the photos and text from his Route 66 trip, look over his extensive artwork, and gaze on the very cool Route 66 boots he created.

A history through postcards

The Alibi, which is an alternative newspaper in Albuquerque, reports that there is a "Route 66 Through Albuquerque: A Postcard History" exhibit at the Special Collections Library at 423 Central Ave. NE through Aug. 26. Alibi staffer Steven Robert Allen writes: The highlight is a display of vintage Albuquerque postcards mounted beside captions explaining their … Continue reading A history through postcards