There was a time that an Ozark Trail obelisk once graced the Route 66 town of Miami, Okla. It's been gone for many years. But, according to the Miami News-Record, it will return: On Monday, councilmembers accepted the recommendation that a 21-foot obelisk be placed on the corner of Central Avenue and Main Street - … Continue reading Historical icon returning to Miami
Category: History
Another stocking-stuffer
In case you didn't get to the National Preservation Conference in Tulsa last month, you now can buy over the Internet the Route 66 T-shirts recently created by the folks at Vintage Roadside, which specializes in putting retro graphics from defunct roadside businesses onto apparel. Here's the story about this T-shirt: Route 66, also known … Continue reading Another stocking-stuffer
Cataloging the past
Phil Gordon, who lives in Vancouver, Wash., dropped me an e-mail to let me know about an admirable project that he's undertaking -- he's trying to collect and catalog all the linen postcards that were issued along Route 66. He's set up a Web site to list all of these postcards. He has them grouped … Continue reading Cataloging the past
“Route 66 Railway” book is out
Railroad buff Elrond Lawrence long-gestating book about Route 66 and its historical relationship with Santa Fe/BNSF, "Route 66 Railway" (176 pages, $49.50, Los Angeles Historical Railroad Foundation) is now being shipped. An article in the Salinas Californian, Lawrence tells about how and why the book came about: "My goal was to recall the days when … Continue reading “Route 66 Railway” book is out
Preview: “A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway”
The Lincoln Highway is not Route 66. Instead of going from Chicago to L.A., it traverses the country from New York City's Times Square to San Francisco. The Lincoln is 1,000 miles longer. And it predates the Mother Road by more than a decade. However, Mother Road aficionados will find a lot to love during … Continue reading Preview: “A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway”
Portion of original National Road found
This isn't on Route 66, but still significant for lovers of historic highways. After all, we're talking about the granddaddy of the entire bunch. From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: While excavating for construction of a new bridge overpass near the Brownsville Drive-In, PennDOT workers discovered what turned out to be a 200-year-old portion of the original … Continue reading Portion of original National Road found
So how much is the Illinois Route 66 plan going to cost?
The answer: no one knows. But the Chicago Sun-Times group attempts to fish for a few answers regarding an ambitious proposal to enhance the Route 66 experience in Illinois: ... Ambrose said they are continuing to seek state and federal funding. Most recently the group applied to receive a federal grant for $475,000 which would … Continue reading So how much is the Illinois Route 66 plan going to cost?
A Route 66 tribute to St. Louis
St. Louis roadie Joe Sonderman has put together this video tribute to the Mother Road in the Gateway City. A lot of the images come from his postcard collection and the archives of the Missouri Department of Transportation. Most of these photos also can be found in his book, "Route 66 in St. Louis."
Preservation Conference tour heads into Kansas
The Joplin (Mo.) Globe ran into a group from the National Preservation Conference in Tulsa that was touring Oklahoma's eastern end of Route 66, plus the Mother Road in Kansas. Among the sights taken in were the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Okla.; Afton Station in Afton, Okla.; a stretch of the old 9-foot-wide highway, the … Continue reading Preservation Conference tour heads into Kansas
Notes from the Preservation Conference
I attended a couple of Route 66-related seminars and took a stroll in the exhibition hall on Wednesday during the National Preservation Conference at the Tulsa Convention Center in Tulsa. Here are a few news items that should be of interest to roadies: -- I ran into Albert Okura, owner of the Juan Pollo restaurants … Continue reading Notes from the Preservation Conference