The new Route 66 Interpretive Center in the old Armory building in Chandler, Okla., doesn't open to the public until 11 a.m. Saturday, and I'll be out of town because of a prior engagement. However, Howard Dickman, chairman of the Old Armory Restorers group, showed me around the building a couple of days ago. The … Continue reading A sneak peek of the Route 66 Interpretive Center
Category: History
Mother Road notebook
A few brief news items from Route 66: Reviews of Grand Canyon Skywalk have become so bad, its operators have hired a lawyer to send letters that threaten legal action against critics, reports East Valley Living. A prominent First Amendment attorney has scoffed at Skywalk's alleged intimidation efforts. Money quote from a nearby landowner: "We … Continue reading Mother Road notebook
Lake Overholser Bridge may become pedestrian-only
First, the good news about the old Lake Overholser Bridge on an old alignment of Route 66, as told by the Daily Oklahoman: Now the bridge, just outside Bethany city limits, is to be restored by Oklahoma City. The restored bridge will lead to a project Hoskison envisioned: a statue of Will Rogers in a … Continue reading Lake Overholser Bridge may become pedestrian-only
Ready for Fun
The 20th annual Arizona Route 66 Fun Run takes place this weekend in western Arizona. The Kingman Daily Miner has a preview story, along with some history about the Mother Road.
Arizona kicks
Mike Di Paola of Bloomberg News drives down Route 66 in Arizona, focusing on the vintage 150-mile stretch of the Mother Road in the western third of the state and the town of Seligman. Check it out.
Longtime roadie Skip Curtis dies
C.H. "Skip" Curtis, a longtime historian and booster of Route 66 in Missouri, died Saturday night at his home in Springfield, Mo., reports Tommy Pike, president of the Route 66 Association of Missouri. I don't have any funeral arrangements yet. I'll pass them along and other details as I get them. Curtis was a contributing … Continue reading Longtime roadie Skip Curtis dies
Memories of the Wide-A-Wake Cafe
KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City did a bang-up job talking to people about their recollections of the long-gone 24-hour restaurant at Route 66 and U.S. 77 in Edmond, Okla., the Wide-A-Wake Cafe. The link to the video is the top item on the search here. A photo from the cafe can be found here. The restaurant … Continue reading Memories of the Wide-A-Wake Cafe
Meeting of the minds
Logan County (Ill.) Tourism director Geoff Ladd and Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project historian Carl Johnson joined forces on Thursday to try to find all of the obscure alignments of the Mother Road through Lincoln, Ill., reported the Lincoln Courier. Talk about a dynamic duo -- Ladd has already proved his worth in a short … Continue reading Meeting of the minds
The sad story of Glenrio
Josh Burton of the Amarillo Globe-News does a bang-up job telling the history of Glenrio, a Route 66 ghost town on the Texas-New Mexico border that recently was named to the National Register of Historic Places. Burton talked to Phil Thomason, who wrote the proposal to put Glenrio on the National Register; Allen Ehresman, whose … Continue reading The sad story of Glenrio
End of era at Totem Pole Trading Post (UPDATED)
The Totem Pole Trading Post on Route 66 just west of Rolla, Mo., isn't going to close. But new ownership is taking over Friday afternoon, and the name -- which has been there since 1933 -- won't stay, according to the Rolla Daily News. According to this Rolla Chamber of Commerce release, Jones did not … Continue reading End of era at Totem Pole Trading Post (UPDATED)