A couple from Montana is reviving an old business in Ash Fork, Arizona, as the Zettlers Route 66 store. Zettlers Route 66 will open Friday after owners Kirk and Yvette Slack finished about 15 months of cleaning and renovations to the building, reported the Grand Canyon News. The store features a working 1960s Coke machine, Native … Continue reading Zettlers Route 66 store opening soon in Ash Fork
Category: Towns
Route 66 tourist center opens in Edwardsville
A Route 66 information center in Edwardsville, Illinois, has opened in the Afterwords Books store, which was a tourist inn for Route 66 travelers many years ago. The Edwardsville Intelligencer reports the city's Historic Preservation Commission forged a partnership with the bookstore to offer brochures and information about restaurants, museums, hotels, entertainment and other visitor information about Edwardsville. Cindy Reinhardt … Continue reading Route 66 tourist center opens in Edwardsville
Joplin may update its historic preservation plan
A consulting firm is helping the Historic Preservation Commission of Joplin, Missouri, update the city's historic preservation plan, reported the Joplin Globe. Peter Benton and Elizabeth Watson of Pennsylvania-based Heritage Strategies was hired by the commission and provide a draft of the updated plan. The Globe reported: A priority, Benton said, is to create and monitor … Continue reading Joplin may update its historic preservation plan
City council approves Albuquerque Rapid Transit 7-2
The Albuquerque City Council voted 7-2 Monday night to approve the mayor's $120 million bus-transit plan that will bring big changes to Central Avenue, aka Route 66. The vote came after a "noisy" four-hour debate, reported the Albuquerque Journal. Supporters of the project were in the minority at city hall. Councilors Dan Lewis and Klarissa Pena … Continue reading City council approves Albuquerque Rapid Transit 7-2
Winslow’s tourism season began early with Glenn Frey’s death
Apparently The Eagles' loss was Winslow's gain. When Glenn Frey died in January, it wasn't surprising Winslow, Arizona, and its Standin' on a Corner Park saw a sudden influx of tourists wanting to pay tribute to the founder of the massively popular country-rock band. Standin' on a Corner Park pays tribute to The Eagles' first hit, "Take … Continue reading Winslow’s tourism season began early with Glenn Frey’s death
Maplewood Big M proposed on Route 66
The St. Louis suburb of Maplewood, Missouri, wants to use a giant letter M, plus other letters that stood on a theater's marquee, as a gateway into the city at Manchester Road, also known as an early alignment of Route 66 in the St. Louis area. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: The 90-year-old porcelain … Continue reading Maplewood Big M proposed on Route 66
New microbrewery opening in Springfield, Missouri
The Route 66 town of Springfield, Missouri, later this year will open its fourth microbrewery in a site that once was one of the region's big radio stations. Lost Signal Brewing Co. will open at 610 W. College St. (aka Route 66), reported the Springfield News-Leader. Named because the 3,200-square-foot building it will occupy was … Continue reading New microbrewery opening in Springfield, Missouri
Springfield may add TIF district to section of Route 66
Springfield, Illinois, may add a tax-increment financing district to declining Peoria Road, which is historic Route 66 in the town's north side. TIF districts are where taxes from rising property-tax values are used to pay a part of renovation costs or infrastructure improvements for businesses. Anecdotal evidence existed the Peoria Road district was in decline, but WRSP-TV had … Continue reading Springfield may add TIF district to section of Route 66
A new look at Cuba’s murals
Antigravity Photography used a drone to provide a new way to see Cuba's murals along Missouri's Route 66. I wasn't sure how drone photography was useful for showing murals. But you'll see, as I did, how their panning abilities can show a very long mural in a few seconds. And the drone footage also allows … Continue reading A new look at Cuba’s murals
The curse of Grants uranium mines
The nonprofit magazine In These Times recently published an in-depth article about uranium miners in the Route 66 town of Grants, New Mexico. The mines operated in Grants and Church Rock, New Mexico, from the 1950s to the 1980s. Many miners contracted cancer and other diseases from radiation exposure. The federal government under the Radiation … Continue reading The curse of Grants uranium mines