Claudia Heller continues her ongoing series about Route 66 through California's Mojave Desert. The latest edition focuses on a few tiny burgs in the middle of the desert, including this one little stop I'd forgotten about: Traveling west from Fenner on Route 66 the next stop is Essex. Once a bustling town, it historically offered … Continue reading More scenes from the Mojave
Category: Towns
Film features mural painters in Pontiac
Scott McCoy, the former mayor of Pontiac, Ill., and owner of McCoy studios, has produced a documentary film about the Walldogs mural painters when they descended on the city last summer, reported the Bloomington Pantagraph. The title of the film is "Murals on Main Street -- The Story of Walldogs in Pontiac, Ill." The two-hour … Continue reading Film features mural painters in Pontiac
A closer look at Goffs
Claudia Heller, in her ongoing series about Route 66 for the several Southern California newspapers, has produced an engaging story about the near-ghost town of Goffs, Calif. The most newsworthy item is that the Goffs Library, located next to the historic Goffs Schoolhouse, was recently built and will house the Mojave Desert Archives. The building … Continue reading A closer look at Goffs
Winslow breaks ground on Route 66 streetscape
A bunch of city officials in Winslow, Ariz., broke ground Thursday on a Route 66-themed streetscape projected called Winslow Renaissance II, reported AzJournal.com. Woodson and other speakers recited the history of the project, which was first conceived in 1997, but was not granted funding until 2000. Funds have been obtained from ADOT, federal grants and … Continue reading Winslow breaks ground on Route 66 streetscape
A whole lot of wrong in a small package
This unnamed opinion writer for the Nanaimo News Bulletin in British Columbia, Canada, packaged a whole lot of half-baked assumptions into one sentence of this travelogue through the American Southwest: Winslow probably takes first prize for the most run-down town on old Route 66 and the corner the Eagles sang about in 1973 is its … Continue reading A whole lot of wrong in a small package
Webb City seeks to play of Route 66 heritage
The Route 66 town of Webb City, Mo., has some ideas on how to revitalize its downtown, and Chuck Surface, economic development director, says playing up its Route 66 roots is one of them, reports the Joplin Globe. One vision, Surface said, is to turn the city’s east entrance at Broadway and Daugherty streets into … Continue reading Webb City seeks to play of Route 66 heritage
Holbrook to mull opposition to bypass
I suspected that a proposed highway bypass in the Route 66 town of Holbrook, Ariz., would eventually encounter some opposition. It looks like the opposition is happening. According to the Tribune-News, the Holbrook City Council is considering a resolution to oppose a plan to route traffic from Highways 77 and 377 away from Holbrook and … Continue reading Holbrook to mull opposition to bypass
A dream in the desert
The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif., posted quite an article about Gus Lizalde, who purchased the Route 66 hamlet of Chambless, Calif., years ago and hopes to eventually businesses in that spot. He described his vision for a multimillion-dollar makeover. "It's going to be a full-blown restoration to the way it was built," Lizalde said. "I … Continue reading A dream in the desert
A closer look at Gallup
This tourism video does a good job in showing many of the attractions of the Route 66 town of Gallup, N.M., including El Rancho Hotel and the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial.
A visit to Devil’s Elbow
The Southeastern Missourian has quite an essay and photos about attractions along Route 66 in Devil's Elbow, Mo. The most intriguing are things of which I was unfamiliar -- The Trestle, which is a massive wooden railroad trestle that was built around World War II, and another large wooden trestle at the Big Piney River. … Continue reading A visit to Devil’s Elbow