The Chicken Shack restaurant in Luther, Oklahoma, recently finished its move down Route 66 to Arcadia, Oklahoma. The Chicken Shack announced the move was complete in a Facebook post: The restaurant's owner, Eddy Gochenour, announced the move 7 1/2 miles to the west earlier this year. He is leasing a portion of the defunct Hillbillee's … Continue reading The Chicken Shack completes its move down Route 66 from Luther to Arcadia
Route 66 Road Fest in Tulsa used a driverless shuttle bus
The recently completed Route 66 Road Fest in Tulsa featured on particular oddity -- a driverless shuttle bus to help visitors get to and from the festival. You can see the shuttle operate in this local news report: https://youtu.be/ZDHtJ_0exNI News 6 reported it was the first such driverless shuttle in the state. The shuttle was … Continue reading Route 66 Road Fest in Tulsa used a driverless shuttle bus
Betty Wheatley, Allen Threatt Sr. inducted into Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame
Betty Wheatley and the late Allen Threatt Sr. were inducted Saturday into the Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame during a ceremony at the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton. Wheatley owned the Dairy Ranch Drive-In in Afton, Oklahoma, for more than four decades. Threatt founded the Threatt Filling Station, one of the few Black-owned … Continue reading Betty Wheatley, Allen Threatt Sr. inducted into Oklahoma Route 66 Hall of Fame
Phelps County, Missouri, renews push to establish a permanent Route 66 museum
Advocates for Phelps County, Missouri, are renewing their quest to establish a local Route 66 museum in St. James at an old car dealership within the next year. The museum's advocates, including its president James Standfast, want to develop the old Hutcheson Ford complex, and fundraising towards the purchase of the site continues, reported the … Continue reading Phelps County, Missouri, renews push to establish a permanent Route 66 museum
State Council to consider Boots Court’s nomination to National Register of Historic Places
The Missouri Advisory Council on Historic Preservation will meet in Jefferson City on July 15 to consider whether to nominate the Route 66 landmark Boots Court motel of Carthage, Missouri, to the National Register of Historic Places. Also to be considered will be the East Town neighborhood of Joplin, Missouri, which is bounded by an … Continue reading State Council to consider Boots Court’s nomination to National Register of Historic Places
Take a deep dive into the massive Route 66 Photo Archive and its 50,000+ images
This has been over 20 years in the making, but the Route 66 Photo Archive recently passed 50,000 images in its database. Dries Bessels started the archive in June 2000. In late June this year, he announced the archive had passed more than 50,000 images in the database. The photographs are sorted by location from … Continue reading Take a deep dive into the massive Route 66 Photo Archive and its 50,000+ images
Angel Delgadillo announces retirement from barbering after 75 years in the trade
Angel Delgadillo, known as the Guardian Angel of Route 66, announced on Thursday he was retiring from the barber trade after 75 years in it, virtually all in Seligman, Arizona. The Angel and Vilma Delgadillo's Original Route 66 Gift Shop account on Facebook announced it: Angel always says the first day of his barbering career … Continue reading Angel Delgadillo announces retirement from barbering after 75 years in the trade
Hi-Way Cafe near Vinita lands $40,000 grant from National Trust program
The Hi-Way Cafe near Vinita, Oklahoma, was one of 25 restaurants to receive $40,000 from the Backing Historic Small Restaurants Grant Program by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Launched in 2021, last year 25 small historic restaurants across the country each received a $40,000 grant to improve, upgrade, and preserve their exterior physical spaces and online … Continue reading Hi-Way Cafe near Vinita lands $40,000 grant from National Trust program
A dive into the history of the defunct Rock City Cafe in Eureka
A YouTube channel called Gateway Explorer recently dove into the history of the Rock City Cafe that once stood along Route 66 in Eureka, Missouri. https://youtu.be/Lp_7uO02pIU The channel describes the video: Located at (38.5054260, -90.6151620), the Rock City Cafe was built in 1933 by Ed LaMar on a hill at the edge of Times Beach … Continue reading A dive into the history of the defunct Rock City Cafe in Eureka
Suspicious fire destroys much of El Rancho Motel in Barstow
A fire deemed as suspicious destroyed three-quarters of the historic El Rancho Motel on Tuesday night along Route 66 in Barstow, California. The three-alarm blaze forced the closing of about a quarter-mile of Main Street in the city, but no injuries were reported. The Victorville Daily Press in nearby Victorville had some details after the … Continue reading Suspicious fire destroys much of El Rancho Motel in Barstow