The exhibit of electric vehicles at the Powerhouse Visitors Center on Route 66 in Kingman, Arizona, during the International Route 66 Festival last month has become a permanent museum to EVs, with more vehicles coming soon. According to a story on EV News Report, the Historic Electric Vehicle Foundation's exhibit was visited by people from … Continue reading Electric vehicle museum opens in Kingman
Annual Cruise-In at The Mill slated for Saturday
The annual Mill Car Cruise-In classic-car show will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the landmark but long-closed Route 66 restaurant in Lincoln, Illinois. The event also serves as a fundraiser in ongoing efforts to preserve The Mill. Geoff Ladd, former leader of Logan County Tourism, a Route 66 Heritage Foundation of … Continue reading Annual Cruise-In at The Mill slated for Saturday
Another Broadway building in Los Angeles revived
The long-declining Schulte United Department Store building in Los Angeles' downtown Broadway district has been extensively renovated and reopened as Broadway Arts Tower, reported L.A. Downtown News. The Schulte building opened in 1928 at 529 S. Broadway as a department store with a huge cafeteria. Schulte United went bust four decades later, and the building … Continue reading Another Broadway building in Los Angeles revived
Marty Stuart song inspired by Route 66 stop
I've known about this song for 15 years, but country-music artist Marty Stuart revealed in a recent story in American Songwriter magazine that his 1999 song "The Observations of a Crow" drew its inspiration during a stop on Route 66. Stuart explained how the song happened: It was when I was writing "The Pilgrim." My … Continue reading Marty Stuart song inspired by Route 66 stop
Interactive map sorts 1935-1945 photos
Starting in 1935, photographers with the New Deal's Farm Security Administration began documenting life in the United States during the Great Depression and, later, World War II. More than 170,000 photos were taken, and a few of them became famous, including Dorothea Lange's now-iconic image of a migrant mother. Although the vast majority of images … Continue reading Interactive map sorts 1935-1945 photos
Book review: “The 66 Kid”
"The 66 Kid" is not your typical memoir. Then again, Bob Boze Bell isn't a typical fellow. Nearly all memoirs consist of a few hundred typewritten pages with a few dozen black-and-white photos crammed into the center. But Boze, best-known as owner of True West magazine and as a western-themed artist, treats his early life story … Continue reading Book review: “The 66 Kid”
Bun Boy Restaurant in Barstow torn down
The abandoned Bun Boy Restaurant that once served Route 66 travelers for decades was leveled last week to make way for a new medical center, reported the Victorville Daily Press. IPA Administrator Marie Langley provided the “hammer swing” on the building. “Although the building has been on Main Street for years, over the last couple of years … Continue reading Bun Boy Restaurant in Barstow torn down
Railroad depot in Springfield named to National Register
The Great Western Railroad depot in Springfield, Illinois, was named to the National Register of Historic Places effective Aug. 25, according to an email a few days ago from the National Park Service. The depot at 930 E. Monroe St. (map here) sits barely a block east of the classic Ninth Street alignment of Route … Continue reading Railroad depot in Springfield named to National Register
Tucumcari Motel destroyed; apparent arsonist on the loose
The long-abandoned Tucumcari Motel near downtown Tucumcari, New Mexico, was destroyed by fire Friday -- the third suspicious fire in less than a week. The motel never was on Route 66, but it and its worn-down neon sign often was photographed by roadies who'd stumbled onto it. The motel was in a two-story structure at … Continue reading Tucumcari Motel destroyed; apparent arsonist on the loose
Historic Seligman Sundries changes owners
A couple from Flagstaff, Arizona, took over ownership Friday of the Historic Seligman Sundries coffee shop and souvenir store on Route 66 in Seligman, Arizona, from longtime proprietors Frank and Lynn Kocevar. Thomas Muetzel and Ursula "Uschi" Fuchs, who were regular customers for about four years, plan no big changes for the business. The Kocevars plan to hang around for another 30 … Continue reading Historic Seligman Sundries changes owners