Prominent Route 66 author Michael Wallis and the Route 66 Alliance he leads are part of the group that submitted a proposal to the City of Tulsa to build a Route 66 museum, revealed the Tulsa World. City planner Dennis Whitaker and other unnamed city officials confirmed to the newspaper it was the Route 66 … Continue reading Route 66 Alliance revealed as the group proposing a Route 66 museum in Tulsa
Tag: Michael Wallis
Remnants of Club Cafe soon will disappear
The neon signs and building of the long-closed Club Cafe restaurant in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, likely will vanish by summer's end unless an unlikely savior is found, according to today's print edition of the Guadalupe County Communicator, based in Santa Rosa. Known since 1935 for its sourdough biscuits, New Mexican cuisine and its trademark … Continue reading Remnants of Club Cafe soon will disappear
High school class makes superb film about Route 66
The film class of Jenks High School in Jenks, Oklahoma, uploaded this 10-minute film about Route 66 in the last few days. This well-edited clip features Tulsa-area Route 66 experts Marian Clark and Michael Wallis. https://youtu.be/zBYoEVIvuKs This sort of excellence isn't new for the Jenks High School film class. It won an Emmy award in 2012 for … Continue reading High school class makes superb film about Route 66
The road ahead … and behind
I'm closely following National Geographic writer Andrew Evans' trip on Route 66. If you aren't following his Twitter account and his real-time posts from the Mother Road, you should. By my reckoning, he's fired off more than 200 tweets -- most of them with photographs -- and he hasn't even made to the midpoint of his journey. During … Continue reading The road ahead … and behind
Where are the surviving Green Book businesses?
A historian with the National Park Service is searching for surviving buildings once listed in the "Negro Motorist Green Book" travel directory from 1936 to 1964, and he's asking for roadies' help in finding them along Route 66. The Negro Motorist Green Book was an annual guidebook for black drivers during the Jim Crow era. … Continue reading Where are the surviving Green Book businesses?
Where Cars Land got its inspiration
This video shows how Disney engineers (they're called Imagineers) traveled Route 66 to research and figure out the right look for a life-size fictional town of Radiator Springs for Cars Land at Disneyland California Adventure. https://youtu.be/dKYi8gbbIn0 Route 66 author and "Cars" actor Michael Wallis led the trip about five years ago. My story about that … Continue reading Where Cars Land got its inspiration
Route 66 Alliance and Federation may merge
Looking over the emails and posts that trickled in from the recent "Route 66: The Road Ahead" roundtable, it seems the most newsworthy thing from it is a possible merger of the Route 66 Alliance and the National Historic Route 66 Federation. A merger may take months of talks. Or it may not happen at … Continue reading Route 66 Alliance and Federation may merge
Video from the start of the “Grapes of Wrath” tour
As we've reported, the National Steinbeck Center is marking the upcoming 75th anniversary of the publication of John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath." The trio who are traversing Route 66 for the center posted a film today about the first three days of their journey. You'll see a familiar face -- "Route 66: The Mother … Continue reading Video from the start of the “Grapes of Wrath” tour
Michael Wallis to speak about segregated road travel
This could be interesting. Michael Wallis, author of "Route 66: The Mother Road," will give a lecture tomorrow at the Tulsa Historical Society titled "No 'Good Old Days' for Everyone" -- using the "Negro Motorist Green Book." As automobile use became more prolific in the 1930s, many Americans enjoyed traveling the U.S. for leisure. While … Continue reading Michael Wallis to speak about segregated road travel
“Songdogs: The Journey of Michael & Suzanne Wallis”
The Tulsa Historical Society is hosting an exhibit about "Route 66: The Mother Road" author Michael Wallis and his wife Suzanne. If you can't see the exhibit, this video will be the next-best thing. The video was created by Ideaship Studios, based in Tulsa. (Image of Michael Wallis by Randy Lane, via Flickr)