Where did you run to today?
Where did you run to today?
Length: 2,381 miles
Route: Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California passing through 8 states
Noteworthy: Follow the road that carried the legendary Grapes of Wrath's Joad family, songwriter Bobby Troup who penned the catch phrase “get your kicks on Route 66”, and millions of others west to the land of dreams, opportunity and open spaces. This historic highway, which linked Chicago with Los Angeles, was approved in 1926 and completely paved by 1938. Perhaps more than any other highway in America, Route 66 symbolizes the adventure and romance of the open road, and is an inseparable part of American popular culture.
Total Mileage: 0 miles
Population: 2,783,726
Noteworthy:
Grant Park – The eastern end of Route 66 from 1933 through 1955 when Jackson
Boulevard became a one-way street and the terminus moved to Adams Street at Michigan
Avenue.
Total Mileage: 37 miles
Population: 76,836
Noteworthy:
Route 66 Tourist Shop – Montana Charlie’s Flea Market
History – In 1673 French-Canadian explorer Louis Jolliet discovered the area
now named for him.
City Fame – Joliet has been known as ‘prison city’. Stateville
Penitentiary was its most famous prison. Hollywood movies including The Blue Brothers
have been filmed at the Joliet Prison.
Total Mileage: 144 miles
Population: 302
Noteworthy:
History – Funk’s Grove was founded in 1825 by Isaac Funk.
City Fame – The famous Funk’s Grove Pure Maple Sirup (sic) is made here
every spring. Why is ‘sirup’ spelled with an ‘i’? Historically, and
according to Webster, “sirup” was the preferred spelling when referring to the
product made by boiling sap. “Syrup” with a ‘y’, however, was defined
as the end product of adding sugar to fruit juice. Though the ‘i’ spelling is no
longer commonly used, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Canada still use it when
referring to pure maple sirup.
Total Mileage: 248 miles
Population: 6,883
Noteworthy:
Ariston Café – “A Better Place to Eat” Established in 1924, this
restaurant has operated under the original family owners and has become an institution
along Route 66.
Sky View Drive-In – One of the few Route 66 drive-in theaters still in
operation today.
Total Mileage: 307 miles
Population: 396,685
Noteworthy:
Coral Courts Motel – One of the first “motor hotels”, Coral Courts
was built by John Carr in 1941 for Route 66 tourists who would reach his motel after one
day of driving from Chicago. Carr hired Adolph Struebig to design the buildings which were
eventually made out of two colors of tiles (golden yellow and brown) and glass blocks.
Total Mileage: 450 miles
Noteworthy:
“Devil’s Elbow” Name – Originated from the bend in the river
that loggers used to refer to as a “devil of a bend.”
Munger Moss Motel – In 1946, seven cabins were built and rented for $3.00 a
night. Subsequently more rooms were added. By the 1950s, TV became available for 50-cents
extra.
Elbow Inn Bar & BBQ Pit – Chris Leaverton’s restaurant was originally
established in 1929 by Paul Thompson and is one of the oldest original buildings still
operating as the same type of business on all of Route 66!
Total Mileage: 542 miles
Population: 140,494
Noteworthy:
Rail Haven Motor Court – Built in 1938, the Rail Haven Motor Court welcomed
traveling families on U.S. 66. Its name “Rail Haven” originated from the split
rail fence that surrounded the cottages.
Total Mileage: 639 miles
Population: 4,351
Noteworthy:
Route 66 in Kansas – Only 13.2 miles of Route 66 wind through Kansas.
Baxter Springs Heritage Center & Museum – Civil War battleground of the
October 6th, 1863 Baxter Springs Battle between Quantrill and Union General
Blunt. Museum carries many Civil War artifacts and displays.
Total Mileage: 746 miles
Population: 367,302
Noteworthy:
Tulsa History – City was originally called Tulsey Town after the Creek Indians
of the Tulsey community.
Metro Diner – 50’s-styled diner on 11th & College Streets
complete with Route 66 gasoline pumps.
Beginning of Route 66 – Cyrus Avery was a Tulsa businessman who championed a
Chicago-to-Los Angeles route during the creation of the U.S. Highway System and picked the
official route number: 66.
Total Mileage: 877 miles
Population: 15,414
Noteworthy:
El Reno Fame – “Home of the Onion Burger”. Annual El Reno Festival
in May cooks a fried onion hamburger weighing over 850 pounds. Hungry?
Big 8 Motel – Scene from Rain Man with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise
was shot at the Big 8 Motel in El Reno.
Total Mileage: 974 miles
Population: 10,428
Noteworthy:
Elk City Fame – Home of the National Route 66 Museum and Old Town Museum
Complex. The center focuses on the people who lived, worked and traveled along the
‘Mother Road’. Visitors can see the Route 66 experience of all eight states
while viewing classic murals and vintage cars.
Total Mileage: 1,054 miles
Population: 849
Noteworthy:
Devil’s Rope Museum – The largest historical barbed wire museum in the
world. McLean was originally established with cattle loading pens on the Rock Island
Railroad.
Route 66 Icon – McLean has the first Phillips 66 Service Station in Texas.
Total Mileage: 1,138 miles
Population: 157,615
Noteworthy:
Cadillac Ranch – Built in the 1970’s, the Cadillac Ranch is a sculpture
of 10 classic Cadillacs that are buried nose down in a field.
The Big Texan Steak Ranch – Texas has always done things big and the Big Texan
Steak Ranch in Amarillo is home to the free 72-ounce steak!
Golden Light Café – In continuous operation since the 1940’s, this café
is home to the best hamburger in town.
Total Mileage: 1,256 miles
Population: 6,831
Noteworthy:
Tucumcari History – Once known as “Six-Shooter Siding” as a tent
city along the railroad famous for saloons and outlaws. The city’s name is a Comanche
word for ‘lookout’.
The Palomino Motel – A classic Route 66 stop for the night.
Blue Swallow Motel – An authentic Route 66 establishment built in 1939 comes
complete with motor court-style garages for patrons. The motel is now listed on the
National and State Historic Registers.
Total Mileage: 1,410 miles
Population: 1,399
Noteworthy:
City History – Named after sheep rancher Michael Moriarty who moved to the
area in the 1880’s. Dried salt beds in Moriarty attracted many Native Americans and
Spanish who would mine the salt.
City Fame – “The Pinto Bean Capital of the World.”
Total Mileage: 1,551 miles
Population: 8,626
Noteworthy:
Route 66 Hangouts – Grants Café and Franciscan Motel
City History – Grants, New Mexico was originally founded as a railroad town in
the late 1800’s when it was named after the three Grant brothers who worked as
railroad contractors. The city become more famous when uranium was discovered in 1950.
Total Mileage: 1,621 miles
Population: 19,154
Noteworthy:
El Rancho Motel – Many movies have been filmed near Gallup because of the
massive red rock formations in the area and some of the movie starts have stayed at the El
Rancho Motel. All of the rooms are named after actors and actresses that have stayed in
the motel.
Total Mileage: 1,725 miles
Population: 4,686
Noteworthy:
Wigwam Village Motel – “Sleep in a Wigwam” Not as rustic as you
might expect, each wigwam comes complete with cable TV.
Petrified Forest National Park – Examples of petrified wood, dinosaur
skeletons, fossil beds and more.
Souvenir Shop – Jack Rabbit Trading Post
Total Mileage: 1,861 miles
Population: 2,532
Noteworthy:
The Route 66 Place – Take a break at Twisters, a 50’s Soda Fountain.
Total Mileage: 1,985 miles
Population: 12,722
Noteworthy:
Powerhouse Route 66 Museum – Features the history of transportation along the
35th parallel including the Frontier Days, the Great Depression, and the
automobile age.
Total Mileage: 2,054 miles
Population: 5,191
Noteworthy:
“Needles” Name – The city’s name refers to the sharp mountain
peaks at the southern end of the valley.
Route 66 Welcome – The ‘Welcome to Needles’ covered wagon at the
city’s entrance has become an icon along the Mother Road.
Palms Motel – Motor court dating back to the 1920’s.
Total Mileage: 2,194 miles
Population: 10,888
Noteworthy:
Bagdad Café – Originally known as the Sidewinder Café, the ‘Bagdad
Café’ movie starring Jack Palance was filmed here. The name Bagdad Café has stuck
ever since.
Total Mileage: 2,293 miles
Population: 164,164
Noteworthy:
McDonald’s – San Bernardino is the site of Ray Kroc’s first
McDonald’s Restaurant in 1948. The site is now an unofficial McDonald’s museum.
Historical Connections – Wyatt Earp and his family came to the San Bernardino
Valley from Iowa in 1864 in a wagon train led by his father Nicholas Earp.
Gold Rush – In 1860 William Holcomb filed five gold claims in an area now
known as Holcomb Valley. Holcomb’s claim resulted in one of the largest gold findings
in Southern California.
Total Mileage: 2,381 miles
Population: 86,905
Noteworthy:
Route 66 Terminus – In Palisades Park lays a plaque dedicated in 1952 stating,
“Will Rogers Highway, dedicated 1952 to Will Rogers, Humorist, World Traveler, Good
Neighbor. This Main Street of America, Highway 66 was the first road he traveled in a
career that led him straight to the hearts of his countrymen.”