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[bugo]

The part about it originally being US 60, then US 62 north of Springfield, then Avery not settling for 62 but accepting 66?  You don't hear about these controversies about lesser known highways.  Is it true or just made up lore?

[NE2]

FHWA says it's true: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/numbers.cfm

[SP Cook]

IMHO, I think that if the road running from Chicago to LA had been some number that didn't rhyme well in a song, then no one would ever have discussed it.   Just as the Suwannee River, a minor river in Florida, is well known because it was featured in a song by a guy who never went south of Baltimore in his life, and who originally wrote about the Pee Dee River in South Carolina, before the censors said "pee" was not acceptable.

How many people really travelled on US 66 back in the pre-interstate days?  I would say that most travel in that era between Chicago and LA was by rail, and, as now, most vacation travel was north to south, not east to west, and certainly not across three time zones.

[US71]

The part about it originally being US 60, then US 62 north of Springfield, then Avery not settling for 62 but accepting 66?  You don't hear about these controversies about lesser known highways.  Is it true or just made up lore?

Reading the article, it appears there were several controversies. 66 just gets the most attention.  And Missouri DID print a bunch of maps showing 66 as US 60. I may have one of those in my collection.  Joe Sonderman posted a couple photos on his Facebook page this week showing the map.

I'd love to see what controversies there may have been with my "namesake", but that will probably require visiting lots of local libraries.

[Scott5114]

How many people really travelled on US 66 back in the pre-interstate days?  I would say that most travel in that era between Chicago and LA was by rail, and, as now, most vacation travel was north to south, not east to west, and certainly not across three time zones.

Towards the end of the US route era, US 66 was congested enough that it was causing fatal accidents, leading to it gaining the nickname "Bloody 66".

[roadman65]

IMHO, I think that if the road running from Chicago to LA had been some number that didn't rhyme well in a song, then no one would ever have discussed it.   Just as the Suwannee River, a minor river in Florida, is well known because it was featured in a song by a guy who never went south of Baltimore in his life, and who originally wrote about the Pee Dee River in South Carolina, before the censors said "pee" was not acceptable.

How many people really travelled on US 66 back in the pre-interstate days?  I would say that most travel in that era between Chicago and LA was by rail, and, as now, most vacation travel was north to south, not east to west, and certainly not across three time zones.

Back then, people used to go to California as the saying once was "California is the place to be."  Before Disney World, to go see Mickey people  on the east coast and central region had to travel cross country to the original Disneyland.  Today, Disney is still one of the most popular theme parks around and has millions of visitors worldwide come to it each year. 

That had to be true back in the day for Disneyland.  Then, of course, Hollywood was always a place that people had to see and remember gas was way under a buck a gallon.  It was much more easier and convenient to travel in those days cause of that.  Films pretty much were made there exclusively compared to now where movies are made practically anyplace in the world.  It was a thrill to make it to the ground your favorite moviestar walked on as compared to nowadays where the overabundence of media and many TV networks have changed the outlook on Hollywood.

[US71]

How many people really travelled on US 66 back in the pre-interstate days?  I would say that most travel in that era between Chicago and LA was by rail, and, as now, most vacation travel was north to south, not east to west, and certainly not across three time zones.

My family traveled 66 from Missouri to Chicago in the 1960's and early 70's. 66 was still around, but much of what is now considered "legend" was dying off. I remember bits & pieces, but not a lot of specifics.

Part of 66's "legend" out west is it was the "escape route" from the Oklahoma Dustbowl. People followed 66 looking for better opportunities.

[kphoger]

IMHO, I think that if the road running from Chicago to LA had been some number that didn't rhyme well in a song, then no one would ever have discussed it.   Just as the Suwannee River, a minor river in Florida, is well known because it was featured in a song by a guy who never went south of Baltimore in his life, and who originally wrote about the Pee Dee River in South Carolina, before the censors said "pee" was not acceptable.

How many people really travelled on US 66 back in the pre-interstate days?  I would say that most travel in that era between Chicago and LA was by rail, and, as now, most vacation travel was north to south, not east to west, and certainly not across three time zones.

'Two' has a lot of rhyming words; so does 'four'; so does 'eight'.  I'd say 'sixty' is the only even 6x even number that doesn't rhyme well.

[US71]

From Wikipedia:
(Bobby) Troup conceived the idea for the song while driving west from Pennsylvania to Los Angeles, California, and the lyrics—which include references to the U.S. Highway of the title and many of the cities it passes through—celebrate the romance and freedom of automobile travel. In an interview he once said the tune for the song, as well as the lyric "Get your kicks on Route 66," came to him easily, but the remainder of the lyrics eluded him. More in frustration than anything else he simply filled up the song with the names of towns and cities on the highway.

[BamaZeus]

How many people really travelled on US 66 back in the pre-interstate days?  I would say that most travel in that era between Chicago and LA was by rail, and, as now, most vacation travel was north to south, not east to west, and certainly not across three time zones.

My family traveled 66 from Missouri to Chicago in the 1960's and early 70's. 66 was still around, but much of what is now considered "legend" was dying off. I remember bits & pieces, but not a lot of specifics.

Part of 66's "legend" out west is it was the "escape route" from the Oklahoma Dustbowl. People followed 66 looking for better opportunities.

It was clearly mentioned as such in the Grapes of Wrath, and the route they eventually followed to California was certainly Route 66.
http://cornellreading.typepad.com/grapes_of_wrath/2009/07/the-gps-of-wrath.html

[frank gifford]

The question is pretty vague--but 66 was and (even though decommissioned) IS an important part of American history.  It was the only practical ALL-SEASON road connecting the Midwest to Southern California.  It had a unique role in the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and a significant role in both World War II and the new-found prosperity afterward. 

Many portions survive with original 1920s or 1930s concrete that is still in daily use (not a bad bang for tax bucks).  There are even a few brick sections that pre-date the numbered US highway system in 1926. 

I own the website www.rt66pix.com which has more than 1,000 images from Rt 66.  Pavement shots are in a gallery called "Surface Beauty."

Happy Motoring!

[kkt]

How many people really travelled on US 66 back in the pre-interstate days?  I would say that most travel in that era between Chicago and LA was by rail, and, as now, most vacation travel was north to south, not east to west, and certainly not across three time zones.

It wasn't about vacations, it was about escaping from a hard farming life in the dustbowl and depression and moving to better opportunity in California.  People who were going for short visits and could afford the tickets did travel mostly by train then, but if you were moving and wanted to take your entire family and as many possessions as possible sticking them all in the Ford was the most economical way.

[ShawnP]

I try to tread lightly as I know the love affair some have with Route 66. Me personally I don't get it. Seems like a sub par road which over time was a death trap to those who traveled on her.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

I try to tread lightly as I know the love affair some have with Route 66. Me personally I don't get it. Seems like a sub par road which over time was a death trap to those who traveled on her.

That would describe all roads prior to 1980

[Scott5114]

I too don't really get into 66 that much—there's plenty of other decommissioned highways and plenty of other old alignments to travel, so what makes 66 so special? I guess the route, connecting Chicago and LA and passing through several distinct regions of the US, is the main draw to people, as is the kitschy Americana that it draws up. I don't care too much for kitschy Americana, so...

[bugo]

It seems like those who live near 66 think it's just another highway while those who live far away find it to be special.

[mobilene]

I try to tread lightly as I know the love affair some have with Route 66. Me personally I don't get it. Seems like a sub par road which over time was a death trap to those who traveled on her.

You have to understand the state of roads before 66 to understand that it was darn good for its day. I have here a book that is a 1913 diary of a family that moved from California to Indiana by car. In many places on their trip, there were simply no roads at all, and they had to blaze their own trails. What roads did exist were usually crude. So as state highway departments were formed and early roads were cut, and then improved, and improved again, and so on, what became US 66 formed.  An entirely hard-surfaced road that stretched across most of the country was a real boon in the 1920s and 1930s.  -Jim

[US71]

It seems like those who live near 66 think it's just another highway while those who live far away find it to be special.

I feel that way about my "namesake"

[deathtopumpkins]

I try to tread lightly as I know the love affair some have with Route 66. Me personally I don't get it. Seems like a sub par road which over time was a death trap to those who traveled on her.

You have to understand the state of roads before 66 to understand that it was darn good for its day. I have here a book that is a 1913 diary of a family that moved from California to Indiana by car. In many places on their trip, there were simply no roads at all, and they had to blaze their own trails. What roads did exist were usually crude. So as state highway departments were formed and early roads were cut, and then improved, and improved again, and so on, what became US 66 formed.  An entirely hard-surfaced road that stretched across most of the country was a real boon in the 1920s and 1930s.  -Jim

This is true of every highway built in the 1920s and 1930s...... the US highway system was developed as a system.

US 66 isn't famous because it was the first of anything - it's just been made famous by pop culture references and the fact that it was heavily-traveled, as it connected Chicago and L.A.

[Steve]

It seems like those who live near 66 think it's just another highway while those who live far away find it to be special.

I feel that way about my "namesake"

I live in the Northeast, where old alignments are limited to bends in the road every so often. (In fact, an 18th century bridge is located directly on US 206, rather than being bypassed.) So any road with significant stretches of abandoned or former highway is intriguing to me. (Next update, semi-relatedly: a whole bunch of old US 177, OK 3, US 66, and US 62)

[NE2]

I live in the Northeast, where old alignments are limited to bends in the road every so often.

Or wholesale realignments (e.g. US 22/NJ 28).

[bugo]

It seems like those who live near 66 think it's just another highway while those who live far away find it to be special.

I feel that way about my "namesake"

I live in the Northeast, where old alignments are limited to bends in the road every so often. (In fact, an 18th century bridge is located directly on US 206, rather than being bypassed.) So any road with significant stretches of abandoned or former highway is intriguing to me. (Next update, semi-relatedly: a whole bunch of old US 177, OK 3, US 66, and US 62)

Did you get any pictures of that old stretch of US 64 that we drove on?

[wphiii]

US 66 isn't famous because it was the first of anything - it's just been made famous by pop culture references and the fact that it was heavily-traveled, as it connected Chicago and L.A.

I also think that there's a certain romance in the fact that the route simply no longer exists. Its decommissioning was the poster child in a way for the death of the Great American Road Trip that was brought on by the advent of the Interstate Highway system. This makes it a shining beacon of nostalgia, and people love nostalgia.

[deathtopumpkins]

US 66 isn't famous because it was the first of anything - it's just been made famous by pop culture references and the fact that it was heavily-traveled, as it connected Chicago and L.A.

I also think that there's a certain romance in the fact that the route simply no longer exists. Its decommissioning was the poster child in a way for the death of the Great American Road Trip that was brought on by the advent of the Interstate Highway system. This makes it a shining beacon of nostalgia, and people love nostalgia.

If it's simply the fact that the route was decommissioned, why aren't all the other decommissioned US routes famous like 66?

[Special K]

US 66 isn't famous because it was the first of anything - it's just been made famous by pop culture references and the fact that it was heavily-traveled, as it connected Chicago and L.A.

I also think that there's a certain romance in the fact that the route simply no longer exists. Its decommissioning was the poster child in a way for the death of the Great American Road Trip that was brought on by the advent of the Interstate Highway system. This makes it a shining beacon of nostalgia, and people love nostalgia.

If it's simply the fact that the route was decommissioned, why aren't all the other decommissioned US routes famous like 66?

Because it's not simply the fact that it was decommissioned.