US 66 is tacky

[bugo]

I was driving down 11th Street in Tulsa today, and I noted how tacky and tasteless everything looked. Ugly murals, incorrect "Route 66" shields everywhere, no-tell motels, ugly modern looking monuments and poor actual US 66 signage. I thought to myself "US 66 didn't look anything like this when it was commissioned." I've seen the same tackiness in other US 66 towns. I laughed when I saw a mural with a '65 Mustang on it, thinking that in 1965 US 66 had already been moved to Skelly Drive. The story behind US 66 is change, not being stuck with the 1926 alignment. 66 evolved over the years, but for some reason the later alignments (like Skelly Drive) were ignored, when they were just as much of a part of US 66 as 11th Street was. Nobody in the 66 crowd shed a tear when Skelly Drive was completely rebuilt between US 75 and I-244, removing a '50s era freeway that was interesting but a deathtrap. At least Skelly was spared the ugly murals and what not. I've always thought 66 was overrated and nothing special compared to the other US routes, but today's observations cemented that thought.

[US71]

I was driving down 11th Street in Tulsa today, and I noted how tacky and tasteless everything looked. Ugly murals, incorrect "Route 66" shields everywhere, no-tell motels, ugly modern looking monuments and poor actual US 66 signage. I thought to myself "US 66 didn't look anything like this when it was commissioned." I've seen the same tackiness in other US 66 towns. I laughed when I saw a mural with a '65 Mustang on it, thinking that in 1965 US 66 had already been moved to Skelly Drive. The story behind US 66 is change, not being stuck with the 1926 alignment. 66 evolved over the years, but for some reason the later alignments (like Skelly Drive) were ignored, when they were just as much of a part of US 66 as 11th Street was. Nobody in the 66 crowd shed a tear when Skelly Drive was completely rebuilt between US 75 and I-244, removing a '50s era freeway that was interesting but a deathtrap. At least Skelly was spared the ugly murals and what not. I've always thought 66 was overrated and nothing special compared to the other US routes, but today's observations cemented that thought.

The "No Tell Motels" are leftovers from 66's (and pre-Interstate America's) glory days. Many have suffered from age and neglect. They are often run into the ground then eventually sold for the land to a corporate interest (CVS, Walgreens, Kum & Go,  Quik Trip,  mega banks, etc).

[GCrites]

The 1950s were BS.

[jwolfer]

I was driving down 11th Street in Tulsa today, and I noted how tacky and tasteless everything looked. Ugly murals, incorrect "Route 66" shields everywhere, no-tell motels, ugly modern looking monuments and poor actual US 66 signage. I thought to myself "US 66 didn't look anything like this when it was commissioned." I've seen the same tackiness in other US 66 towns. I laughed when I saw a mural with a '65 Mustang on it, thinking that in 1965 US 66 had already been moved to Skelly Drive. The story behind US 66 is change, not being stuck with the 1926 alignment. 66 evolved over the years, but for some reason the later alignments (like Skelly Drive) were ignored, when they were just as much of a part of US 66 as 11th Street was. Nobody in the 66 crowd shed a tear when Skelly Drive was completely rebuilt between US 75 and I-244, removing a '50s era freeway that was interesting but a deathtrap. At least Skelly was spared the ugly murals and what not. I've always thought 66 was overrated and nothing special compared to the other US routes, but today's observations cemented that thought.

The "No Tell Motels" are leftovers from 66's (and pre-Interstate America's) glory days. Many have suffered from age and neglect. They are often run into the ground then eventually sold for the land to a corporate interest (CVS, Walgreens, Kum & Go,  Quik Trip,  mega banks, etc).

Kum n go.. Perfect name for a "no tell motel"

[Scott5114]

Kum & Go is a gas station.

[bugo]

Here's the tacky mural that inspired this thread:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=tulsa&hl=en&ll=36.147797,-95.922448&spn=0.009322,0.019248&sll=44.995719,-93.23815&sspn=0.002886,0.004812&t=m&hnear=Tulsa,+Tulsa+County,+Oklahoma&z=16&layer=c&cbll=36.147797,-95.922448&panoid=SJxKD-xTzKkMRCa_tN1h3A&cbp=12,134.65,,0,-10.64&output=classic&dg=oo

11th Street didn't look like this when US 66 (or even Business 66) followed it.

[Pete from Boston]

The 1950s were BS.

My understanding is that they never even happened.  TV pretty much made the whole thing up. 

In seriousness, this trend has spread.  There's more commemoration than actual historical artifact on a lot of the Lincoln Highway in Pennsylvania these days.  Not 66 bad, but clearly shooting for it.

[3467]

I am nostalgic for the economic growth of the 40s to 60s But even if we got our manufacturing backs and tried something grand like space or the interstates I doubt we could get that growth backs but we could try.. He was
TV also made up the wonderful family tomes of the great depression as well. The show my father hated most was the Waltons . He said it was a miserable  time . He was a big Interstate fan. I can probably credit him for my road geekery

[triplemultiplex]

I'm inclined to agree on the hyper-nostalgia.  I've spent a lot of time in eastern New Mexico this year and the attempts to market this old highway are at best amusing.

There are places where "Old 66" is signed on a frontage road built in the 60's while the actual alignment is on the other side of the freeway, overgrown with yucca and sage.  I imagine people driving along in their motorbikes and mid-life-crisis-mobiles thinking, "Wow, this is the same road I drove as a kid when visited blah, blah, blah..."  But in reality, that's not quite right.  I guess it's a metaphor for that time period in general.  It's not exactly how most people remember it because we are creating this artificial re-creation.

I've driven the entirety in NM east of ABQ, including the parts that all the tourists skip because they are dead end frontage roads, and a lot of it is super depressing.  Abandoned buildings, graffiti, illegal dumping; in a word, "trashy."  Santa Rosa and Tucumcari have the highest concentration of abandoned gas stations I have ever seen.  It is fun for a roadgeek to be able to pick out the exact alignment of US 66 from a web of frontage roads and freeway ramps, but I can't see much appeal for average tourist out there.  By the time you get to New Mexico, you've already driven by dozens of old car museums and a hundred throw-back diners.

My biggest impression from driving lots of old alignments of stuff is how much long distance travel must have sucked before the interstates.  The restaurants would've been okay, but slow.  The motels all look like they were terrible.  Lots of slow-downs and traffic lights and huge queues backing up behind slow moving trucks and campers.  I imagine everything reeked like cigarette smoke.  But that's nostalgia for you.  Doesn't sound as good once you re-introduce the details that were forgotten.

[catch22]

My biggest impression from driving lots of old alignments of stuff is how much long distance travel must have sucked before the interstates.  The restaurants would've been okay, but slow.  The motels all look like they were terrible.  Lots of slow-downs and traffic lights and huge queues backing up behind slow moving trucks and campers.  I imagine everything reeked like cigarette smoke.  But that's nostalgia for you.  Doesn't sound as good once you re-introduce the details that were forgotten.

Pretty much.  When I was a wee lad (mid to late 50s), our summer vacation was usually to drive down to South Carolina from Michigan to visit my grandfather.  It would take three long days, sometimes four.  I honestly don't know how my dad had the patience to drive all that way mostly on two-lane roads through a kazillion speed-trap small towns. Some of the mom-and-pop motels and restaurants were OK, but many were dumps.  My mom brought along our own pillows and sheets and would strip the beds and use those if all they could find was one of the bad motels.

[US71]

I'm inclined to agree on the hyper-nostalgia.  I've spent a lot of time in eastern New Mexico this year and the attempts to market this old highway are at best amusing.

There are places where "Old 66" is signed on a frontage road built in the 60's while the actual alignment is on the other side of the freeway, overgrown with yucca and sage.  I imagine people driving along in their motorbikes and mid-life-crisis-mobiles thinking, "Wow, this is the same road I drove as a kid when visited blah, blah, blah..."  But in reality, that's not quite right.  I guess it's a metaphor for that time period in general.  It's not exactly how most people remember it because we are creating this artificial re-creation.

Parts of Missouri are that way: the old road "jumps" the Interstate, but the "Historic Route" continues to the next interchange or crossover before rejoining the old road.

[GCrites]

I hope there's a bunch of '80s-pre-interstate restaurants when I'm old. I guess you'd put ones in Wytheville, VA and off I-75 between I-4 and Bradenton FL.

[DandyDan]

I remember my one true piece of US 66 roadgeekery was the time I walked across the old Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis, and the one thing I remember is I better get back to my car before it gets dark, or else some street thug will try to break in.  I thought the road leading to the bridge itself was as depressing as possible as well.  I later went north on I-55 to Bloomington/Normal (and eventually up I-39) and seemed to enjoy that part of the trip a lot more.  I can't begin to imagine how hard it was to travel pre-Interstate.

[Pete from Boston]

History's a lot more interesting before someone figures out you can sell it.  I'll take any of the other superseded US routes instead, and figure out the story for myself.   

[KG909]

Hmm, not really the case in my city, people know that US 66 was here but there isn't that much excitement. I'm honestly more interested in the US60-US70-US99 history here but I can't find any.

[Laura]

The 1950s were BS.

My understanding is that they never even happened.  TV pretty much made the whole thing up. 

I know, right? I mean, how many couples actually slept in separate single beds next to each other?

In all seriousness, I just KNEW that bugo had to be the author of this topic when I read the title. To us as road enthusiasts, the touristy commercialization is annoying because it sacrifices historical accuracy for the kitsch. However, to the typical tourist, who is only going to visit a small part of the road, they want the kitsch.

When Mike, my mom, and I drove on US 66 in Springfield, IL this summer, my mom commented that it didn't "look" like route 66 to her because it looked like a regular road and not a road turned into a museum. She enjoyed US 26 in Nebraska so much more because it "looked" like how the pioneers would have viewed it. Nevermind the fact that we were on a highway alignment and the original Oregon Trail was a narrow road off to the side - the scenery matched what she expected, so it counted for her.

[andy3175]

I'm honestly more interested in the US60-US70-US99 history here but I can't find any.

Some good starting points are:

http://gbcnet.com/ushighways/ (overview of all historic US routes in California)
http://socalregion.com/ (special coverage of US 6 and US 99 among many other routes)
http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/ (focuses on US 395 and US 6)

I hope these links help with US 60-70-99 ... while US 6 and 99 get some great coverage, I think you'll find some info on US 60 and US 70.

[SD Mapman]

History's a lot more interesting before someone figures out you can sell it.  I'll take any of the other superseded US routes instead, and figure out the story for myself.

Yes. I like following old 16 in SD better than the 66 stuff that gets bandied about.