Which Town Has Benefited Most From the Popularity of US-66?

[ethanhopkin14]

At 2,448 miles, the route of US-66 went through a variety of landscapes and cultures during it's heyday.  I still to this day am taken aback by how many towns still celebrate it's old routing.  First off, I am not an old US Highway type of road geek.  I like to travel far in a short amount of time so interstates are more my speed.  I have never lamented the bypassing of a town due to an interstate, nor have the need to see every bump in the road the old highway used to cross.  I do like to see the old downtowns of these towns that used to be on the main line, but I get overwhelmed and anxious by the monotony of having to drive through the downtown area of these little Podunk towns on a cross country trek.  Basically I can take it in moderation.  I am young enough that the interstate system was almost complete when I was a teen, and was well established so the newness was gone.  By that I mean by-passes were the way it was when I was young.  I also don't understand why people get so upset when they get bypassed, but that's another subject.  With that being said, I am fascinated still by the pageantry of old US-66.  It is celebrated in big cities and small towns across the country from Chicago to Los Angeles.  I have seen it celebrated in a variety of different ways in different cities; from the historic routings to the Route 66 Marathon that I have run three times in Tulsa.  Every town along it's old routing wants to tie into that piece of road history.  I was wondering, which town do you thing either benefits the most from being on the routing of US-66, or maybe doesn't benefit, but plays it up more dramatically?  On the contrary, which towns, like the interstates that came along, had US-66 decommissioned through city limits and dropped their ties to it and never looked back?  What are your favorite tourist traps related to the old mother road?

Two of my favorite road side attractions that come to mind when writing this are this in Tulsa, OK and this east of Holbrook, AZ.

[LilianaUwU]

Considering Glenrio, TX/NM only has one person living in it after everybody left following the construction of I-40, US 66 was vital to its existence.

[Max Rockatansky]

Very few people knew about Oatman a decade ago.  They started promoting themselves big time as part of the original US 66 corridor and even came up with the kind of goofy "Arizona Sidewinder" name for Oatman Highway.  The town was a lot more fun when it was a burro infested mining wreck before the retiree crowd found out it was there on visits to Laughlin. 

All the same, this is one of my most prized signs (Oatman Highway):

IMG_5195 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

Oh hey, look what I took a photo of in 2010:

3801682933186 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[Max Rockatansky]

One could also make an argument for Hackberry considering it was a dead rail siding before the Hackberry General Store brought it back to life.

[Flint1979]

Winslow, Arizona

[thspfc]

Catoosa, OK was the first one I thought of

[MATraveler128]

I think Williams, Arizona has had a benefit from Route 66 due to being at the gateway to the Grand Canyon and having many roadside attractions along the downtown strip.

[Evan_Th]

Catoosa, OK was the first one I thought of

What about Catoosa?  I drove through there once about six years ago and stopped by the Blue Whale; it was a nice momentary diversion.  But, Route 66 itself there doesn't really seem worth note - if I remember correctly, it's just another five-lane street.

[jp the roadgeek]

Winslow, Arizona

I think Mr. Frey had something to do with that.

[brad2971]

Catoosa, OK was the first one I thought of

Catoosa (OK) gets much more benefit being a small suburb of Tulsa. The Blue Whale is just a nice touch.

As far as towns that now benefit from the popularity of Route 66, I'd say Seligman (AZ) is an enduring beneficiary of such popularity. Though how much longer remains to be seen; nostalgia can only sell so much.

[US 89]

Albuquerque has done fine in its own right but definitely seems like it has capitalized on its US 66 heritage more than any of the other medium-large cities along the route.

[ethanhopkin14]

Winslow, Arizona

I think Mr. Frey had something to do with that.

Jackson Browne too.

[KCRoadFan]

Litchfield, Illinois - although that might be due to it being a bedroom community for St. Louis, or being the first major exit for gas and food on the way from there to Chicago. Not sure exactly.

[hbelkins]

Gallup.

[kurumi]

Winona, AZ

(we were explicitly told not to forget it)

[ethanhopkin14]

Gallup.

Gallup has become a New Mexico Las Vegas (not to be confused with Las Vegas, New Mexico which bares little resemblance to Las Vegas, Nevada).  I am sure the neon lights of Gallup were bright in the US-66 heyday as well, but the decommissioning hasn't seemed to slow it down.

[ethanhopkin14]

Winona, AZ

(we were explicitly told not to forget it)

You have won the thread!!

[NWI_Irish96]

Gallup.

Gallup has become a New Mexico Las Vegas (not to be confused with Las Vegas, New Mexico which bares little resemblance to Las Vegas, Nevada).  I am sure the neon lights of Gallup were bright in the US-66 heyday as well, but the decommissioning hasn't seemed to slow it down.

Gallup cost me a spelling bee title in junior high. I was asked to spell gallop, and never having actually seen that word written out, I assumed it was the same as the city (that I'd just been through that summer) and also the polling organization.

[Henry]

Amarillo, because Cadillac Ranch.

[OCGuy81]

Amarillo, because Cadillac Ranch.

And the Big Texan Steakhouse. 😂

[hbelkins]

I think Springfield, Mo., has done a decent job marketing its ties to US 66.

[cjk374]

Uranus, MO.

Fudge store, and a plumbing business that "has been laying pipe in Uranus since (whatever year it started business).

[ethanhopkin14]

Uranus, MO.

Fudge store, and a plumbing business that "has been laying pipe in Uranus since (whatever year it started business).

I really thought long ago that there would be a certain point of my life where jokes like this were too childish for me.....  Either that day hasn't come yet or these jokes will always be funny.

[cjk374]

Uranus, MO.

Fudge store, and a plumbing business that "has been laying pipe in Uranus since (whatever year it started business).

I really thought long ago that there would be a certain point of my life where jokes like this were too childish for me.....  Either that day hasn't come yet or these jokes will always be funny.

But what I listed really is true. I was watching a Ben Brainerd yt video where he was opening fan mail. He was sent fudge samples from the Uranus fudge store, and a magnet/business card from the local plumbing business.

[ethanhopkin14]

Uranus, MO.

Fudge store, and a plumbing business that "has been laying pipe in Uranus since (whatever year it started business).

I really thought long ago that there would be a certain point of my life where jokes like this were too childish for me.....  Either that day hasn't come yet or these jokes will always be funny.

But what I listed really is true. I was watching a Ben Brainerd yt video where he was opening fan mail. He was sent fudge samples from the Uranus fudge store, and a magnet/business card from the local plumbing business.

No doubt it's true.  I love a town capitalizing on 13 year-old humor.