Why didn't US 66 go all the way to New York?

[roadman65]

The earliest memory I have of encountering US 66 as a cultural thing was when I saw A Goofy Movie I noted that in the scene where Max tells Goofy to go left to go to Los Angeles, the overhead sign is a diagrammatic for a split between US 66 east and US 66 west, and they are in the middle of the desert. This therefore embedded in my mind the motif of US 66 as "a road through the desert that goes to Los Angeles".

I then started noticing how US 66 shields would show up in restaurants, advertisements, and such. But this road did not exist on any map I had (since it was completely decommissioned before I was born), so I for several years assumed it was just folklore, a fantasy that symbolized the great American road trip. It wasn't until I was in 7th grade and discovered the existence of websites about roads that I learned US 66 was once in the past a real thing. I not only found this surprising, I also found it surprising that it went all the way to Chicago since the imagery I had in my mind was of southwestern desert with cacti and whatnot, and it just seemed weird that this road would also exist in the midwest but no one ever depicted US 66 shields with farms.

Meanwhile, today as an adult, having traveled to places that old route 66 passed through, I have to say... the reality is a lot more mundane than the fantasy. It's a road, sure, but it offers neither the most beautiful scenery nor the most interesting infrastructure. And all of those cacti and eroded gorges you often see in the imagery... yeah, sorry, there's very little of that along the route of old 66. False advertising.


Maybe this is hometown bias but I find US 1 to be a much more genuinely interesting thing in the real world. It has history (Boston Post Road), it has a lot of little old towns along its route, it stretches from the southern tip of Florida to the northern tip of Maine (this making it a truly complete route with no fathomable extensions), and it has the perfect number since surely something with the number 1 assigned to it must be of utmost importance.

People only appreciate things after it is gone.  If US 66 was never decommissioned it would never spawned memorabilia like it has.

If the eastern states thought like the western states, there would be no US 1 and it would be a "Historic Route" and be selling items of interest in the market just like old Route 66.

[ekt8750]

US 66 is a lot more popular because it doesn't exist anymore, since I-40 and I-44 replaced it.  US 66 represents a bygone era and before that the Lincoln Highway, which does go from New York to California (San Francisco, which at the time was an equally big city).

Helps that Lincoln Highway mostly follows US30 which is still a very active US Highway.

[Laura]

Look at it this way: US 66 is roadgeeking boiled down and made acceptable to the masses. The same kick we roadgeeks get out of looking at a topo and guessing where an old US 64 alignment is, the non-roadgeek population gets by following a US 66 guidebook. We're going to think US 66 is silly because it presents no challenge and no chance of discovering the unknown. Non-roadgeeks don't care about any of that because US 66 is the unknown to them.

Nailed it.

I was having a conversation about road trips and vacations with some of my extended family this afternoon. They were naming different places they wanted to go and see. Not surprisingly, they named cities and places that have an expected experience - like Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA as colonial cities. There are colonial cities in the northeast, too, like Princeton, NJ and New Haven, CT, but they don't come with preconceived notions of what you'll find there (beyond the Ivy League universities). They're just as historic, but finding that history comes with a bit more adventure that most people aren't going to bother to explore.

For the average American, what you see is what you get when it comes to US 66. It is characterized as "The Great American Road Trip" and does not disappoint with the kitsch factor. Taking a different scenic route, such as US 11, can be just as fun and kitschy, and even has a richer, longer history, but takes more exploration (and comes with more risk) with what you will find. Something that us road enthusiasts enjoy doing, because there is great fun in the discovery process for us.

[jwolfer]

What was along US 1 before I-95 existed?

In the pre-interstate era, it was THE connection between the major cities on the east coast. It doesn't have the allure of "going west" (which I think is a load of BS anyway) but it was the most important road economically in the pre-interstate era.

Along us1 near Jacksonville there are lots of pre interstate motels and restaurants. Some are abandoned farther out in the country. Near smaller towns the old motels are now low cost apartments. Closer in to the city, especially south of Jax where its is called Philips Hwy lots of the old motels are frequented by meth heads/crack whores/sex workers.

About 20 miles south of Jax there is a former David Johnson's for years the restaurant/store was closed but you could see shelves set up with merchandise. Closer in, in Bayard ( inside Jacksonville city limits since 1968 consolidation with Duval County) a former stuckeys is a manufacturer of some kind called BFE.. Not sure what the make. But you can still see the building was a stuckeys

The motels and restaurants are relics of early 20th century America.  Along us 1 in the South similar stuff all over. Much is enveloped in sprawl and repurposed abandoned d and now torn down or burnt dowm

[The Nature Boy]

Look at it this way: US 66 is roadgeeking boiled down and made acceptable to the masses. The same kick we roadgeeks get out of looking at a topo and guessing where an old US 64 alignment is, the non-roadgeek population gets by following a US 66 guidebook. We're going to think US 66 is silly because it presents no challenge and no chance of discovering the unknown. Non-roadgeeks don't care about any of that because US 66 is the unknown to them.

Nailed it.

I was having a conversation about road trips and vacations with some of my extended family this afternoon. They were naming different places they wanted to go and see. Not surprisingly, they named cities and places that have an expected experience - like Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA as colonial cities. There are colonial cities in the northeast, too, like Princeton, NJ and New Haven, CT, but they don't come with preconceived notions of what you'll find there (beyond the Ivy League universities). They're just as historic, but finding that history comes with a bit more adventure that most people aren't going to bother to explore.

For the average American, what you see is what you get when it comes to US 66. It is characterized as "The Great American Road Trip" and does not disappoint with the kitsch factor. Taking a different scenic route, such as US 11, can be just as fun and kitschy, and even has a richer, longer history, but takes more exploration (and comes with more risk) with what you will find. Something that us road enthusiasts enjoy doing, because there is great fun in the discovery process for us.

Maybe I'm a weirdo but I find that there is a lot more colonial history along the coastal North than the coastal South, probably because the North was more settled than the South. Coastal New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts are overflowing with colonial history and architecture. Of course, I agree that people do like to find the "easy history" and go to Charleston, Savannah or even Wilmington, which all cater to that sort of thing.

I do wish that people would be more adventurous and actually seek things out. For example, Portsmouth, New Hampshire has a lot of history but you never hear about it as a major tourist destination outside of the Northeast.

[US71]

Look at it this way: US 66 is roadgeeking boiled down and made acceptable to the masses. The same kick we roadgeeks get out of looking at a topo and guessing where an old US 64 alignment is, the non-roadgeek population gets by following a US 66 guidebook. We're going to think US 66 is silly because it presents no challenge and no chance of discovering the unknown. Non-roadgeeks don't care about any of that because US 66 is the unknown to them.

Having driven it numerous times, there are still opportunities to notice things non-roadgeeks might miss. You have your maps, but you have your "radar" as well. The average tourist may see parts of 66 that parallel the interstate (such as in Illinois) but not see where part of 4-Lane 66 is buried

You can follow the Historic Byway in Missouri and notice the abandoned/separated sections that might be missed by the average tourist. 

The average tourist may take in the big things, but it may take a roadgeek or dedicated 66 Historian to notice things that are more subtle.

But the same could be said for almost any other road.

But that's part of the hobby: looking for things other have missed.

[roadman65]

I am quite impressed that some of the trolls on here did not answer with a snarky response such as "Because it ended in Chicago" like one individual did with a similar thread about another road stopping short of the Canadian Border.

[NE2]

Damn, I knew there was something I meant to post.

[mrsman]

The earliest memory I have of encountering US 66 as a cultural thing was when I saw A Goofy Movie I noted that in the scene where Max tells Goofy to go left to go to Los Angeles, the overhead sign is a diagrammatic for a split between US 66 east and US 66 west, and they are in the middle of the desert. This therefore embedded in my mind the motif of US 66 as "a road through the desert that goes to Los Angeles".

I then started noticing how US 66 shields would show up in restaurants, advertisements, and such. But this road did not exist on any map I had (since it was completely decommissioned before I was born), so I for several years assumed it was just folklore, a fantasy that symbolized the great American road trip. It wasn't until I was in 7th grade and discovered the existence of websites about roads that I learned US 66 was once in the past a real thing. I not only found this surprising, I also found it surprising that it went all the way to Chicago since the imagery I had in my mind was of southwestern desert with cacti and whatnot, and it just seemed weird that this road would also exist in the midwest but no one ever depicted US 66 shields with farms.

Meanwhile, today as an adult, having traveled to places that old route 66 passed through, I have to say... the reality is a lot more mundane than the fantasy. It's a road, sure, but it offers neither the most beautiful scenery nor the most interesting infrastructure. And all of those cacti and eroded gorges you often see in the imagery... yeah, sorry, there's very little of that along the route of old 66. False advertising.


Maybe this is hometown bias but I find US 1 to be a much more genuinely interesting thing in the real world. It has history (Boston Post Road), it has a lot of little old towns along its route, it stretches from the southern tip of Florida to the northern tip of Maine (this making it a truly complete route with no fathomable extensions), and it has the perfect number since surely something with the number 1 assigned to it must be of utmost importance.

Although no specific reference to Route 66, there are several old Bugs Bunny cartoons when he is supposed to get to California, where he mentions that he should have made a "left toin at Albekoiky (Albuquerque)".

[route17fan]

This really explains ebay for example for those consistently selling road memorabilia as "route 66" even though the item or items being sold have absolutely nothing to do with route 66.

[US71]

This really explains ebay for example for those consistently selling road memorabilia as "route 66" even though the item or items being sold have absolutely nothing to do with route 66.

or the artificially aged fake signs with the serif font