View source for U.S. Route 66

{{short description|Former US Highway between Chicago and Santa Monica}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Redirect|Route 66|other highways with the same number|List of highways numbered 66|other uses}}
{{Copy edit|date=August 2025|for= rough language that has not been consistent over the years}}
{{Infobox road
| country = USA
| type = US
| route = 66
| alternate_name = Will Rogers Memorial Highway
| map = {{maplink-road|from=U.S. Route 66.map}}
| map_custom = yes
| length_mi = 2448
| established = {{start date|1926|11|11}}<ref name="USH">{{Cite map |last=[[Bureau of Public Roads]] |last2=[[American Association of State Highway Officials]] |name-list-style=amp |title=United States System of Highways Adopted for Uniform Marking by the American Association of State Highway Officials |date=November 11, 1926 |publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]] |place=Washington, DC |via=[[Wikimedia Commons]] |scale=1:7,000,000 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_System_of_Highways_Adopted_for_Uniform_Marking_by_the_American_Association_of_State_Highway_Officials.jpg |access-date=November 7, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413153913/https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:United_States_System_of_Highways_Adopted_for_Uniform_Marking_by_the_American_Association_of_State_Highway_Officials.jpg |archive-date=April 13, 2017 |url-status=live |oclc=32889555}}</ref>
| decommissioned = {{end date|1985|06|26}}<ref name="AASHTO85">{{AASHTO minutes |year = 1985S |link = yes |v-link = yes |access-date = April 16, 2014 }}</ref>
| tourist = [[File:MUTCD D6-4.svg|20px|alt=|link=]] Historic Route 66 [[National Scenic Byway]] (selected segments)<ref name="NSB">{{cite web|url=https://fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/byway/2489/map?mapId=561|title=Historic Route 66 National Scenic Byway Map|work=America's Byways|publisher=Federal Highway Administration|access-date=June 5, 2025}}</ref>
| direction_a = West
| terminus_a = [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], California
| direction_b = East
| terminus_b = [[Chicago]], Illinois
| states = [[California]], [[Arizona]], [[New Mexico]], [[Texas]], [[Oklahoma]], [[Kansas]], [[Missouri]], [[Illinois]]
| previous_type = US
| previous_route = 65
| next_type = US
| next_route = 67
| map_notes = The final alignments of U.S. Route 66 in red, with older alignments in pink
}}

'''U.S. Route&nbsp;66''' or '''U.S. Highway&nbsp;66''' ('''US&nbsp;66''' or '''Route&nbsp;66''') was one of the original highways in the [[United States Numbered Highway System]]. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Route&nbsp;66 Timeline |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-Timeline.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225135450/https://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-timeline/ |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |access-date=April 15, 2012 |website=Legends of America}}</ref> The highway ran from [[Chicago]], Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before terminating in [[Santa Monica, California|Santa Monica]], California, covering a total of {{convert|2448|mi|km|0}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Table of Mileposts for the Original US&nbsp;66 Alignment of 1926 |url=http://www.stjo66.de/mileposts_1926.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225135451/http://www.stjo66.de/mileposts_1926.htm%20 |archive-date=December 25, 2018 |access-date=April 15, 2012 |website=Route&nbsp;66 Web & Atlas}}</ref>

It was recognized in popular culture by both the 1946 hit song "[[(Get Your Kicks on) Route&nbsp;66]]" and the ''[[Route 66 (TV series)|Route&nbsp;66]]'' television series, which aired on [[CBS]] from 1960 to 1964. It was also featured in the [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]/[[Pixar]] animated feature film franchise ''[[Cars (franchise)|Cars]],'' beginning in 2006. In [[John Steinbeck]]'s novel ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'' (1939), the highway symbolizes escape, loss and the hope of a new beginning; Steinbeck dubbed it the '''Mother Road'''. Other designations and nicknames include the '''Will Rogers Highway''' and the '''Main Street of America''', the latter nickname shared with [[U.S. Route 40]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Longfellow |first=Rickie |title=Route '66' The Mother Road |url=https://highways.dot.gov/highway-history/general-highway-history/back-time/route-66-mother-road |publisher=Federal Highway Administration |date=June 30, 2023 |access-date=December 31, 2025}}</ref>

US&nbsp;66 was a primary route for those who migrated west, especially during the [[Dust Bowl]] of the 1930s, and it supported the economies of the communities through which it passed. People doing business along the route became prosperous and they later fought to keep it alive in the face of the growing threat of being bypassed by the more advanced [[controlled-access highway|freeway]]s of the [[Interstate Highway System]] in the 1960s and 1970s.

US&nbsp;66 underwent many improvements and realignments over its lifetime, but it was officially [[Decommissioned highway|removed]] from the United States Highway System in 1985<ref name="AASHTO85" /> after it was entirely replaced by segments of the Interstate Highway System. Portions of the road that passed through Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and California have been communally designated a [[National Scenic Byway]] by the name '''Historic Route&nbsp;66''',<ref name="NSB"/> returning the name to some maps.<ref>{{Illinois road map |year = 2007 |access-date = May 26, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{google maps |title = Bloomington, IL |access-date = May 26, 2012 |url = https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Bloomington+IL&hl=en&sll=41.512177,-88.092499&sspn=0.283822,0.392075&hnear=Bloomington,+McLean,+Illinois&t=m&z=12 }}</ref> Several states have adopted significant bypassed sections of the former US&nbsp;66 into their state road networks as [[List of highways numbered 66#United States|State Route&nbsp;66]] and much of the former route within [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino County]], California, is designated as [[County Route 66 (San Bernardino County, California)|County Route 66]]. The corridor is also being redeveloped into [[U.S. Bicycle Route&nbsp;66]], a part of the [[United States Bicycle Route System]] that was developed in the 2010s.

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=October 2011}}
{{lengths table|header=Lengths (1926 alignment)|length_ref=<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historic Route 66: Description |url=http://www.historic66.com/description/mileage.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129084152/http://www.historic66.com/description/mileage.html |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |access-date=November 22, 2014 |website=Historic66.com |publisher=Swa Frantzen}}</ref>}}
|-align=center
|[[U.S. Route&nbsp;66 in California|{{abbr|CA|California}}]]
|{{convert|316|mi|km|disp=table}}<!-- ESTIMATES FOR THE 1926 ALIGNMENTS -->
|-align=center
|[[U.S. Route&nbsp;66 in Arizona|{{abbr|AZ|Arizona}}]]
|{{convert|401|mi|km|disp=table}}<!-- ESTIMATES FOR THE 1926 ALIGNMENTS -->
|-align=center
|[[U.S. Route&nbsp;66 in New Mexico|{{abbr|NM|New Mexico}}]]
|{{convert|487|mi|km|disp=table}}<!-- ESTIMATES FOR THE 1926 ALIGNMENTS -->
|-align=center
|[[U.S. Route&nbsp;66 in Texas|{{abbr|TX|Texas}}]]
|{{convert|186|mi|km|disp=table}}<!-- ESTIMATES FOR THE 1926 ALIGNMENTS --><!--said 177.1, but that's also the length of IH 40, so it may have just been guessed from that[[Texas Department of Transportation]], [http://www.dot.state.tx.us/tpp/hwy/us/us0066.htm Highway Designation File – U.S. Highway 66]</ref>-->
|-align=center
|[[U.S. Route&nbsp;66 in Oklahoma|{{abbr|OK|Oklahoma}}]]
|{{convert|432|mi|km|disp=table}}<!-- ESTIMATES FOR THE 1926 ALIGNMENTS -->
|-align=center
|[[U.S. Route&nbsp;66 in Kansas|{{abbr|KS|Kansas}}]]
|{{convert|13|mi|km|disp=table}}<!--commonly agreed to as 13.2, but no source to confirm the .2 IMHO-->
|-align=center
|[[U.S. Route&nbsp;66 in Missouri|{{abbr|MO|Missouri}}]]
|{{convert|317|mi|km|disp=table}}<!-- ESTIMATES FOR THE 1926 ALIGNMENTS -->
|-align=center
|[[U.S. Route&nbsp;66 in Illinois|{{abbr|IL|Illinois}}]]
|{{convert|301|mi|km|disp=table}}<!-- ESTIMATES FOR THE 1926 ALIGNMENTS -->
|-align=center
|Total
|{{convert|2448|mi|km|disp=table}}<!-- PUBLISHED FOR THE 1926 ALIGNMENT: American Highways, 4/27 -->
|}

===Before the U.S. Highway System===
[[File:Rte66RightOfWayMarker.jpg|thumb|upright|A remnant of an original state right-of-way marker serves as a reminder of the early days of the road's construction. This was part of the 1927 construction of US&nbsp;66.]]

In 1857, Lt. [[Edward Fitzgerald Beale]], a naval officer in the service of the [[Corps of Topographical Engineers|U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers]], was ordered by the [[United States Department of War|War Department]] to build a government-funded wagon road along the [[35th parallel north|35th Parallel]]. His secondary orders were to test the feasibility of the use of [[U.S. Camel Corps|camels as pack animals in the southwestern desert]]. This road became part of US&nbsp;66.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weiser |first=Kathy |year=2014 |title=Beale's Wagon Road from New Mexico to California |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-bealeroad.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129065152/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/we-bealeroad.html |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=Legends of America}}</ref>

Parts of the original Route 66 from 1913, prior to its official naming and commissioning, can still be seen north of the [[Cajon Pass]]. The paved road becomes a dirt road, south of Cajon, which was also the original Route 66.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cajon Pass |url=http://www.backroadswest.com/MonthTrips/BreezeCajon.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708125234/http://www.backroadswest.com/MonthTrips/BreezeCajon.htm |archive-date=July 8, 2015 |access-date=March 29, 2016 |website=BackRoadsWest.com}}</ref>

Before a nationwide network of numbered highways was adopted by the states, [[auto trail]]s were marked by private organizations. The route that became US&nbsp;66 was covered by three highways:
* The Lone Star Route passed through [[St. Louis]] on its way from [[Chicago]] to [[Cameron, Louisiana]] (although US&nbsp;66 would take a shorter route through [[Bloomington, Illinois|Bloomington]] rather than [[Peoria, Illinois|Peoria]]).
* The transcontinental [[National Old Trails Road]] led via St. Louis to [[Los Angeles]], but was not followed until [[New Mexico]]. Instead, US&nbsp;66 used one of the main routes of the [[Ozark Trail (auto trail)|Ozark Trails]] system,<ref>{{Cite map |last=Old Spanish Trail Association |title=Map of the Ozark Trails |publisher=Old Spanish Trail Association |url=http://www.drivetheost.com/ozarkmap.html |access-date=April 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416010408/http://www.drivetheost.com/ozarkmap.html |archive-date=April 16, 2012 |url-status=live}}{{full citation needed|date= June 2016 }}</ref> which ended at the National Old Trails Road just south of [[Las Vegas, New Mexico]]. Again, a shorter route was taken, here following the Postal Highway between [[Oklahoma City, Oklahoma|Oklahoma City]] and [[Amarillo, Texas|Amarillo]].
* The National Old Trails Road became the rest of the route to Los Angeles.<ref name="1926 Rand McNally">{{Cite map |last=Rand McNally |title=Auto Road Atlas |year=1926 |publisher=Rand McNally |place=Chicago |via=Broer Maps Online |url=http://www.broermapsonline.org/members/ |access-date=April 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427035609/http://www.broermapsonline.org/members/ |archive-date=April 27, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Legislation for public highways first appeared in 1916, with revisions in 1921, but the government did not execute a national highway construction plan until Congress enacted an even more comprehensive version of the act in 1925. The original inspiration for a road between Chicago and Los Angeles was planned by entrepreneurs [[Cyrus Avery]] of [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]] and [[John T. Woodruff]] of [[Springfield, Missouri]], who lobbied the [[American Association of State Highway Officials]] (AASHO)<!--the name didn't change until 1973--> for the creation of a route following the 1925 plans.<ref name="tremeear-10">*{{Cite book |last=Tremeear |first=Janice |title=Illinois' Haunted Route 66 |publisher=History Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-626-19252-2 |page=10}}</ref>

===Birthplace and rise of US 66===
[[File:US&nbsp;66 Arizona 1926.svg|thumb|upright|The route sign from 1926 to 1948 in [[Arizona]]]]
[[File:Woodruff_Building_Springfield_MO_Sept2025_A.jpg|thumb|upright|Route 66 marker outside the [[Woodruff Building]] in [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield, MO.]]]]
[[File:Adams Street WB past Michigan Avenue Chicago.jpeg|thumb|upright|Modern 'historic' signage in Chicago]]

The numerical designation 66 was assigned to the Chicago-to-Los Angeles route on April 30, 1926,<ref name="tremeear-10" /> in [[Springfield, Missouri]]. A placard in Park Central Square was dedicated to the city by the Route&nbsp;66 Association of Missouri,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Route 66 Birthplace Festival Set for Springfield, Missouri |url=http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/03/22/route-66-birthplace-festival-set-for-springfield-missouri/ |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129031245/http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2013/03/22/route-66-birthplace-festival-set-for-springfield-missouri/ |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |access-date=November 19, 2014 |website=Hemmings Motor News}}</ref> and traces of the "Mother Road" are still visible in downtown Springfield, along Kearney Street, Glenstone Avenue, College Street and St. Louis Street and on [[Missouri Route 266|Route&nbsp;266]] to [[Halltown, Missouri]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Then, Now and In Between |url=http://www.springfieldmo.org/discover/springfield-history |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129031701/http://www.springfieldmo.org/discover/springfield-history |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |access-date=November 19, 2014 |publisher=Springfield, Missouri, Convention & Visitors Bureau |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

Championed by Avery when the first talks about a national highway system began, US&nbsp;66 was first signed into law in 1927 as one of the original [[United States Numbered Highways|U.S. Highways]], although it was not completely paved until 1938. Avery was adamant that the highway have a round number and had proposed number 60 to identify it. A controversy erupted over the number 60, largely from delegates from [[Kentucky]] who wanted a [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach]]–Los Angeles highway to be [[U.S. Route 60|US&nbsp;60]] and [[U.S. Route 62|US&nbsp;62]] between [[Chicago, Illinois]] and Springfield, Missouri.<ref name="birthandrise">{{Cite web |title=Exactly Where Is Route 66 |url=http://route66chamberofcommerce.homestead.com/Whereis66PAGE.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412060457/http://route66chamberofcommerce.homestead.com/Whereis66PAGE.html |archive-date=April 12, 2015 |access-date=November 19, 2014 |website=Route66 Chamber of Commerce}}{{self-published source|date=June 2016 }}</ref>{{self-published inline|date=June 2016 }} Arguments and counterarguments continued throughout February, including a proposal to split the proposed route through Kentucky into Route 60 North (to Chicago) and Route 60 South (to [[Newport News, Virginia|Newport News]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kelly |first=Susan Croce |title=Father of Route 66: The Story of Cy Avery |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-806-14778-9 |location=Norman |page=159}}</ref> The final conclusion was to have US&nbsp;60 run between Virginia Beach, Virginia and Springfield, Missouri and the Chicago–Los Angeles route be US&nbsp;62.<ref name="FHWA planning">{{Cite web |last=Weingroff |first=Richard F. |date=April 7, 2011 |title=From Names to Numbers: The Origins of the U.S. Numbered Highway System |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/numbers.cfm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521204506/http://wwwcf.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/numbers.cfm |archive-date=May 21, 2011 |access-date=April 15, 2012 |website=Highway History |publisher=[[Federal Highway Administration]]}}</ref> Avery and highway engineer John Page settled on "66", which was unassigned, despite the fact that in its entirety, US 66 was north of US 60.<ref>{{harvp|Kelly|2014|p=170}}</ref>

The [[state of Missouri]] released its 1926 state highway map with the highway labeled as US&nbsp;60.<ref>{{Cite map |last=Missouri State Highway Commission |title=Road Map of Missouri |year=1926 |publisher=Missouri State Highway Commission |place=Jefferson City |url=http://www.modot.org/historicmaps/documents/1926001_reduced.pdf |access-date=April 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111226130528/http://www.modot.org/historicmaps/documents/1926001_reduced.pdf |archive-date=December 26, 2011 |url-status=live |format=PDF}}</ref>

After the new federal highway system was officially created, Cyrus Avery called for the establishment of the [[U.S. Highway 66 Association]] to promote the complete paving of the highway from end-to-end and to promote travel down the highway. In 1927, in Tulsa, the association was officially established with [[John T. Woodruff]] of Springfield, Missouri, elected the first president. In 1928, the association made its first attempt at publicity, the "[[Bunion Derby]]", a footrace from Los Angeles to [[New York City]], of which the path from Los Angeles to Chicago would be on US&nbsp;66.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Great American Foot Race |url=http://archive.itvs.org/footrace/progress/progress.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422144247/http://archive.itvs.org/footrace/progress/progress.htm |archive-date=April 22, 2012 |access-date=April 15, 2012 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

The publicity worked: several dignitaries, including [[Will Rogers]], greeted the runners at certain points on the route. The race ended in [[Madison Square Garden (1925)|Madison Square Garden]], where the $25,000 first prize (equal to ${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|25000|1928}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}}) was awarded to [[Andy Hartley Payne]], a Cherokee runner from Oklahoma. The [[U.S. Highway 66 Association]] also placed its first advertisement in the July 16, 1932, issue of the ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]''. The ad invited Americans to take US&nbsp;66 to the [[1932 Summer Olympics]] in Los Angeles. A U.S. Highway 66 Association office in Oklahoma received hundreds of requests for information after the ad was published.<ref name="dedek-35">{{Cite book |last=Dedek |first=Peter B. |title=Hip to the Trip: A Cultural History of Route&nbsp;66 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-0826341945 |location=Albuquerque |page=35}}</ref> The association went on to serve as a voice for businesses along the highway until it disbanded in 1976.

Traffic grew on the highway because of the geography through which it passed. Much of the highway was essentially flat and this made the highway a popular [[truck]] route. The [[Dust Bowl]] of the 1930s saw many farming families, mainly from Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas and Texas, heading west for agricultural jobs in California. US&nbsp;66 became the main road of travel for these people, often derogatorily called "[[Okie]]s" or "Arkies". During the Depression, it gave some relief to communities located on the highway. The route passed through numerous small towns and, with the growing traffic on the highway, helped create the rise of [[small business|mom-and-pop businesses]], such as [[filling station|service stations]], [[restaurant]]s and [[motor court]]s, all readily accessible to passing [[motorist]]s.<ref name="route66world" />

[[File:Chain of Rocks.jpg|thumb|The [[Chain of Rocks Bridge]] across the [[Mississippi River]] was built to carry the growing traffic of US&nbsp;66 around the city of St. Louis.]]
[[File:Magnolia gasoline station, Shamrock, TX IMG 6141.JPG|thumb|Restored Magnolia gasoline station museum on Route&nbsp;66 in [[Shamrock, Texas|Shamrock]] in [[Wheeler County, Texas]] ]]

Much of the early highway, like all the other early highways, was gravel or graded dirt. Due to the efforts of the U.S. Highway 66 Association, in 1938 US&nbsp;66 became the first highway to be completely paved. Several places were dangerous: more than one part of the highway was nicknamed "Bloody 66" and gradually work was done to realign these segments to remove dangerous curves. One section through the [[Black Mountains (Arizona)|Black Mountains]] outside [[Oatman, Arizona]], was fraught with [[hairpin turn]]s and was the steepest along the entire route, so much so that some early travelers, too frightened at the prospect of driving such a potentially dangerous road, hired locals to navigate the winding grade. The section remained as US&nbsp;66 until 1953 and is still open to traffic today as the Oatman Highway. Despite such hazards in some areas, US&nbsp;66 continued to be a popular route.<ref name="route66world" />

Notable buildings include the [[art deco]]–styled [[U-Drop Inn]], constructed in 1936 in [[Shamrock, Texas|Shamrock]], in [[Wheeler County, Texas|Wheeler County]] east of Amarillo, Texas, listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="RegistryListing">{{Cite web |title=Tower Station |url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=2097001160&site_name=Tower+Station&class=2001 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123062046/http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=2097001160&site_name=Tower+Station&class=2001 |archive-date=January 23, 2016 |access-date=March 25, 2010 |website=Texas Historic Sites Atlas |publisher=[[Texas Historical Commission]]}}</ref><ref name="NRHP">{{Cite web |last=[[National Park Service]] |date=n.d. |title=Texas: Wheeler County |url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/tx/Wheeler/state.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100615064334/http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/TX/Wheeler/state.html |archive-date=June 15, 2010 |access-date=March 25, 2010 |website=[[National Register of Historic Places]] |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> A restored Magnolia fuel station is also located in Shamrock as well as [[Vega, Texas|Vega]], in [[Oldham County, Texas|Oldham County]], west of Amarillo.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vega, Texas |url=http://www.theroadwanderer.net/66Texas/vega.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128031604/http://www.theroadwanderer.net/66Texas/vega.htm |archive-date=January 28, 2015 |access-date=November 19, 2014 |website=TheRoadWanderer.net}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], more migration west occurred because of war-related industries in California. US&nbsp;66, already popular and fully paved, became one of the main routes and also served for moving military equipment. [[Fort Leonard Wood]] in Missouri was located near the highway, which was locally upgraded quickly to a divided highway to help with military traffic. When [[Richard Feynman]] was working on the [[Manhattan Project]] at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|Los Alamos]], he used to travel nearly {{convert|100|mi|km}} to visit his wife, who was dying of [[tuberculosis]], in a [[sanatorium]] located on US&nbsp;66 in [[Albuquerque]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Gribbin |first1=John |title=A Life in Science |last2=Feynman |first2=Richard |year=1997 |page=96}}</ref>

In the 1950s, US&nbsp;66 became the main highway for vacationers heading to Los Angeles. The road passed through the [[Painted Desert (Arizona)|Painted Desert]] and near the [[Grand Canyon]]. [[Meteor Crater]] in Arizona was another popular stop. This sharp increase in tourism in turn gave rise to a burgeoning trade in all manner of roadside attractions, including [[teepee]]-[[Wigwam Motel|shaped motels]], [[frozen custard]] stands, [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] curio shops and reptile farms. [[Meramec Caverns]] near [[St. Louis]], began advertising on barns, billing itself as the "[[Jesse James]] hideout". The [[Big Texan]] advertised a free {{convert|72|oz|kg|adj=on}} steak dinner to anyone who could consume the entire meal in one hour. It also marked the birth of the [[fast-food]] industry: [[Red's Giant Hamburg]] in [[Springfield, Missouri]], site of the first [[drive-through]] restaurant and the first [[McDonald's]] in [[San Bernardino, California]]. Changes like these to the landscape further cemented 66's reputation as a near-perfect microcosm of the culture of America, now linked by the automobile.<ref name="route66world" /><ref name="R66">{{Cite book |last=Wallis |first=Michael |title=Route 66: The Mother Road |publisher=St. Martin's |isbn=0-312-08285-1 |location=New York |pages=90–92}}</ref>

===Changes in routing===
[[File:Route66 sign.jpg|thumb|Modern-day sign in [[New Mexico]], along a section of Route&nbsp;66 named a [[National Scenic Byway]]]]
In 1930, between the Illinois cities of [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]] and [[East St. Louis, Illinois|East St. Louis]], US&nbsp;66 was shifted farther east to what is now roughly [[Interstate 55 in Illinois|Interstate 55]] (I-55). The original alignment, marked as Temporary 66, followed the current [[Illinois Route&nbsp;4]] (IL&nbsp;4).<ref name="nps">{{Cite web |last=National Park Service |date=n.d. |title=Route 66 |url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/text_only.html#illinois_road_segments |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920204858/https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/text_only.html#illinois_road_segments |archive-date=September 20, 2016 |access-date=November 19, 2014 |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref>

From [[downtown St. Louis]] to [[Gray Summit, Missouri]], US&nbsp;66 originally went down Market Street and Manchester Road, which is largely [[Missouri Route 100|Route&nbsp;100]]. In 1932, this route was changed and the original alignment was never viewed as anything more than temporary. The planned route was down Watson Road, which is now [[Missouri Route 366|Route&nbsp;366]] but Watson Road had not been completed yet.

In Oklahoma, from west of [[El Reno, Oklahoma|El Reno]] to [[Bridgeport, Oklahoma|Bridgeport]], US&nbsp;66 turned north to [[Calumet, Oklahoma|Calumet]] and then west to [[Geary, Oklahoma|Geary]], then southwest across the South Canadian River over a suspension toll bridge into Bridgeport. In 1933, a straighter cut-off route was completed from west of El Reno to {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}} south of Bridgeport, crossing over a 38-span steel pony [[truss bridge]] over the South Canadian River, bypassing Calumet and Geary by several miles.

From [[Santa Rosa, New Mexico|Santa Rosa]], to north of [[Los Lunas, New Mexico|Los Lunas]], in New Mexico, the road originally turned north from current I-40 along much of what is now [[U.S. Route 84|US&nbsp;84]] to near [[Las Vegas, New Mexico]], followed (roughly) [[Interstate 25 in New Mexico|I-25]]—then the [[decommissioned highway|decertified]] US&nbsp;85 through [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]] and Albuquerque to Los Lunas and then turned northwest along the present [[New Mexico State Road&nbsp;6]] (NM 6) alignment to a point near Laguna. In 1937, a straight-line route was completed from Santa Rosa through [[Moriarty, New Mexico|Moriarty]] and east–west through [[Albuquerque]] and west to Laguna. This newer routing saved travelers as much as four hours of travel through New Mexico. According to legend, the rerouting was done at the behest of Democratic Governor [[Arthur T. Hannett]] to punish the Republican [[Santa Fe Ring]], which had long dominated New Mexico out of Santa Fe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Santa Fe, Pre 1938 Rt. 66 Alignment |url=http://www.theroadwanderer.net/66NMex/santafe.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504084124/http://www.theroadwanderer.net/66NMex/santafe.htm |archive-date=May 4, 2012 |access-date=April 15, 2012 |website=Shadows of Old Route&nbsp;66}}</ref>

In 1936, US&nbsp;66 was extended from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica to end at US&nbsp;101 Alt., today the intersection of [[Olympic Boulevard (Los Angeles)|Olympic]] and [[Lincoln Boulevard (Southern California)|Lincoln Boulevard]]s. Even though there is a plaque dedicating US&nbsp;66 as the ''Will Rogers Highway'' placed at the intersection of Ocean Boulevard and [[Santa Monica Boulevard]], the highway never terminated there. In 1940, the first freeway in Los Angeles was incorporated into US&nbsp;66; this was the [[Arroyo Seco Parkway]], later known as the [[Pasadena Freeway]]; now again known as Arroyo Seco Parkway.<ref name="nps" />

[[File:Rte66btwnOatmanAndKingman.JPG|thumb|Route&nbsp;66 just west of the [[Sitgreaves Pass]] between [[Oatman, Arizona|Oatman]] and [[Kingman, Arizona|Kingman]]]]
In 1953, the Oatman Highway through the Black Mountains was completely bypassed by a new route between [[Kingman, Arizona]] and [[Needles, California]];<ref name="nps" /> by the 1960s, [[Oatman, Arizona]], was virtually abandoned as a [[ghost town]].

Since the 1950s, as Interstates were being constructed, sections of US&nbsp;66 not only saw the traffic drain to them, but often the route number itself was moved to the faster means of travel. In some cases, such as to the east of St. Louis, this was done as soon as the Interstate was finished to the next exit. The displacement of US&nbsp;66 signage to the new freeways, combined with restrictions in the 1965 [[Highway Beautification Act]] that often denied merchants on the old road access to signage on the freeway, became factors in the closure of many established US&nbsp;66 businesses as travelers could no longer easily find or reach them.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 5, 1989 |title=U.S. Route 66 in Arizona Multiple Property Submission |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/64500038_text |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210912225200/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/64500038_text |archive-date=September 12, 2021 |access-date=September 13, 2022 |website=National Register of Historic Places |publisher=National Park Service |pages=25–26}}</ref>

===Decline===
[[File:Whiting bros.jpg|thumb|right|Abandoned, fire-damaged [[Whiting Brothers]] gas station. All along the route, preservation efforts are under way to preserve original buildings such as this.]]
[[File:OldalignIL.jpg|thumb|An abandoned early US&nbsp;66 alignment in [[Illinois]], 2006]]
[[File:Abandoned gas station - Two Guns, Arizona.jpg|thumb|right|The ghost town of [[Two Guns, Arizona]], once featured a zoo, gift shop, restaurant, campground, gas station and "death cave".]]

The beginning of the decline for US&nbsp;66 came in 1956 with the signing of the [[Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956|Interstate Highway Act]] by President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] who was influenced by his experiences in 1919 as a young Army officer crossing the country in a truck convoy (following the route of the [[Lincoln Highway]]) and his appreciation of the [[Autobahn]] network as a necessary component of a national defense system.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Petroski |first=Henry |year=2006 |title=On the Road |magazine=American Scientist |pages=396–399 |volume=94 |issue=5 |doi=10.1511/2006.61.396 |issn=0003-0996}}</ref>

During its nearly 60-year existence, US&nbsp;66 was under constant change. As highway engineering became more sophisticated, engineers constantly sought more direct routes between cities and towns. Increased traffic led to a number of major and minor realignments of US&nbsp;66 through the years, particularly in the years immediately following World War II when Illinois began widening US&nbsp;66 to four lanes through virtually the entire state from Chicago to the [[Mississippi River]] just east of [[St. Louis]] and included bypasses around virtually all of the towns. By the early to mid-1950s, Missouri also upgraded its sections of US&nbsp;66 to four lanes complete with bypasses. Most of the newer four-lane 66 paving in both states was upgraded to freeway status in later years.

One notable remnant of US&nbsp;66 is Veterans Parkway, signed as [[Interstate 55 Business (Bloomington–Normal, Illinois)|Interstate&nbsp;55 Business]] (I-55 Bus.), in [[Bloomington, Illinois|Bloomington]], Illinois. The sweeping curve on the southeast side of the city originally was intended to easily handle traffic at speeds up to {{convert|100|mi/h|km/h}}, as part of an effort to make US 66 an ''Autobahn'' equivalent for military transport.

In 1953, the first major bypassing of US&nbsp;66 occurred in Oklahoma with the opening of the [[Turner Turnpike]] between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The new {{convert|88|mi|km|0|adj=on}} toll road paralleled US&nbsp;66 for its entire length and bypassed each of the towns along US 66. The Turner Turnpike was joined in 1957 by the new [[Will Rogers Turnpike]], which connected Tulsa with the Oklahoma-Missouri border west of [[Joplin, Missouri]], again paralleling US&nbsp;66 and bypassing the towns in northeastern Oklahoma in addition to its entire stretch through Kansas. Both Oklahoma turnpikes were soon designated as [[Interstate 44|I-44]], along with the US&nbsp;66 bypass at Tulsa that connected the city with both turnpikes.

In some cases, such as many areas in Illinois, the new Interstate Highway not only paralleled the old US&nbsp;66, it actually used much of the same roadway. A typical approach was to build one new set of lanes, then move one direction of traffic to it, while retaining the original set of lanes for traffic flowing in the opposite direction. Then a second set of lanes for traffic flowing in the other direction would be constructed, finally followed by abandoning the other old set of lanes or converting them into a [[frontage road]].

The same scenario was used in western Oklahoma, when US&nbsp;66 was initially upgraded to a four-lane highway such as from [[Sayre, Oklahoma|Sayre]] to [[Erick, Oklahoma|Erick]] to the Texas border at [[Texola]] in 1957 and 1958 where the old paving was retained for westbound traffic and a new parallel lane built for eastbound traffic (much of this section was entirely bypassed by I-40 in 1975) and on two other sections; from [[Canute, Oklahoma|Canute]] to [[Elk City, Oklahoma|Elk City]] in 1959 and [[Hydro, Oklahoma|Hydro]] to [[Weatherford, Oklahoma|Weatherford]] in 1960, both of which were upgraded with the construction of a new westbound lane in 1966 to bring the highway up to full [[Interstate Standards]] and demoting the old US&nbsp;66 paving to frontage road status. In the initial process of constructing [[Interstate 40|I-40]] across western Oklahoma, the state also included projects to upgrade the through routes in [[El Reno, Oklahoma|El Reno]], Weatherford, [[Clinton, Oklahoma|Clinton]], Canute, Elk City, Sayre, Erick and Texola to four-lane highways not only to provide seamless transitions from the rural sections of I-40 from both ends of town but also to provide easy access to those cities in later years after the I-40 bypasses were completed.

[[File:Groom, Texas 03.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Leaning Tower of Britten]], east of [[Groom, Texas]], along I-40 (old US&nbsp;66)]]
In New Mexico, as in most other states, rural sections of [[Interstate 40|I-40]] were to be constructed first with bypasses around cities to come later. However, some business and civic leaders in cities along US&nbsp;66 were completely opposed to bypassing fearing loss of business and tax revenues. In 1963, the New Mexico Legislature enacted legislation that banned the construction of interstate bypasses around cities by local request. This legislation was short-lived, however, due to pressures from Washington and threat of loss of federal highway funds so it was rescinded by 1965.

In 1964, [[Tucumcari, New Mexico|Tucumcari]] and [[San Jon, New Mexico|San Jon]] became the first cities in New Mexico to work out an agreement with state and federal officials in determining the locations of their I-40 bypasses as close to their business areas as possible in order to permit easy access for highway travelers to their localities. Other cities soon fell in line including [[Santa Rosa, New Mexico|Santa Rosa]], [[Moriarty, New Mexico|Moriarty]], [[Grants, New Mexico|Grants]] and [[Gallup, New Mexico|Gallup]] although it wasn't until well into the 1970s that most of those cities would be bypassed by I-40.

[[File:Amboy (California, USA), Hist. Route 66 -- 2012 -- 1.jpg|thumb|Old Route&nbsp;66 near [[Amboy, California]]]]

By the late 1960s, most of the rural sections of US&nbsp;66 had been replaced by I-40 across New Mexico with the most notable exception being the {{convert|40|mi|km|0|adj=on}} strip from the Texas border at [[Glenrio, New Mexico and Texas|Glenrio]] west through San Jon to Tucumcari, which was becoming increasingly treacherous due to heavier and heavier traffic on the narrow two-lane highway. During 1968 and 1969, this section of US&nbsp;66 was often referred to by locals and travelers as "Slaughter Lane" due to numerous injury and fatal accidents on this stretch.

Local and area business and civic leaders and news media called upon state and federal highway officials to get I-40 built through the area. Disputes over proposed highway routing in the vicinity of San Jon held up construction plans for several years as federal officials proposed that I-40 run some {{convert|5|to|6|mi|km|0|spell=in}} north of that city while local and state officials insisted on following a proposed route that touched the northern city limits of San Jon. In November 1969, a truce was reached when federal highway officials agreed to build the I-40 route just outside the city, therefore providing local businesses dependent on highway traffic easy access to and from the freeway via the north–south highway that crossed old US&nbsp;66 in San Jon. I-40 was completed from Glenrio to the east side of San Jon in 1976 and extended west to Tucumcari in 1981, including the bypasses around both cities.

[[File:Route&nbsp;66 2073773569 7b3fae3b91 b.jpg|thumb|left|US&nbsp;66, going to [[Oatman, Arizona]], in 2007]]
Originally, highway officials planned for the last section of US&nbsp;66 to be bypassed by interstates in Texas, but as was the case in many places, lawsuits held up construction of the new interstates. The US Highway 66 Association had become a voice for the people who feared the loss of their businesses. Since the interstates only provided access via ramps at interchanges, travelers could not pull directly off a highway into a business. At first, plans were laid out to allow mainly national chains to be placed in interstate medians. Such lawsuits effectively prevented this on all but toll roads.

Some towns in Missouri threatened to sue the state if the US&nbsp;66 designation was removed from the road, though lawsuits never materialized. Several businesses were well known to be on US&nbsp;66 and fear of losing the number resulted in the state of Missouri officially requesting the designation "Interstate 66" for the St. Louis to Oklahoma City section of the route, but it was denied. In 1984, Arizona also saw its final stretch of highway decommissioned with the completion of [[Interstate 40|I-40]] just north of [[Williams, Arizona]]. Finally, with decertification of the highway by the [[American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials]] the following year, US&nbsp;66 officially ceased to exist.<ref name="AASHTO85"/> With the decommissioning of US&nbsp;66, no single interstate route was designated to replace it, with the route being covered by [[Interstate&nbsp;55]] from [[Chicago]] to [[St. Louis]]; [[Interstate&nbsp;44]] from St. Louis to [[Oklahoma City]]; [[Interstate&nbsp;40]] from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to [[Barstow, California]]; [[Interstate&nbsp;15]] from Barstow to [[San Bernardino]]; and [[Interstate&nbsp;10]] from San Bernardino to [[Santa Monica]].

===After decertification===
[[File:Sidewalk Highway (3).jpg|thumb|"Sidewalk highway" section of US&nbsp;66 near [[Miami, Oklahoma]]]]

When the highway was decommissioned, sections of the road were disposed of in various ways. Within many cities, the route became a "business loop" for the interstate. Some sections became state roads, local roads, or private drives, or were abandoned completely. Although it is no longer possible to drive US&nbsp;66 uninterrupted all the way from Chicago to Los Angeles, much of the original route and alternate alignments are still drivable with careful planning. Some stretches are quite well preserved, including one between Springfield, Missouri and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Some sections of US&nbsp;66 still retain their historic {{convert|9|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} "sidewalk highway" form,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Route&nbsp;66 Sidewalk Highway |url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/route-66-sidewalk-highway |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170828061853/http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/route-66-sidewalk-highway |archive-date=August 28, 2017 |access-date=August 26, 2017 |website=Atlas Obscura}}</ref> never having been resurfaced to make them into full-width highways. These old sections have a single, paved lane, concrete curbs to mark the edge of the lane and gravel shoulders for passing.

Some states have kept the 66 designation for parts of the highway, albeit as state roads. In Missouri, Routes [[Missouri Route 366|366]], [[Missouri Route 266|266]] and [[Missouri Route 66|66]] are all original sections of the highway. [[State Highway 66 (Oklahoma)|State Highway 66]] (SH-66) in Oklahoma remains as the [[Shunpiking|alternate "free" route]] near its turnpikes. "Historic Route&nbsp;66" runs for a significant distance in and near [[Flagstaff, Arizona]]. Farther west, a long segment of US&nbsp;66 in Arizona runs significantly north of I-40 and much of it is designated as [[Arizona State Route 66|State Route&nbsp;66]] (SR&nbsp;66). This runs from [[Seligman, Arizona|Seligman]] to [[Kingman, Arizona]], via [[Peach Springs]]. A surface street stretch between [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]] and [[La Verne, California|La Verne]] (known as [[Foothill Boulevard (Los Angeles)|Foothill Boulevard]]) to the east of [[Los Angeles]] retains its number as [[State Route&nbsp;66 (California)|SR&nbsp;66]]. Several county roads and city streets at various places along the old route have also retained the "66" number.

===Revival===
[[File:SoulsbyServiceStation MtOliveIL.jpg|thumb|[[Soulsby Service Station|Restored service station]] in [[Mount Olive, Illinois|Mt Olive, Illinois]]]]

The first [[Route&nbsp;66 association]]s were founded in Arizona in 1987 and, in 1989, Missouri (incorporated in 1990)<ref name="bosglobe">{{Cite news |last=Cobb |first=Nathan |date=May 3, 1992 |title=Searching for Route 66 |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61756809.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131194616/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/61756809.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current |archive-date=January 31, 2013 |work=Boston Globe |page=18|id={{ProQuest|<!-- insert ProQuest data here --> }}}}</ref><ref name="mo66a">{{Cite web |date=April 14, 2012 |title=Historic Route 66 Association of Missouri website |url=http://www.missouri66.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816231636/https://missouri66.org/ |archive-date=August 16, 2020 |access-date=May 5, 2012 |publisher=Missouri66.org}}</ref> and Illinois.<ref name="il66a">{{Cite web |date=June 23, 2017 |title=Route 66 Association of Illinois history website |url=https://www.il66assoc.org/association-history/ |access-date=January 8, 2024 |publisher=il66assoc.org}}</ref> Other groups in the other US&nbsp;66 states soon followed. In 1990, the state of Missouri declared US&nbsp;66 in that state a "State Historic Route". The first "Historic Route&nbsp;66" marker in Missouri was erected on Kearney Street at Glenstone Avenue in Springfield, Missouri (now replaced—the original sign has been placed at [[Route&nbsp;66 State Park]] near [[Eureka, Missouri|Eureka]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sonderman |first=Joe |title=A Bit of Missouri 66 History |url=http://www.66postcards.com/hist.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105154916/http://www.66postcards.com/hist.html |archive-date=November 5, 2014 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=66Postcards.com}}</ref> Other historic markers now line—at times sporadically—the entire {{convert|2400|mi|km|adj=on}} length of road.<ref name="route66world">{{Cite web |title=Route 66 History |url=http://www.route66world.com/66_history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200823215839/http://www.route66world.com/66_history/ |archive-date=August 23, 2020 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |publisher=Route 66 World}}</ref> In many communities, local groups have painted or stenciled the "66" and [[U.S. Route shield]] or outline [[Route shield pavement marking|directly onto the road surface]], along with the state's name.<ref name="route66world" /> This is common in areas where conventional signage for "Historic Route&nbsp;66" is a target of repeated [[Street sign theft|theft]] by [[souvenir]] hunters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Finding Your Way on Route 66 |url=http://www.route-66.tv/finding-your-way-route66.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141230172153/http://www.route-66.tv/finding-your-way-route66.html |archive-date=December 30, 2014 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=Route-66.tv}}</ref>

[[File:Snow cap seligman.jpg|thumb|left|[[Delgadillo's Snow Cap Drive-In]] in [[Seligman, Arizona]]. The eatery is still a popular tourist stop.]]
Various sections of the road itself have been placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]. The Arroyo Seco Parkway in the Los Angeles Area and US&nbsp;66 in New Mexico have been made into National Scenic Byways. [[Williams Historic Business District]] and [[Urban Route 66, Williams]] were added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1984 and 1989, respectively. In 2005, the State of Missouri made the road a state scenic byway from Illinois to Kansas. In the cities of [[Rancho Cucamonga, California|Rancho Cucamonga]], [[Rialto, California|Rialto]] and [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]] in California, there are US&nbsp;66 signs erected along [[Foothill Boulevard (Los Angeles)|Foothill Boulevard]] and also on Huntington Drive in the city of [[Arcadia, California|Arcadia]]. "Historic Route&nbsp;66" signs may be found along the old route on [[Colorado Boulevard]] in [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]] and along [[Foothill Boulevard (Los Angeles)|Foothill Boulevard]] in [[San Dimas, California|San Dimas]], [[La Verne, California|La Verne]] and [[Claremont, California|Claremont]], California. The city of [[Glendora, California]], renamed Alosta Avenue, its section of US&nbsp;66, by calling it "Route&nbsp;66". [[Flagstaff, Arizona]], renamed all but a few blocks of Santa Fe Avenue as "Route&nbsp;66". Until 2017, when it was moved to the nearby [[Millennium Park]], the annual June [[Chicago Blues Festival]] was held each year in [[Grant Park (Chicago)|Grant Park]] and included a "Route&nbsp;66 Roadhouse" stage on Columbus Avenue, a few yards north of old US&nbsp;66/Jackson Boulevard (both closed to traffic for the festival) and a block west of the route's former eastern terminus at [[U.S. Route 41 in Illinois|US&nbsp;41]] ([[Lake Shore Drive]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Matthews |first=David |date=March 28, 2017 |title=Chicago Blues Festival 2017 Lineup, New Location Revealed |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170328/downtown/chicago-blues-festival-2017-lineup-new-location-revealed |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611145415/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170328/downtown/chicago-blues-festival-2017-lineup-new-location-revealed |archive-date=June 11, 2017 |access-date=June 18, 2017 |website=[[DNAinfo]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Whiteis |first1=David |last2=Dahl |first2=Bill |date=May 29, 2003 |title=20th Annual Chicago Blues Festival: The Reader's Guide |url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/20th-annual-chicago-blues-festival/Content?oid=912189 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171125150537/https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/20th-annual-chicago-blues-festival/Content?oid=912189 |archive-date=November 25, 2017 |access-date=June 18, 2017 |website=[[Chicago Reader]]}}</ref> Since 2001, [[Springfield, Illinois]] has annually held its "International Route&nbsp;66 Mother Road Festival" in its downtown district surrounding the [[Old State Capitol State Historic Site (Illinois)|Old State Capitol]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=13th Annual International Route 66 Mother Road Festival & Car Show |url=http://www.route66fest.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129105832/http://www.route66fest.com/ |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |access-date=November 22, 2014 |website=Route66fest.com |publisher=The Promotion Company}}</ref>

Many preservation groups have tried to save and even landmark the old [[motel]]s and [[neon lighting|neon signs]] along the road in some states.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Juozapavicius |first=Justin |date=May 20, 2007 |title=Route&nbsp;66 Motels an Endangered Species |url=https://oklahoman.com/article/3056671/route-66-motels-an-endangered-species |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818030244/https://oklahoman.com/article/3056671/route-66-motels-an-endangered-species |archive-date=August 18, 2019 |access-date=August 17, 2019 |work=[[The Oklahoman]] |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>

In 1999, President [[Bill Clinton]] signed a ''National Route&nbsp;66 Preservation Bill'' that provided for $10 million in matching fund grants for preserving and restoring the historic features along the route.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Welch |first=Kevin |date=July 1, 1999 |title=House OKs Route&nbsp;66 Bill |url=http://www.amarillo.com/stories/070199/new_route.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325041510/http://amarillo.com/stories/070199/new_route.shtml |archive-date=March 25, 2012 |access-date=April 15, 2012 |work=[[Amarillo Globe-News]] |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

In 2008, the [[World Monuments Fund]] added US&nbsp;66 to the [[2008 World Monuments Watch|World Monuments Watch]] as sites along the route such as gas stations, motels, cafés, trading posts and drive-in movie theaters are threatened by development in urban areas and by abandonment and decay in rural areas.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historic Route&nbsp;66 |url=http://www.wmf.org/project/historic-route-66 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416201825/http://www.wmf.org/project/historic-route-66 |archive-date=April 16, 2012 |access-date=April 15, 2012 |publisher=World Monuments Fund}}</ref> The National Park Service developed a Route 66 ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary describing over one hundred individual historic sites.<ref>{{Cite web |last=National Park Service |date=n.d. |title=List of Sites |url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/listofsites66.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706142429/https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/listofsites66.html |archive-date=July 6, 2017 |access-date=June 11, 2017 |website=Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary: Route 66 |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref> As the popularity and mythical stature of US&nbsp;66 has continued to grow, demands have begun to mount to improve signage, return US&nbsp;66 to road atlases and revive its status as a continuous routing.

The U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Recommissioning Initiative is a group that seeks to recertify US&nbsp;66 as a [[US Highway]] along a combination of historic and modern alignments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cain |first=Fred M. |title=The Plan |url=http://www.bringbackroute66.com/theplan.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406080210/http://www.bringbackroute66.com/theplan.html |archive-date=April 6, 2012 |access-date=June 4, 2012 |publisher=Route&nbsp;66 Recommissioning Initiative}}</ref> The group's redesignation proposal does not enjoy universal support, as requirements that the route meet modern US Highway system specifications could force upgrades that compromise its historic integrity or require US&nbsp;66 signage be moved to [[Interstate highway]]s for some portions of the route.

In 2018, the [[American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials|AASHTO]] designated the first sections of [[U.S. Bicycle Route 66]], part of the [[United States Bicycle Route System]], in Kansas and Missouri.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Charboneau |first=Michael |date=July 16, 2018 |title=Get Your Kicks Biking Route 66 |url=https://www.citylab.com/life/2018/07/get-your-kicks-biking-route-66/565175/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825184124/https://www.citylab.com/life/2018/07/get-your-kicks-biking-route-66/565175/ |archive-date=August 25, 2018 |access-date=September 7, 2018 |work=[[CityLab (website)|CityLab]]}}</ref>

===National Museum of American History===
The [[National Museum of American History]] in [[Washington, D.C.]] has a section on US&nbsp;66 in its "America on the Move" exhibition. In the exhibit is a portion of pavement of the route taken from Bridgeport, Oklahoma and a restored car and truck of the type that would have been driven on the road in the 1930s. Also on display is a "[[Provine Service Station|Hamons Court]]" neon sign that hung at a gas station and tourist cabins near Hydro, Oklahoma, a "CABINS" neon sign that pointed to Ring's Rest tourist cabins in [[Muirkirk, Maryland]], as well as several post cards a traveler sent back to his future wife while touring the route.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Peoples Highway |url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/exhibition/exhibition_10_1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090225170842/http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthemove/exhibition/exhibition_10_1.html |archive-date=February 25, 2009 |access-date=March 6, 2009 |website=America on the Move |publisher=National Museum of American History}}</ref>

===Museums and monuments in Oklahoma===
[[Elk City, Oklahoma]] has the National Route 66 & Transportation Museum, which encompasses all eight states through which the Mother Road ran.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Route 66 & Transportation Museum |url=https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.5284 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802223449/https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.5284 |archive-date=August 2, 2018 |access-date=August 2, 2018 |publisher=TravelOK.com}}</ref> [[Clinton, Oklahoma|Clinton]] has the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, designed to display the iconic ideas, images and myths of the Mother Road.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Route 66 Museum |url=http://www.okhistory.org/sites/route66.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802193154/http://www.okhistory.org/sites/route66.php |archive-date=August 2, 2018 |access-date=August 2, 2018 |publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society}}</ref> A memorial museum to the Route's namesake, [[Will Rogers]], is located in [[Claremore, Oklahoma|Claremore]], while his birthplace ranch is maintained in [[Oologah, Oklahoma|Oologah]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Will Rogers Memorial Museums |url=http://www.willrogers.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060402221521/http://willrogers.com/ |archive-date=April 2, 2006 |access-date=January 10, 2019}}</ref> In [[Sapulpa, Oklahoma|Sapulpa]], the Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum features a {{convert|66|ft|m|adj=mid|-high}} replica gas pump, the world's tallest.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Klein |first=John |date=August 21, 2018 |title=Site Worth Seeing |work=Tulsa World}}{{full citation needed|access-date=January 1, 2019|date=May 2019}}</ref>

[[Tulsa, Oklahoma|Tulsa]] has multiple sites, starting with the Cyrus Avery Centennial Plaza, located at the east end of the historic [[11th Street Bridge]] over which the route passed and which includes a giant sculpture weighing {{convert|20000|lb|kg}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 9, 2012 |title=Sculpture Dedicated to Cyrus Avery, the 'Father of Route 66' |url=http://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/sculpture-dedicated-to-cyrus-avery |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714015403/http://www.kjrh.com/news/local-news/sculpture-dedicated-to-cyrus-avery |archive-date=July 14, 2015 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |publisher=KJRH-TV}}</ref> called "East Meets West". The sculpture depicts the Avery family riding west in a Model T Ford meeting an eastbound horse-drawn carriage.<ref name="Barber">{{Cite news |last=Barber |first=Brian |date=May 18, 2008 |title=Cyrus Avery plaza's Construction Nearly Finished |url=http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/cyrus-avery-plaza-s-construction-nearly-finished/article_3456332a-f152-5fbf-b2ec-6c5bccd7eed6.html?mode=story |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317223853/https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/cyrus-avery-plaza-s-construction-nearly-finished/article_3456332a-f152-5fbf-b2ec-6c5bccd7eed6.html?mode=story |archive-date=March 17, 2020 |access-date=July 6, 2015 |work=Tulsa World}}</ref> In 2020, Avery Plaza Southwest opened, at the west end of the bridge, which features a "neon park" with replicas of the neon signs from Tulsa-area Route 66 motels of the era, including the Tulsa Auto Court, the Oil Capital Motel and the famous bucking-bronco sign of the Will Rogers Motor Court.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Overall |first=Michael |date=August 23, 2020 |title=Tulsa resurrects a lost piece of Route 66 history |url=https://tulsaworld.com/news/michael-overall-tulsa-resurrects-a-lost-piece-of-route-66-history/article_c1908035-7cf1-5149-9daa-2f58d62216e1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824180522/https://tulsaworld.com/news/michael-overall-tulsa-resurrects-a-lost-piece-of-route-66-history/article_c1908035-7cf1-5149-9daa-2f58d62216e1.html |archive-date=August 24, 2020 |access-date=August 23, 2020 |website=Tulsa World}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Canfield |first=Kevin |date=January 30, 2019 |title=It's a big part of our history: City should resurrect 11th Street bridge over Arkansas River, preservationists say |url=https://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/it-s-a-big-part-of-our-history-city-should/article_d1cf1682-9115-5b96-8dd7-46a0ddd62d8b.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130192942/https://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/it-s-a-big-part-of-our-history-city-should/article_d1cf1682-9115-5b96-8dd7-46a0ddd62d8b.html |archive-date=January 30, 2019 |access-date=January 30, 2019 |website=Tulsa World}}</ref> Future plans for that site also include a Route 66 Museum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Christy |first=Erin |date=January 4, 2022 |title=Interactive Route 66 museum, drive-in theater pushing for a 2022 groundbreaking |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/interactive-route-66-museum-drive-in-theater-pushing-for-a-2022-groundbreaking/ar-AASqZjr?ocid=msedgntp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105185649/https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/interactive-route-66-museum-drive-in-theater-pushing-for-a-2022-groundbreaking/ar-AASqZjr?ocid=msedgntp |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |access-date=January 5, 2022 |publisher=[[KTUL-TV]] |via=MSN News}}</ref> Also, Tulsa has installed "Route 66 Rising", a {{convert|70|by|30|ft|m|adj=on}} sculpture on the road's former eastern approach to town at East Admiral Place and Mingo Road.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Klein |first=John |date=November 27, 2018 |title=Landmark Rises on Route 66 |url=https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/john-klein-new-sculpture-to-be-eastern-gateway-to-tulsa/article_a5a8c905-fe5f-5106-9996-15019041eebf.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818025244/https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/john-klein-new-sculpture-to-be-eastern-gateway-to-tulsa/article_a5a8c905-fe5f-5106-9996-15019041eebf.html |archive-date=August 18, 2019 |access-date=August 17, 2019 |work=Tulsa World}}</ref>

On Tulsa's Southwest Boulevard, between W. 23rd and W. 24th Streets there is a granite marker dedicated to Route 66 as the Will Rogers Highway which features an image of namesake [[Will Rogers]] together with information on the route from [[Michael Wallis]], author of ''Route 66: The Mother Road'';<ref>Per the granite marker at the site.</ref> and, at Howard Park just past W. 25th Street, three Indiana limestone pillars are dedicated to Route 66 through Tulsa, with Route 66 #1 devoted to Transportation, Route 66 #2 devoted to Tulsa Industry and Native American Heritage and Route 66 #3 devoted to Art Deco Architecture and American Culture.<ref>Per plaques at the site.</ref>

At 3770 Southwest Blvd. is the Route 66 Historical Village, which includes a tourism information center modeled after a 1920s-1930s gas station and other period-appropriate artifacts such as the [[St. Louis–San Francisco 4500|Frisco 4500 steam locomotive]] with train cars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Route 66 Historical Village |url=https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.19375 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915042206/https://www.travelok.com/listings/view.profile/id.19375 |archive-date=September 15, 2020 |access-date=September 9, 2020 |publisher=TravelOK.com}}</ref> Elsewhere, Tulsa has constructed twenty-nine historical markers scattered along the 26-mile route of the highway through Tulsa, containing tourist-oriented stories, historical photos and a map showing the location of historical sites and the other markers.<ref name="Signs" /> The markers are mostly along the highway's post-1932 alignment down 11th Street, with some along the road's 1926 path down Admiral Place.<ref name="Signs">{{Cite web |last=Overall |first=Michael |date=October 15, 2019 |title=Sign seeing: Route 66 historical markers were 'a long time coming' |url=https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/route66/sign-seeing-route-historical-markers-were-a-long-time-coming/article_a2ed21ce-bdab-57a5-b351-b16e7219105b.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191015184115/https://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/route66/sign-seeing-route-historical-markers-were-a-long-time-coming/article_a2ed21ce-bdab-57a5-b351-b16e7219105b.html |archive-date=October 15, 2019 |access-date=October 15, 2019 |website=Tulsa World}}</ref>

===Museum and Hall of Fame in Illinois===
The Route 66 Association of Illinois maintains their Museum and Hall of Fame in [[Pontiac, Illinois|Pontiac]]. This free museum contains memorabilia and artifacts relating to Route 66, particularly in Illinois, as well as displays relating to the members of the Hall of Fame. Among items on display are the VW Microbus and "land yacht" belonging to the late [[Bob Waldmire]].

==Route description==
Over the years, US&nbsp;66 received numerous nicknames. Right after US&nbsp;66 was commissioned, it was known as "The Great Diagonal Way" because the Chicago-to-Oklahoma City stretch ran northeast to southwest. Later, US&nbsp;66 was advertised by the [[U.S. Highway&nbsp;66 Association]] as "The Main Street of America". The title had also been claimed by supporters of [[U.S. Route 40|US&nbsp;40]], but the US&nbsp;66 group was more successful.{{citation needed|date=April 2022|reason=Both articles are listed as The Main Street of America, but the sentence claims that 66 was more successful without a source}} In the [[John Steinbeck]] novel ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'', the highway is called "The Mother Road", its prevailing title today.<ref name="mother road">{{Cite news |last=McClure |first=Rosemary |date=November 29, 2010 |title=Get Your Kicks on Route&nbsp;66—and 499&nbsp;Other Great Highways |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-nov-29-la-trb-drives-20101124-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206073258/http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/29/news/la-trb-drives-20101124 |archive-date=December 6, 2010 |access-date=December 7, 2010 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Lastly, US&nbsp;66 was unofficially named "The Will Rogers Highway" by the [[U.S. Highway&nbsp;66 Association]] in 1952, although a sign along the road with that name appeared in the [[John Ford]] film, ''[[The Grapes of Wrath (film)|The Grapes of Wrath]],'' which was released in 1940, twelve years before the association gave the road that name. A plaque dedicating the highway to [[Will Rogers]] is still located in [[Santa Monica, California]]. There are more plaques like this; one can be found in [[Galena, Kansas]]. It was originally located on the Kansas-Missouri state line, but moved to the Howard Litch Memorial Park in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stokes |first=Keith |title=Historic Route 66: Galena, Kansas |url=http://www.kansastravel.org/route66b.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614031722/http://www.kansastravel.org/route66b.htm |archive-date=June 14, 2012 |access-date=June 12, 2012 |website=KansasTravel.org}}</ref>

===California===
{{Main|U.S. Route 66 in California}}
[[File:End of Route 66.jpg|thumb|The replica of a movie prop sign found on the [[Santa Monica Pier]]. The western terminus of US&nbsp;66 is nine blocks east of this sign. ]]

US&nbsp;66 had its western terminus in California and covered {{convert|315|mi|km}} in the state.<ref name="66-California">{{Cite web |title=Route 66 California |url=http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/california/california.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150408064004/http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/california/california.html |archive-date=April 8, 2015 |access-date=November 12, 2014 |website=Road Trip USA |publisher=Avalon Travel}}</ref> The terminus was located at the Pacific Coast Highway, then US&nbsp;101 Alternate and now [[State Route 1 (California)|SR&nbsp;1]], at Lincoln and Olympic Boulevards in [[Santa Monica, California]]. The highway ran through major cities such as Santa Monica, [[Los Angeles]], Pasadena and [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]]. San Bernardino also contains one of the two surviving [[Wigwam Motel]]s along US&nbsp;66. The highway had major intersections with [[U.S. Route 101 in California|US&nbsp;101]] in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], [[Interstate 5 in California|I-5]] in Los Angeles, [[Interstate 15 in California|I-15]] and [[Interstate 40 in California|I-40]] in [[Barstow, California|Barstow]] and [[U.S. Route 95 in California|US&nbsp;95]] in [[Needles, California|Needles]]. It also ran concurrent to I-40 at California's very eastern end.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weiser |first=Kathy |year=2010 |title=About California Route 66 – Info & History |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-californiaroad.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129065359/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-californiaroad.html |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=Legends of America}}</ref>

===Arizona===
{{Main|U.S. Route 66 in Arizona}}
[[File:Route 66 in Holbrook.JPG|thumb|upright|US&nbsp;66 marker on the corner of Navajo Boulevard and Hopi Drive in [[Holbrook, Arizona]]|left]]
In Arizona, the highway originally covered {{convert|401|mi|km}} in the state. Along much of the way, US&nbsp;66 paralleled [[Interstate 40 in Arizona|I-40]]. It entered across the [[Topock Gorge]], passing through [[Oatman, Arizona|Oatman]] along the way to [[Kingman, Arizona|Kingman]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Old Route 66: Oatman |url=http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/arizona/r66_oldroute66.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150512174824/http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/arizona/r66_oldroute66.html |archive-date=May 12, 2015 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=Road Trip USA |publisher=Avalon Travel}}</ref> Between Kingman and [[Seligman, Arizona|Seligman]], the route is still signed as [[Arizona State Route 66|SR&nbsp;66]]. Notably, just between Seligman and [[Flagstaff, Arizona|Flagstaff]], [[Williams, Arizona|Williams]] was the last point on US&nbsp;66 to be bypassed by an Interstate. The route also passed through the once-incorporated community of [[Winona, Arizona|Winona]]. [[Holbrook, Arizona|Holbrook]] contains one of the two surviving [[Wigwam Motel]]s on the route.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Holbrook: Wigwam Village |url=http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/arizona/r66_holbrook.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060522194903/http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/arizona/r66_holbrook.html |archive-date=May 22, 2006 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=Road Trip USA |publisher=Avalon Travel}}</ref>

===New Mexico===
{{Main|U.S. Route 66 in New Mexico}}

US&nbsp;66 covered {{convert|380|mi|km}} in the state and passed through many Indian reservations in the western half of New Mexico.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Route 66 |url=http://www.americansouthwest.net/new_mexico/route_66/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617025009/http://www.americansouthwest.net/new_mexico/route_66/ |archive-date=June 17, 2016 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=AmericanSouthwest.net |publisher=John Crossley}}</ref> East of those reservations, the highway passed through [[Albuquerque, New Mexico|Albuquerque]], [[Santa Fe, New Mexico|Santa Fe]] and [[Las Vegas, New Mexico|Las Vegas]]. As in Arizona, in New Mexico, U.S.&nbsp;66 paralleled [[Interstate 40 in New Mexico|I-40]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Route 66 History |url=http://www.visitalbuquerque.org/albuquerque/route-66/history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629112509/http://www.visitalbuquerque.org/albuquerque/route-66/history/ |archive-date=June 29, 2016 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |publisher=Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau}}</ref>

===Texas===
{{Main|U.S. Route 66 in Texas}}
[[File:US66 midpoint café Adrian TX.jpg|thumb|The [[Midpoint Café]] in [[Adrian, Texas]], at the midpoint of the route]]

US&nbsp;66 covered {{convert|178|mi|km}} in the Texas Panhandle, travelling in an east–west line between [[Glenrio, New Mexico and Texas|Glenrio]] and [[Texola, Oklahoma|Texola]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weiser |first=Kathy |year=2011 |title=About Texas Route 66 – Info & History |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-texasroad.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702064803/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-texasroad.html |archive-date=July 2, 2016 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=Legends of America}}</ref> [[Adrian, Texas|Adrian]], in the western Panhandle, was notable as the midpoint of the route. East of there, the highway passed through [[Amarillo, Texas|Amarillo]] (famous for the [[Cadillac Ranch]]), [[Conway, Texas|Conway]], [[Groom, Texas|Groom]] and [[Shamrock, Texas|Shamrock]].

{{anchor|Oklahoma|Kansas}}

===Oklahoma and Kansas===
{{Main|U.S. Route 66 in Oklahoma|U.S. Route 66 in Kansas|l2=Kansas}}
{{See also|Oklahoma State Highway 66|K-66 (Kansas highway)}}
The highway covered {{convert|376|mi|km}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Oklahoma: Route 66 |url=https://www.theroute-66.com/oklahoma.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501180104/https://www.theroute-66.com/oklahoma.html |archive-date=May 1, 2019 |access-date=November 22, 2019}}</ref> in Oklahoma. Today, it is marked by [[Interstate 40 in Oklahoma|I-40]] west of [[Oklahoma City]] and [[Oklahoma State Highway 66|SH-66]] east of there. After entering at [[Texola, Oklahoma|Texola]], US&nbsp;66 passed through [[Sayre, Oklahoma|Sayre]], [[Elk City, Oklahoma|Elk City]] and [[Clinton, Oklahoma|Clinton]] before entering Oklahoma City.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weiser |first=Kathy |year=2013 |title=Route 66 Through Oklahoma |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-oklahomaroad2.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129065403/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-oklahomaroad2.html |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=Legends of America |pages=2 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> Beyond Oklahoma City, the highway passed through [[Edmond, Oklahoma|Edmond]] on its way to [[Tulsa, Oklahoma|Tulsa]]. Past there, US&nbsp;66 passed through [[Miami, Oklahoma|Miami]], [[North Miami, Oklahoma|North Miami]], [[Commerce, Oklahoma|Commerce]] and [[Quapaw, Oklahoma|Quapaw]] before entering Kansas where it covered only {{convert|13.2|mi|km}}.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2012 |title=Kansas Route 66 Main Page |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-kansas.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715150325/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-kansas.html |archive-date=July 15, 2016 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=Legends of America}}</ref> Only three towns are located on the route in Kansas: [[Galena, Kansas|Galena]], [[Riverton, Kansas|Riverton]] and [[Baxter Springs, Kansas|Baxter Springs]].

===Missouri===
{{Main|U.S. Route 66 in Missouri}}

US&nbsp;66 covered {{convert|292|mi|km}} in Missouri. Upon entering from [[Galena, Kansas]], the highway passed through [[Joplin, Missouri|Joplin]]. From there, it passed through [[Carthage, Missouri|Carthage]], [[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]], where [[Red's Giant Hamburg]], the world's first drive-thru stands, [[Waynesville, Missouri|Waynesville]], [[Devils Elbow, Missouri|Devils Elbow]], [[Lebanon, Missouri|Lebanon]] and [[Rolla, Missouri|Rolla]] before passing through [[St. Louis]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weiser |first=Kathy |date=2012 |title=About Missouri Route 66: Info & History |url=http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-missouriroad.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629143447/http://www.legendsofamerica.com/66-missouriroad.html |archive-date=June 29, 2016 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=Legends of America}}</ref>

===Illinois===
{{Main|U.S. Route 66 in Illinois}}

US&nbsp;66 covered {{convert|301|mi|km}} in Illinois. It entered Illinois in [[East St. Louis, Illinois|East St. Louis]] after crossing the [[Mississippi River]]. Near there, it passed by [[Cahokia Mounds]], a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]. The highway then passed through [[Hamel, Illinois|Hamel]], [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]], passing by the [[Illinois State Capitol]], [[Normal, Illinois|Bloomington-Normal]], [[Pontiac, Illinois|Pontiac]] and [[Gardner, Illinois|Gardner]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historic Route 66: Illinois |url=http://www.historic66.com/illinois/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623184752/http://www.historic66.com/illinois/ |archive-date=June 23, 2016 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=Historic66.com}}</ref> It then entered the [[Chicagoland|Chicago area]], originally through [[Joliet, Illinois|Joliet]] and later through [[Plainfield, Illinois|Plainfield]]. After passing through the suburbs, U.S.&nbsp;66 entered [[Chicago]] itself, where it terminated at [[Lake Shore Drive]]<ref name="Ill1955">{{Cite map |last=Illinois Division of Highways |title=Illinois Official Highway Map |date=April 1, 1955 |publisher=Illinois Division of Highways |place=Springfield |via=Illinois Digital Collections |scale=1:805,000 |inset=Chicago and Vicinity |url=http://www.idaillinois.org/u?/isl9,84 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203210744/http://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/isl9/id/84 |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |url-status=live |oclc=713840599}}</ref> starting in 1938, having originally ended at [[Michigan Avenue (Chicago)|Michigan Avenue]].

==Special routes==
{{Main|Special routes of U.S. Route 66}}

Several alternate alignments of US&nbsp;66 occurred because of traffic issues. [[Business route]]s (BUS), [[bypass route]]s (BYP),
[[Alternate route (highway)|alternate routes]] (ALT) and "optional routes" (OPT) (an early designation for alternate routes) came into being.
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Alternate: [[Bolingbrook, Illinois|Bolingbrook]]–[[Gardner, Illinois]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Towanda, Illinois|Towanda]]–[[Bloomington, Illinois]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Lincoln, Illinois]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Springfield, Illinois]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Mitchell, Illinois|Mitchell]]–[[East St. Louis, Illinois]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[St. Louis]]–[[Sunset Hills, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Optional: [[Venice, Illinois]]–[[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Bypass: [[Mitchell, Illinois]]–[[Sunset Hills, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Springfield, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Bypass: [[Springfield, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Alternate Business: [[Springfield, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Alternate: [[Carthage, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Carterville, Missouri|Carterville]]–[[Webb City, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Alternate: [[Webb City, Missouri|Webb City]]–[[Joplin, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Joplin, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Bypass: [[Joplin, Missouri]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Tulsa, Oklahoma]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Oklahoma City|Oklahoma City, Oklahoma]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Clinton, Oklahoma]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[Amarillo, Texas]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Business: [[San Bernardino, California]]
* U.S. Route&nbsp;66 Alternate: [[Pasadena, California|Pasadena]]–[[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]]

==In popular culture==
US&nbsp;66 has been a fixture in popular culture. American pop-culture artists publicized US&nbsp;66 and the experience, through song and television. [[Bobby Troup]] wrote "[[(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66]]", which was popularized by [[Nat King Cole]] with the King Cole Trio and later covered by artists ranging from [[Chuck Berry]] and [[Glenn Frey]] to [[The Manhattan Transfer]], [[John Mayer]] and [[Brian Setzer]], as well as [[the Rolling Stones]] in their eponymous [[The Rolling Stones (album)|debut album]]. The highway lent its name to the ''[[Route 66 (TV series)|Route 66]]'' TV series in the 1960s,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Snyder |first=Tom |title=Welcome to the Old Road |publisher=St Martin's Press |year=2000 |location=New York |page=xii}}</ref> which itself had a [[Route 66 Theme and Other Great TV Themes|popular theme song]] written and arranged by [[Nelson Riddle]].

[[John Steinbeck|John Steinbeck's]] novel ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'', adapted to [[The Grapes of Wrath (film)|film in 1940]], depicts the Joad family traveling to [[California]] on US&nbsp;66 after being evicted from their small farm in [[Oklahoma]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=McGreal |first=Chris |date=August 27, 2009 |title=''The Grapes of Wrath'' Revisited: Same Road, Same Grim Story, Same Sense of Optimism |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/28/us-grapes-wrath-route-66 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003143111/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/28/us-grapes-wrath-route-66 |archive-date=October 3, 2016 |access-date=October 2, 2016 |work=The Guardian |location=London}}</ref>

<blockquote>66 is the path of a people in flight, refugees from dust and shrinking land, from the thunder of tractors and shrinking ownership, from the desert's slow northward invasion, from the twisting winds that howl up out of Texas, from the floods that bring no richness to the land and steal what little richness is there. From all of these the people are in flight and they come into 66 from the tributary side roads, from the wagon tracks and the rutted country roads. 66 is the mother road, the road of flight.<ref>''Grapes of Wrath'', chapter 12.{{full citation needed|date=January 2022}}</ref></blockquote>

The 2006 animated film ''[[Cars (film)|Cars]]'' had the [[working title]] ''Route 66'' and described the decline of the fictional [[Radiator Springs]], nearly a ghost town once its mother road, US&nbsp;66, was bypassed by [[Interstate 40]]. The title was eventually changed to simply ''Cars'' to avoid confusion with the 1960s television series.<ref>{{Cite web |author1=drmcreif |author2=paladin-64 |author3=preshusbane |year=2014 |title=Synopsis for ''Cars'' (2006) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317219/synopsis |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609060358/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317219/synopsis |archive-date=June 9, 2015 |access-date=November 18, 2014 |website=IMDb |publisher=Amazon}}</ref>

On April 30, 2022, the 96th anniversary of the route's numerical designation, Route 66 was honored with a video [[Google Doodle]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Celebrating Route 66 |url=https://doodles.google/doodle/celebrating-route-66/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429225637/http://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-route-66 |archive-date=April 29, 2022 |access-date=April 30, 2022 |website=www.google.com |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|U.S. Roads|National Register of Historic Places}}
* [[Inland Empire 66ers]], named after US 66
* [[List of landmarks on U.S. Route 66]]
* [[List of Route 66 museums]]
* [[Phillips 66]], a petroleum company named for the route
* [[Southern Transcon]] railroad equivalent, runs parallel to US&nbsp;66 for significant portions of its length
* [[Tulsa 66ers]], named after US 66

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite journal |date=July 1981 |title=Arizona Highways |journal=Arizona Highways: The Window of the West |issn=0004-1521}} Entire issue about Route&nbsp;66.
* {{Cite book |last=Baker |first=T. Lindsay |title=Portrait of Route 66: Images from the Curt Teich Postcard Archives |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |year=2016 |isbn=978-0806153414 |location=Norman |oclc=932618601}}
* {{Cite book |last=Bischoff |first=Matt D. |title=Life in the Past Lane the Route 66 Experience: Historic Management Contexts for the Route 66 Corridor in California |publisher=Statistical Research, Inc. |year=2005 |isbn=978-1879442887 |oclc=68569034}}
* {{Cite book |last=Freeth |first=Nick |title=Route&nbsp;66 |publisher=MBI Publishing |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7603-0864-6 |location=St. Paul, MN}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Krim |first1=Arthur |author-link1=Arthur J. Krim |url=https://archive.org/details/route66iconograp0000krim |title=Route 66: Iconography of the American Highway |last2=Wood |first2=Denis |publisher=Center for American Places |year=2005 |isbn=978-1930066359 |edition=1st |location=Santa Fe, NM}}
* {{Cite book |last=Mahar |first=Lisa |title=American Signs: Form and Meaning on Route&nbsp;66 |publisher=Monacelli Press |year=2002 |isbn=97-81580931199 |location=New York}}
* {{Cite book |last=Miller |first=Blue |title=Abandoned Route 66 Arizona: Where the Road Came to an End |date=2021 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=978-1634993043 |series=America Through Time |location=Charleston, South Carolina}}
* {{Cite book |last=Rittenhouse |first=Jack D. |title=A Guide Book to Highway 66 |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-8263-1148-1 |location=Albuquerque |orig-year=1946}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Robson |first1=Ellen |title=Haunted highway : the spirits of Route 66 |last2=Freeman |first2=Dianne |date=1999 |publisher=Golden West Publishers |isbn=9781885590435 |location=Phoenix |oclc=40964950}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Ross |first1=Jim |title=Secret Route 66: a guide to the weird, wonderful and obscure |last2=Graham |first2=Shellee |date=2017 |publisher=Reedy Press |isbn=978-1681061078 |location=St. Louis, MO |oclc=980845474}}
* {{Cite book |last=Schneider |first=Jill |title=Route&nbsp;66 Across New Mexico: A Wanderer's Guide |publisher=University of New Mexico Press |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-8263-1280-8 |location=Albuquerque}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Quinta |url=https://archive.org/details/route6600susa |title=Route&nbsp;66: A Highway and Its People |last2=Kelly |first2=Susan Croce |publisher=University of Oklahoma Press |year=1988 |isbn=978-0-8061-2291-5 |location=Norman}}
*{{cite news |last1=Taseer |first1=Aatish |last2=Moore |first2=Andrew |title=What a New American Citizen Learned on Route 66 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/15/t-magazine/american-road-trip-route-66.html |work=The New York Times |date=May 15, 2025}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wallis |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Wallis |url=https://archive.org/details/route6675thanniv00mich |title=Route&nbsp;66: The Mother Road |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-312-28167-0 |location=New York}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|U.S. Route 66}}
*{{Wikivoyage inline|Route 66|U.S. Route 66}}

{{US Highways}}
{{US&nbsp;66}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:U.S. Route 66| ]]
[[Category:1926 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:1985 disestablishments in the United States]]
[[Category:All-American Roads]]
[[Category:Culture of the United States]]
[[Category:Former U.S. Highways|66]]
[[Category:National Scenic Byways|Routeandnbsp;66]]
[[Category:Scenic highways in Arizona]]
[[Category:United States Numbered Highway System|66]]