Hinckley - Travel Route 66: a guide to the history, sights, and destinations along the main street of America

A Guide to the History, Sights, and Destinations Along the Main Street of America

Jim Hinckley

2016 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.

First published in 2014 by Voyageur Press, a member of Quayside Publishing Group, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA

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Text 2014 Jim Hinckley

2014 Voyageur Press

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Digital edition: 978-1-62788-133-3

Softcover edition: 978-0-76034-430-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hinckley, James, 1958

Travel Route 66 : a guide to the history, sights, and destinations along the main street of america / Jim Hinckley.

pages cm.

Summary: A guide to destinations and sights along historic Route 66, with historical background and travel tips-- Provided by publisher.

ISBN 978-0-7603-4430-9 (pbk.)

1. United States Highway 66--Guidebooks. 2. Automobile travel--United States--Guidebooks. 3. United States--Guidebooks. I. Title.

HE365.U55H56 2014

917.304932--dc23

2013033158

On page: Photo by Tom Grundy/ Shutterstock.com.

On Photo by Alan Copson/AWL Images/Getty Images; postcard from the Voyageur Press collection.

Editor: Josh Leventhal

Design Manager: James Kegley

Design and Layout: Kim Winscher

The author at Pecos National Historic Park, New Mexico. Judy Hinckley

A long with your adventurous spirit and this guide, I recommend that you bring on your Route 66 odyssey two essentials for such a trip: the Route 66 Dining and Lodging Guide and Jerry McClanahans EZ 66 Guide for Travelers, both published by the nonprofit National Historic Route 66 Federation.

Updated often to ensure accuracy, the dining and lodging guide is a handy resource to help you find fresh apple pie in a six-stool dinerand many other delightsat the end of a long day exploring the wonders of Route 66. The EZ 66 Guide is a simple flipbook atlas. It will help you find and follow the various alignments of Route 66 that are now signed as county or state highways, graded as gravel farm roads, or truncated. Also, it is an excellent resource for deciphering the evolutionary realignments of Route 66 between 1926 and 1984.

If this is your first journey on Americas longest attraction, cast aside your preconceived ideas. Yes, Route 66 is a dusty repository of physical artifacts from more than a century of societal evolution. But it is also a living icon where myth and reality collide, offering a sensory kaleidoscope that starkly contrasts with the modern generic world.

If you are a seasoned Route 66 explorer, you know that no two journeys are the same. This asphalt string signed with two sixes knits together endless opportunities for adventure. You also know that Route 66 is a community filled with old friends and friends yet to be made.

In either case, thank you for choosing me as your guide. I promise you will have an unforgettable adventure, as any exploration of Route 66 is more than a mere drive across America.

Ready to roll?

S hortly after the last community on Route 66 was bypassed by the interstate highway on October 13, 1984, a groundswell of interest in the old road and the places that made it special arose. Soon there were Route 66 associations in each of the eight states through which the highway passed and in more than a dozen countries.

Illinois was one of the first states to grasp the tourism potential of the resurgent interest in Route 66. Illinois has been a leader in developing innovative, cooperative projects that preserve and promote the many facets of this American icon. As a result of Illinois leadership, ample signage makes it easy to follow the various alignments of Route 66 from the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago to the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Missouri, a drive of about 300 miles.

The start of Route 66 in Chicago. Bruce Leighty/Photolibrary/Getty Images

THE BIG CITY

T raditionally, travelers follow Route 66 from east to west, from Chicago to Santa Monica, California, where an ocean breeze will lure you those last few blocks to legendary Santa Monica Pier and Palisades Park. Because tradition is a great way to ignite a sense of time travel, youll begin your adventure in Chicagos Grant Park at Jackson Drive and Lake Shore Drive, the eastern terminus of Route 66 since 1933.

Grant Park is Chicagos answer to New Yorks Central Park. The centerpiece is Buckingham Fountain, a replica of the legendary Latona Fountain at Versailles. Buckingham Fountain was installed in 1927, one year after certification of Route 66.

Grant Park and Buckingham Fountain. Richard Cavalleri/Shutterstock.com

To experience Grant Park and the surrounding attractions, it may be best to leave your vehicle behind and either walk or use Chicagos vast public transportation system rather than negotiating the crowded streets. The Grant Park South Parking Garage is located on Michigan Avenue just south of Jackson, and metered parking can be found on Columbus Drive as well.