| Route 66 - The most famous US highway began in 1925 with an act of Congress, which joined many existing roads from Chicago to Santa Monica. By 1938 the entire route was "Continuously paved" although as late as the 1950's some portions were not very well paved. By today's standards, this main highway was narrow, and in some sections, twisting. Crawling up Arizona's notorious Oatman Grade on a summer day with temperatures over 100 degrees F, a motorist was likely to pass several cars stopped along the road, hoods up and steam boiling out, as a creeping stream of cars was caught behind a truck toiling toward the summit. Steinbeck called Route 66 "the mother road, the road of flight" along which Okies fled the Dustbowl for the promised land of California, and Will Rogers said, "raised the IQ of both places." Famous roadside architecture sprang up along the way. Travelers could cool off at the Iceberg Gas Station or dine in a giant hat at El Sombrero Restaurant, or stay in Tepee-shaped cabins at the Wigwam Motel. With the construction of Interstate 40 during the 60's and 70's, much of old 66 was replaced, and in 1985 the federal government decommissioned the last section. Today some long sections of the old route still exist, especially in Arizona and California, where motorists can tour with their vintage cars in the style of over half a century ago. |
