Preserving Route 66

Since the federal government decommissioned Route 66 in 1985, portions of the historic highway have fallen to weather, time and overall neglect. In 1989, Angel Delgadillo, a lifelong resident of Seligman, Arizona, established the first Route 66 State Association. New Mexico followed suit in 1993, and all eight states that Route 66 crosses now have Route 66 associations. Although the state associations have been persistent in preserving architecture, infrastructure and oral histories on Route 66, a lack of federal recognition for Route 66 as a National Historic Trail has prevented many preservation projects from coming to fruition. The National Parks Service developed the Route 66 Corridor Preservation program in 1999, which provided annual grants to various communities and organizations to support the maintenance of their piece of the Mother Road. In 2019, Congress chose not to extend the program any longer. Since then, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has maintained the Corridor grant program on a year-by-year basis, but the budget is only shrinking. Further recognition is needed to keep the beloved route in shape.

The Road Ahead Partnership is a cooperative between various Route 66 entities to revitalize Route 66 as a travel destination and national icon. Through the partnership, all eight state Route 66 organizations work on preservation, sustainability and education.

https://www.rt66nm.org/#/

External Links

Route 66 Archives & Research Collaboration (ARC) - A research cooperative between institutions across all 8 Route 66 states, with a directory for archives and libraries where you can find original materials and photographs regarding the road. https://researchroute66.org/ 

“Route 66: Sharing Our History, Hispanic Legacies of Route 66 in New Mexico” ArcGIS Story Map: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f1f3820170d24e2ca79a2db31f5d9e76

The Abuelas Project - An ongoing ArcGIS digital archive project by Latinos in Heritage Conservation (LHC). See fellow Mel Escobar's Story Map on Route 66 in Barelas, Albuquerque, NM here. Updated August 9, 2024: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9d2af1542fb3408abe0f8d8f0a348b36/page/StoryMap%3A-Rt-66-New-Mexico/?views=Explore-Map 

“Route 66 and the Historic Negro Motorist Green Book” National Park Service, last updated January 28 2022. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/route-66-and-the-historic-negro-motorist-green-book.htm

Research Guide for Route 66 by Dr. Audra Bellmore, the University of New Mexico: https://libguides.unm.edu/route66

Chhaya, Priya. “Drawing the Asian Pacific Islander American Experience on Route 66 with Sammy Yuen,” savingplaces.org, National Trust for Historic Preservation, August 16 2023. https://savingplaces.org/stories/drawing-the-asian-pacific-islander-american-experience-on-route-66-with-sammy-yuen

"Route 66: The Untold Story of Women on the Mother Road" documentary project and ArcGIS StoryMap: https://www.route66women.com/ and https://www.route66women.com/story-map.

Recommended Reading

American Indians & Route 66 (American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association): https://www.aianta.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/American_Indians_Route66.pdf  https://nativeamerica.travel/experiences/american-indians-route-66.
Excerpt from the guide:
Route 66 was an officially commissioned highway from 1926 to 1985. During its lifetime, the road guided travelers through the lands of more than 25 tribal nations. It was a give and take relationship between the asphalt and the American Indian people— from the physical intrusion of the road on American Indian lands to the new commerce the road introduced. American Indian stereotypes were propagated and used as a major lure for tourists on this “Mother Road” of American highways and the evidence lingers. Faded billboards, rusty metal tipis and concrete ‘wigwams’ beckon from the roadside, evidence not of the tribe they were meant to represent, but of tourism marketing savvy.

A Guide Book to Highway 66 (Jack D. Rittenhouse, pub. 1946, repub. 1989)
Abstract from University of New Mexico Press:
This is an exact facsimile of the first guidebook of its kind to the full length of the famous Route 66, from Chicago to Los Angeles. It was first published in 1946. Route 66 is part of American history now, and this guide is useful for those who wish to follow the old road in lieu of driving on the interstate highways that have replaced it.
The book is divided into nine sections, corresponding to the journeys between stops by the average motorist. In addition, this structure makes the book useful to the traveler who wishes to follow only part of old US 66. Rittenhouse includes altitude and 1940 population figures for each town, with information on reliable garages, tourist courts, and other local attractions.
This fascinating piece of Americana recalls a day before the arrival of franchised restaurants and hotels, when travel still held some surprises. Anyone driving in the West or recalling a trip in the good old days will enjoy it.

A Route 66 Companion (ed. David King Dunaway, 2012)
Abstract from University of Texas Press: 
A Route 66 Companion gathers fiction, poetry, memoir, and oral history to present a literary historical portrait of America’s most storied highway. From accounts of pioneering trips across the western plains to a sci-fi fantasy of traveling Route 66 in a rocket, here are stories that explore the mystique of the open road, told by master storytellers ranging from Washington Irving to Raymond Chandler, Joan Didion, Sylvia Plath, Leslie Marmon Silko, and John Steinbeck. Interspersed among them are reminiscences that, for the first time, honor the varied cultures—Native American, Mexican American, and African American, as well as Anglo—whose experiences run through the Route 66 story like the stripe down the highway. So put the top down, set the cruise control, and “make that California trip” with A Route 66 Companion.

Route 66: The Mother Road (75th Anniversary Edition) (Michael Wallis, pub. 2001)
Abstract from National Historic Route 66 Federation:
America's Main Street is celebration, Michael Wallis hit the road again, revisiting people and places that made the Mother Road on American icon, and uncovering new treasures. A love letter and a tribute, Route 66: The Mother Road takes us on an unforgettable journey through the secret corners and hidden towns of America's most famous and beloved highway.

The Zeon Files: Art & Design of Historic Route 66 Signs (Mark C. Childs and Ellen Babcock, pub. 2016)
Abstract from University of New Mexico Press:
In the mid-twentieth century Eddie's Inferno Cocktail Lounge, Bunny Bread, Paris Shoe Shop, and many other businesses throughout New Mexico and the Southwest displayed eye-catching roadside signs created by the Zeon Corporation. These works of commercial art featured unique designs, irregular shapes, dynamic compositions, and neon light. The legendary fiesta dancer at the Albuquerque Terrace Drive-In theater, for example, was well-known for the grace of its lines, its enormous size, and its flashing neon skirt. Created during a time before the simplified icons of major chains, many of these culturally significant artworks no longer exist. The Zeon Files rescues these historic artifacts from obscurity, presenting a collection of the working drawings of historic Route 66-era signs. In addition to presenting a visually rich archive, the authors discuss the working methods of design and construction and the craft of drafting techniques during this innovative era of American sign making.

Historic Route 66: A New Mexican Crossroads, Essays on the Hispanic Heritage of Old Highway 66 (ed. Joseph P. Sanchez and Angelica Sanchez-Clark, pub. 2017)
Abstract from Rio Grande Books:
The history of Historic Route 66 is much more than a line on a map; it is about the heritage of the people who lived along it. The essays in this book narrate the history of how the portion of Highway 66 through New Mexico came to be, but they also tell about the people who used it as a lifeline for medical purposes, foodstuffs, and commerce as well as for the transport of livestock and things. Theirs are the human-interest stories that shaped the significance of Historic Route 66 as a part of our national heritage.
This book resulted from a preliminary study carried out by the Spanish Colonial Research Center at the University of New Mexico to highlight the role of Hispanics as participants in the historical process that generated the heritage of Historic Route 66 as a part of our national story. Their stories are a part of a broader history that involves untold histories of other Hispanic communities along the route in Texas, Arizona, and California. Indeed, there are many stories along the entire route of Historic Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles that need to be remembered and preserved.

Route 66 and Native Americans (Shawn Kelley, Parametrix, NMDOT, and the Federal Highway Administration).
Excerpt from the study:
The objective of the project is to examine the Route 66 experience for Native American communities and individuals, identifying common experiences across tribal communities as well as experiences unique to particular tribes or individuals. The report is intended to help tribes along Route 66 preserve this aspect of their history for future generations as well as better inform the general public. 
Between November 2008 and October 2009 Shawn Kelley, a cultural anthropologist with Parametrix, coordinated with a number of tribes to document the historical relationship between their communities and Route 66. The resulting oral history information is from a number of individuals and groups who made this project possible. Members of Cultural Affairs Committees, Tribal Historic Preservation Offices, Tribal Councils, tribal administrators, elder groups, other tribal bodies and individuals contributed to the gathering of the oral histories used for this project. In particular, tribal representatives and elders from the Pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Laguna, and Zia were consulted. In addition to direct tribal collaboration, individuals from trading post families near or on tribal lands in New Mexico were also contacted and interviewed.