25 historic images of Route 66 in its early days

Nik Wheeler // Corbis via Getty Images With cars rapidly gaining popularity in the early 20th century, an American businessman in Tulsa, Oklahoma, had a vision of a network of highways connecting the whole country. Starting small in 1901 as a businessman and county commissioner, Cyrus Avery was nominated in 1925 to the newly formed Joint Board on Interstate Highways, a federal agency tasked with coordinating, organizing, and numbering the country’s road system. Officially commissioned on Nov. 11, 1926, and first marked with roadside signs in 1927, Route 66–officially U.S. Highway 66–connected Chicago and Los Angeles, not coincidentally passing through Avery’s adopted hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Just 800 of its 2,500 miles were paved in the new route’s first year. Ahead of Route 66’s 97th birthday, Stacker curated a slideshow highlighting the construction and early years of the iconic American road. In Tulsa, highway supporters–including Avery–in 1927 formed the U.S. 66 Highway Association, an advocacy group to promote the new highway to drivers and tourists, as well as to policymakers who could approve funds for paving. The highway became nationally famous and earned the moniker “the Main Street of America.” A major boost to the road’s popularity came from John Steinbeck’s 1939 book “The Grapes of Wrath,” in which the author nicknamed Route 66 “the Mother Road” and chronicled the fictional Joad family’s trip along the highway from Dust Bowl Oklahoma to the fruit fields of California. In the economic boom following the Great Depression and World War II, families–lured by history, popular culture, and countless tourist attractions–piled into their vehicles and set out to explore Route 66. The Interstate Highway Act of 1956 heralded the road’s decline, as the smaller U.S. routes were supplanted by massive, multilane interstates. But nostalgia kept the myth alive and even resulted in a resurgence of attention. Much of the original Route 66 received a National Scenic Byway designation, with many stretches featuring tourist attractions, lodging, and food aimed at road-trippers exploring one of America’s most iconic roads. Keep reading to discover more history of the iconic Route 66. Chicago’s bronze lions UPI/Bettmann Archive // Getty Images Historic Illinois transportation maps show that one end of Route 66 abutted the Michigan Avenue entrance of the Art Institute of Chicago. At the stairs leading up to the institute, a massive pair of bronze lions stare out. Sculpted by 19th-century American artist Edward Kemeys, they mark the historic start of the Mother Road. Facing another day of the ‘Bunion Derby’ Bettmann // Getty Images In early 1928, in part as a publicity stunt to promote the new highway, Illinois businessman and promoter Charles C. Pyle announced a coast-to-coast footrace from Los Angeles to New York City running the length of Route 66 before shifting to other highways to get farther east. Nicknamed the “Bunion Derby” for the damage it was expected to cause its contestants’ feet, the race began on March 4, 1928, and finished on May 26. It was won by Andy Payne of Claremore, Oklahoma, after 573 hours, 4 minutes, and 34 seconds of running, wearing through five pairs of running shoes over more than 3,400 miles. A Santa Fe street scene H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock // Getty Images The La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is on the city’s central plaza and claims to occupy the site of a hotel dating back to 1607. A luxurious hotel when its current building was built in 1922, generations of Route 66 travelers passed by with some almost certainly staying the night. ‘Okies’ arrive in California Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images Traveling “the Mother Road” like the Joads in Steinbeck’s novel, Depression- and Dust Bowl-era refugees from Oklahoma sought new opportunities in California. This famous image by iconic photographer Dorothea Lange is described in its Library of Congress record as “Depression refugee family from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Arrived in California June 1936. Mother and three half-grown children; no father.” The original western terminus American stock/ClassicStock // Getty Images When Route 66 was first opened, its western end was at Seventh and Broadway in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. By 1947, when this image was taken, the route had been extended about 15 miles west to central Santa Monica. An unofficial “End of the Trail” marker was erected in 2009 on the Santa Monica Pier. Outdoor basket-weaving CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images Route 66 connected many sections of rural America. Especially in the early days of the highway, travelers regularly passed by scenes of everyday life, like these basket-makers weaving white oak strips near Rolla, Missouri, in 1940. First stop west of Texas Denver Post via Getty Images Seen here in 1956, downtown Tucumcari, New Mexico, was a key stopping point for travelers leaving West Texas. Today, the town is home to the New Mexico Route 66 Museum and thoroughly embraces its Route 66 heritage with public art and neon signs. A desert rest stop Jim Heimann Collection // Getty Images Service stations along Route 66 were essential stop points for motorists in need of fuel or food–particularly along western stretches through the desert in states such as Arizona. These businesses, along with others that sprung up to attract passersby, became key elements of the nation’s growing car culture. Overnight in Victorville? University of Southern California // Getty Images About 100 miles east of the end of Route 66 was Victorville, with a downtown hotel and shops on the corner of D and 7th. That neighborhood is the subject of a yearslong revitalization effort to reclaim some of its former glory. Maybe don’t follow Bugs Bunny? Denver Post via Getty Images Halfway from Albuquerque to the Arizona state line is Grants, New Mexico, seen here in September 1950. Drivers who–like Bugs Bunny in several cartoon episodes–missed a tricky left turn in Albuquerque might have needed help getting back on the right road before reaching Grants. Today, the town is home to an art museum with Route 66 memorabilia as well as exhibits of more modern local art. The wide-open road FPG // Getty Images Some of America’s love affair with cars and the open road might be due to vistas like this one from New Mexico in 1940: No traffic in sight, a clear sky, mountains in the distance, and a lovely smooth strip of pavement just waiting to be driven. Iceberg in the desert