The History of Route 66
Hit the Open Road on Route 66 by Ann Hattes
Route 66, known as the Mother Road, was a two-lane ribbon of highway extending 2,448 miles through small town America from the fresh water shores of Lake Michigan to the sunny beaches of the Pacific Ocean in California. Along the way it crossed eight states - Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
A national celebration of the route's 75th anniversary took place in July in Albuquerque, New Mexico, though communities all along Route 66 are planning festivities throughout the year.
For those who made the westward trek beginning with the Dustbowl Migration in the 1930s, Route 66 represented opportunity. Later with the hit song, "Get Your Kicks on Route 66," and the CBS TV's Route 66 Corvette duo from 1960 - 1964, it symbolized freedom.
But mostly Route 66 is a memory for millions of Americans who've hit the open road - crossed the Mississippi, the Great Plains, the Continental Divide - and helped to shape the Southwest.
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