Route 66 opened in 1926 and ran from Chicago to Santa Monica CA. It was used by migrants heading west especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, which was when John Steinbeck coined the phrase “The Mother Road” in his novel The Grapes of Wrath. Change came with the passage of the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 when new, high-speed roads were built, sometimes next to the old highway, but often bypassing cities and towns. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985. However, preservation efforts have saved many of the stops along the way. Several of these are:
Ariston Cafe
Ariston Cafe started in 1924 and moved to its present location in Litchfield IL in 1935. It is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, restaurant on Route 66. The first photo is from the 1930s.
Ash Fork AZ – 1940s
Blue Swallow Motel. Tucumcari NM
Photo dated 1939, the year Blue Swallow opened.
Boots Court, Carthage MO
Boots Court Motel also opened in 1939; the postcard is dated 1949.
Chain of Rocks Bridge, Madison IL
Opening day 1929.
Cool Springs Gas Station, Tucumcari NM
Cool Springs Gas Station started in the 1920s but burned down in the 1960s. The first photo is undated and the second shows the well done reconstruction, which utilized the ruins. It reopened in 2004.
Phillips 66 Gas Station, Wichita KS.
This 1927 photo shows the very first Phillips gas station on opening day. The famous logo came later as an attempt in 1930 to tie Phillips to Rt 66.
