Historic Route 66

Historic Route 66 is an overland highway spanning 2448 miles (3938 kilometers) across eight states from Illinois to California, linking Chicago to Santa Monica on the Pacific coast. Along the way through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona stand hundreds of restored gas stations, motels, and restaurants from mid-twentieth century America.

The federal government established the route in 1926 as one of the first numbered highways in the country. During the Dust Bowl of the thirties, thousands of families traveled west seeking agricultural work in California before Interstate highways replaced the old route in the fifties and sixties, leading to official decommissioning in 1985.

Small towns along the route maintain traditions from the highway's heyday and operate diners styled after mid-century design. Local communities organize car shows and festivals where owners display restored vehicles from the forties and fifties.

Travelers can follow preserved sections marked with Historic Route 66 signage across multiple states. Several museums document the history along the corridor while restored diners and motels from the forties and fifties offer food and lodging.

Near Amarillo in Texas, ten painted Cadillacs stand buried nose-down in the ground at Cadillac Ranch. Stanley Marsh 3 and art group Ant Farm installed this sculpture in 1974 along the original alignment, and visitors are encouraged to bring spray paint and add their own artwork to the constantly changing automobiles.

Location: Arizona

Location: Illinois

Location: New Mexico

Location: Oklahoma

Location: California

Location: Missouri

Inception: June 15, 2000

Official opening: November 11, 1926

Reference: 66

Website: https://fhwaapps.fhwa.dot.gov/bywaysp/StateMaps/Show/byway/2489

GPS coordinates: 39.00695,-89.77948

Latest update: December 14, 2025 18:02