During the 1950s, Route 66 became the main highway for road-tripping vacationers heading west towards Los Angeles. In addition to passing through (or near) our land's natural scenic wonders, such as the breathtaking Painted Desert & the glorious Grand Canyon, California-bound tourists were confronted with an eclectic mix of often-quirky roadside accomodations & attractions. For many years, a staggering number of motels, eateries & curio shops flourished. Travelers also witnessed the birth of the fast-food industry. For the first time, they could "drive through" a restaurant at Red's Giant Hamburg in Springfield, Missouri & they could also stop in at the first west coast McDonald's hamburger stand in San Bernardino, California. With the addition of all of these roadside enterprises, the landscape of Route 66 was changed dramatically. This ongoing metamorphosis helped to further cement the reputation of the "Mother Road" as the "near-perfect microcosm of the culture of America, now linked by the automobile." Undergoing many improvements and realignments over its lifetime, the path & overall length of Route 66 was in a near constant state of transition. Many of these changes gave travelers faster or safer routes, or detoured them around city congestion. Of particular interest here is the realignment that moved the western endpoint of Route 66 farther west from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica. The original terminus (circa 1926) of the "Will Rogers Highway" was at the intersection of Broadway & 7th Street in downtown Los Angeles. As of 1940, however, the terminus was situated much closer to the Pacific Ocean, now ending at the intersection of Lincoln & Olympic Boulevards in the city of Santa Monica. As of November 11, 2009, however, Historic Route 66 enthusiasts insisted on unofficially re-labeling the terminus in the midst of a large celebration honoring the 83rd anniversary of the numbered highway system. At this event, Santa Monica tourism officials & representatives of Route 66 organizations unveiled a replica of the "End of the Trail" sign, with 66 vintage cars and motorbikes providing the noise. Contending that the beach was the major tourist attraction for travelers on what Will Rogers called "America's Main Street," they declared that it should rightfully end at the beachfront pier located at Santa Monica Boulevard & Ocean Avenue, instead. On hand that day for the festivities, a supportive Santa Monica city official said he supported the notion of the pier as the "spiritual end of Route 66," but cautioned that calling it the "official terminus…confuses people about what is historic and what isn't."
This color coordinated collection of fashion fabrics is from the Transition 2011 issue of Vogue Fabrics By Mail. Subscribers receive complete issues every other month and two months of priority shopping before the fabrics are released to the general public.
This color coordinated collection of fashion fabrics is from the Transition 2011 issue of Vogue Fabrics By Mail. Subscribers receive complete issues every other month and two months of priority shopping before the fabrics are released to the general public.
