The last stretches of U.S. Route 66 dis- appeared from "official" maps in 1985, after its final decommissioning on June 27th. However, "America's Main Street" lives on in the hearts, minds & maps of many dedicated to the now "Historic Route 66". Today, many sections of the original roadway are marked with brown-and-white signage indicating its historic status. In Chicago, the last original Route 66 road sign was taken down on January 14, 1977. However, the Windy City still pays tribute to Route 66 during the Chicago Blues Festival, held annually in June in Grant Park. Located on the actual pavement of old US Route 66, near its former eastern terminus at Lake Shore Drive, the "Route 66 Roadhouse" stage rests on Jackson Boulevard, which is closed to traffic for the duration of the festival. On the political front, President Bill Clinton signed into law the National Route 66 Preservation Bill in 1999, providing $10 million in matching fund grants for preserving and restoring the historic features along the revered road. Today, although nowhere near the original location of U.S. Route 66, an exhibition entitled, "America on the Move" is on permanent display at the Smithsonian's National Museum in Washington, D.C. & it includes an actual piece of pavement from the original Mother Road. Route 66 has been immortalized on television & on the "big screen," as well. Making their debut on October 7, 1960, George Maharis and Martin Milner starred in a CBS television series named "Route 66". Telecast in black-and-white, the stars of the show tooled around the country on the open road, driving brand new baby-blue Corvettes. Filmed on location along Route 66, the stars cruised the road rather aimlessly. In so doing, they crossed paths with strangers & met up with a variety of romantic, suspenseful & comedic situations. Although the writing was tight & the acting solid, the weekly travelogue ran out of gas after 4 seasons & its last episode aired on March 13, 1964. However, the Chevrolet Corvette remains the iconic automobile of the beloved highway, still depicted in numerous places. Pixar Animation Studios, in its last film before being bought out by Disney, also paid homage to Route 66. Inspired by its creative director's cross- country road trip with his family in 2000, this wildly successful animated movie was released in 2006. "Cars" was originally to have been called "Route 66," but the studio execs preferred to avoid confusion with the aforementioned TV series. The movie’s storyline revolves around the decline of fictional ghosttown that had once been a booming roadside stop for tourists. Falling into the doldrums since its Mother Road was bypassed by the interstate, "Radiator Springs" and its eclectic assortment of residents suddenly come alive, once again, when a zippy little red race car named "Lightning McQueen" is stranded there. Thankfully, this cartoon movie’s astounding box-office success led to a resurgence of interest in Route 66 among the general public. All in all, we daresay that a lot more nostalgic Baby Boomers, along with numerous bikers on Harleys & Corvette loving road-trippers, are now much more inclined to set out on the Historic roadway, to get our "Kicks on Route Sixty-six" once again!
This color coordinated group of fashion fabrics for home sewing enthusiasts is from the Vogue Fabrics By Mail Transition 2011 catalog. Subscribers to this service receive swatch sets every other month and two-months priority shopping before the collections are released to the general public. Subscribe to receive these benefits!
This color coordinated group of fashion fabrics for home sewing enthusiasts is from the Vogue Fabrics By Mail Transition 2011 catalog. Subscribers to this service receive swatch sets every other month and two-months priority shopping before the collections are released to the general public. Subscribe to receive these benefits!
