Stretch of old 66 may be placed on National Register April 17, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, Preservation.1 comment so far
A 1.3-mile stretch of old Route 66 southeast of Springfield, Ill., may be placed on the National Register of Historic Places next month, reports the Springfield Journal-Register.
Preservationists believe the road is the longest drivable section of the original Route 66 remaining in Illinois. [...]
The road, 16 feet wide compared to 24 feet for modern two-lane roads, is often used by farm equipment and as a commuter route for people who live southeast of Springfield. [...]
It’s my understanding the Route 66 preservationist John Weiss was a big proponent of doing this. You can see a map of the old alignment here; it’s clearly marked as old 66.
In another story from the Journal-Register, the town of Sherman, Ill., is designing a Veterans Memorial and Route 66 Historic Gateway Park. A village trustee said:
“Secondly, it’s a tribute to the historic Route 66. On the site there (are) portions of the original Route 66, and we want to take advantage of that,” he said.
Plaque at Fanning Outpost to pay tribute to Route 66er April 15, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Events, People.add a comment
There will be a ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 25, at the Fanning 66 Outpost and General Store in Fanning, Mo., to dedicate a plaque in memory of longtime Route 66 business owner Fran Eickhoff.
The Outpost, as you may already know, is the home of the World’s Largest Rocking Chair. The plaque will be under a canopy right outside the store, so it would be somewhat protected from the weather.
Eickhoff was the longtime owner of the beloved Route 66 Lounge in Cuba, Mo. She died in August 2008 after a lengthy illness.
Meadow Gold sign update April 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Preservation, Signs.add a comment
The rebuilding of the historic Meadow Gold sign at 11th Street and Quaker Avenue in Tulsa continued this week.
Sure, the image above doesn’t look much different from the one from Laurel Kane’s post last Wednesday. But look closer:
That is neon tubing on the perimeter of each letter. It takes a lot of time to install that.
As we could tell, the west side of the Meadow Gold sign is finished except for a small bit in the upper left corner.
Claude Federal Neon will presumably start re-erecting the sign’s east side.
It won’t be long now before it’s done.
More parking, fewer lanes in Williams April 14, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Towns.add a comment
There are changes coming in downtown Williams, Ariz., that bear watching. From the Williams-Grand Canyon News:
Officials in the city of Williams voted to extend the diagonal parking along Route 66, from Safeway to the Mountainside Inn, during their April 9 regular meeting. While diagonal parking can currently be found in the downtown area alone, city officials plan to lengthen the parking in an effort to both reduce traffic speed in and out of town, and add additional parking spaces throughout Route 66 as it passes through the city.
The addition of diagonal parking will also allow the eventual beautification of the area, officials said, which may include benches and trees throughout the downtown area. The added parking spaces will also change the current two lane sections of Route 66 to one lane. [...]
Old Smokey’s Restaurant owner Dan Barnes said that diagonal parking would help slow traffic on the both ends of Route 66, as it will go from a two lanes to one lane.
“Some of those people have not forgotten that they are off the freeway until they get to about Fourth Street, because they’ll be doing 65-70 miles an hour down there,” Barnes said. “It will slow things down and I think it will actually help the community, in terms of people will actually have time to see what’s going on there. I really think that slowing things down will have a significant impact on both ends of town.”
The town’s Fire Department is opposed to the idea because it fears there won’t be enough space to allow firetrucks.
This isn’t mentioned in the article, but I suspect the idea is also meant to also foster additional pedestrian traffic. Lower vehicle speeds and additional shielding from the greater number of parked cars would undoubtedly do that.
I know that a few people who read this site have more knowledge than me about city planning. Is this a good plan? Are there unintended consequences the city may have overlooked?
Drive-under dining April 13, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Restaurants.add a comment
John Watson of the Cleburne (Texas) Times-Review has an article about the formerly “world’s largest McDonald’s restaurant” that squats over Interstate 44 near Vinita, Okla.
It’s not on the classic alignment on Route 66, but a lot of roadies check it out anyway because it’s so quirky.
This is the massive arch-shaped building that’s actually built over the interstate, and you can eat a Big Mac there while traffic zips by under your feet.
What was interesting was Watson’s description of the Will Rogers memorabilia at that site, which I overlooked in the times I was there:
Near the McDonald’s entrance is a large statue of Will Rogers with his lariat held high in the air.
A plaque on the base of the statue states, “The Legislature of Oklahoma provided the opportunity for this statue to be erected as a monument to Will Rogers, favorite son of the state, renaissance man of the West, and a humorist who brought a smile to the face of America.
“Will Rogers, a Native American who united the ancient legacy of the Cherokee people with the philosophies and technologies embraced by all mankind, was a writer, actor and humorist whose cowboy figure cast a new and warm glow of reasoning across the far reaching strata of humanity.
“Dear to his fellow citizens, Will Rogers has given the world an immortal example of high values and righteousness that beam far into tomorrow.”
On entering the lobby you see several pictures of Will Rogers on the wall plus a small TV monitor showing one of his old movies. The lobby is a miniature Will Rogers Museum.
One of the pictures has the following caption beneath it: “We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.”
Based on that last quote, it sounds like Rogers was at least 30 years ahead of his time in regards to civil rights.
Coleman Theatre marking 80th anniversary April 13, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, Preservation, Theaters.add a comment
The awesomely ornate Coleman Theatre on Route 66 in Miami, Okla., is marking its 80th anniversary. Because of volunteers and long-running restoration efforts, it’s in as good of shape as it’s been since it opened in 1929.
More about the theater’s restoration and festivities related to the anniversary can be read in this Tulsa World article.
We’ll be there at a Trout Fishing in America show next week to check it out.
Book review: “Road Trip USA Route 66″ April 12, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Road trips.4 comments
I should preface this by saying I have been a longtime fan of Jamie Jensen’s travel guides. I still possess a 1999 edition of his “Road Trip USA” (subtitled “Cross-Country Adventures on America’s Two-Lane Highways”).
Jensen, by all accounts, has driven hundreds of thousands of miles to scout out the best road trips in America. His concise but informative guides to the Appalachian Trail, U.S. 50, U.S. 80, the Great River Road and, yes, Route 66 became influential to Route 66 News and scores of roadies.
So I was excited to hear a few weeks ago that Jensen and his new publisher, Avalon Travel, were coming out with a new book, “Road Trip USA Route 66,” that focused on the Mother Road. It and Jensen’s “Road Trip USA Pacific Coast Highway” were released this month, with a full, new edition of “Road Trip USA” coming later.
“Road Trip USA Route 66″ is a 130-page paperback book, priced at a budget $9.95, that’s compact enough to fit into a car’s glovebox. It’s sprinkled with color photos and graphics, including basic maps. Those looking for detailed maps or turn-by-turn directions should look elsewhere. “Road Trip USA Route 66″ is meant to be a concise overview of the Mother Road to novice travelers, not a comprehensive guide for hard-core roadies.
In addition, the book contains entertaining factoids on the sides of its pages and full sidebar stories about Chicago, St. Louis, Santa Fe, Los Angeles, Cadillac Ranch, books on Route 66, Buddy Holly, songs of Route 66, Grand Canyon National Park, London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., and the “detour” cities of Las Vegas and Branson, Mo. (side trips are mentioned and encouraged).
Although Jensen’s text is often necessarily lean because of the book’s concise format, his enthusiasm for Route 66′s eccentricities shine through:
Just east of the Texas/Oklahoma border, Texola has all but dried up and blown away since it was bypassed by I-40, but a few remnants stand, awaiting nostalgic photographers. The only signs of life hereabouts are the shouts and swears emanating from the combination pool hall and beer bar housed in a large metal shed on the south side of the old highway, where you’re welcome to watch the most passionate domino games this side of Yuma, Arizona.
However, during a casual reading of “Road Trip USA Route 66,” I kept noticing errors in the text. When you pack a lot of information into a guidebook, I realize a few mistakes are inevitable because of deadlines or oversights. But my discomfort turned into frustration when the errors that should have been easily caught kept popping up. Such as:
- Jensen mentions that KMOX-AM in St. Louis carries St. Louis Cardinals baseball games. In fact, KMOX hasn’t aired the Cardinals since the end of the 2005 season.
- Jensen cites “old-fashioned milk shakes whipped up” at Eisler Bros. Old Riverton Store in Riverton, Kan. The store has never made milk shakes that anyone there can recall. It is famous for its hand-made sandwiches, however.
- Jensen mentions the Route 66 Lounge in Cuba, Mo., “serving the coldest beer on old Route 66.” However, the Route 66 Lounge has been closed for years, and the building has been converted into a completely different business use.
- The book lists KVOO-AM in Tulsa as a country-music station. However, that frequency has been occupied by KFAQ, a talk station, since 2002.
There are other errors, questionable phrases or inexplicable omissions I haven’t listed. And it’s not as if I ran a fine-toothed comb through the book; it was a casual reading that revealed these problems. It makes me wonder what other errors exist in the book that I missed. Incidentally, these same errors are in the new “Road Trip USA” in the chapter on Route 66.
It was Jensen who made these mistakes, and he should be held responsible for them. But it seemed odd that these errors would go through, considering that Google searches or phone calls by the publisher’s staff would have prevented most of them.
But Jodee Krainik, publicist for Avalon Travel, acknowledged in an e-mail that the publisher did not fact-check the manuscript because Jensen was essentially a well-established author. She said reprints of the book would be corrected.
It would now seem advisable that Avalon fact-check all its manuscripts from now on.
And although “Road Trip USA Route 66″ and “Road Trip USA” are decent thumbnail guides for two-lane adventures, the buyer should beware.