» 2009 » November Route 66 News

St. Louis factory building named to National Register November 13, 2009

Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, History, Preservation.
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The National Candy Company Factory building in St. Louis. The Gravois Avenue viaduct is in the foreground.

The National Candy Company Factory building on the Gravois Avenue alignment of Route 66 in St. Louis was named to the National Register of Historic Places effective Nov. 5, according to an e-mail from the National Park Service.

The building, at 4230 Gravois Ave., was built in 1928 when the National Candy Company was the largest candy maker in the United States in that decade. The building is architecturally notable for its art deco flourishes.

According to the city’s Planning and Urban Design Agency, the building has changed little.

When traveling west on Route 66, National Candy Company building is off to the left as you start to go under the Gravois viaduct. Google Street Views link is here.

According to Chase Candy Co. (famous for Cherry Mash), which bought the National Candy Co. in the 1940s, the original National Candy Co. was founded by V.L. Price, father of future horror actor Vincent Price. According to other online sources, National Candy Co. specialized in jawbreakers and jellybeans.

The art deco facade of the National Candy Company building.

Awesome Springfield November 13, 2009

Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Towns.
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Jon Franklin of Digital City muses on 11 reasons why the city of Springfield, Ill., is “awesome.”

Hint: Route 66 plays a role in more ways than one.

A Route 66 tale November 13, 2009

Posted by Ron Warnick in History, People, Road trips.
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Bill Snowden wrote in Cape Cod Today about his remarkable adventures on Route 66 in the summer of 1967.

An excerpt:

My journey to Rte 66 started on the Cape and wound thru the Midwest, going south all the way to Los Angeles. Rte 66; a two lane asphalt history lesson, all 2,000 miles, unwinding like an old black phonograph record track; scored, scarred and full of every dream, regret and sorrow America recorded on it’s asphalt since the Great Depression. Every mile I walked and rode on it felt like an old 78 rpm, hand cranked song, singing a feeling of wide openness, a time when there weren’t so many of us. Every deserted gas station I saw from Oklahoma to Arizona sang of the Joads, hobos and Oakies, of Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie, of Jack Kerouac’s, “On the Road” and Neil Cassidy, of nameless long dead mothers who lost their kids in childbirth, while pulled over on the grassy shoulder of Hope’s Highway. Route 66 started somewhere for everyone who took it. It was a wonderful old road, as long, endless and hopeful as the dreams of its travelers. But like all dreams hitting reality, it, too, came to a dead end sooner or later.

The whole thing has a wistful beatnik vibe. That’s a good thing, by the way.

Mystery music group November 12, 2009

Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.
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I wish I knew who the band is that is doing Bobby Troup’s “Route 66.” The video contains no credits at all. It’s a swinging performance that deserves credit.

“End of the Trail” sign dedicated at Santa Monica Pier November 11, 2009

Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Events, History, Signs.
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Route 66 enthusiasts unveil replica of the long-lost "End of the Trail" sign at the Santa Monica Pier on the historic highway's 83rd anniversary. (Photo: Business Wire)

The Santa Monica Pier was dedicated Tuesday morning as the official western terminus of Route 66 during a ceremony with a replica of an “End of the Trail” sign that once graced the nearby intersection of Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard for years.

A caravan of vintage cars started from the Santa Monica and Lincoln — near the route’s previous official terminus at Lincoln and Olympia — and continued west to the pier before the ceremony started.

From the news release:

The official designation of the Santa Monica Pier as the West Coast’s end to Route 66 during the Pier’s centennial year was developed in partnership with the Santa Monica Convention and Visitors Bureau, Route 66 Alliance, 66 to Cali Inc. and the Santa Monica Pier Restoration Corporation to acknowledge a commonly held public perception that the pier was the end of the historic roadway, although never officially recognized.

“This Veterans Day marks the 83^rd anniversary of Route 66, and we are proud to on this day unite the nation once again from Illinois to California by commemorating the national link the ‘Main Street of America’ delivered so many years ago,” said Jim Conkle, chair of the Route 66 Alliance, “We believe that unveiling this sign at the iconic Santa Monica Pier today will resonate deeply with those across the country who are passionate about the roadway’s enduring legacy.”

The sign’s unveiling was a tribute to a historic and famous sign that read “End of the Trail” that once stood overlooking the Santa Monica Pier during the 1930s. Although long ago disappeared, the sign played a role in creating the national public opinion that the end of Route 66 was at the Santa Monica Pier, even though the official terminus was under debate throughout the road’s history.

Dan Rice, owner of the 66 to Cali apparel shack at the pier, deserves a lot of the credit for getting this project rolling. Incredibly enough, the pier had never acknowledged its link to Route 66 before.

More coverage by KABC-TV of Los Angeles, including video, can be seen here.

UPDATE: Here’s another story by NBC Los Angeles.

UPDATE2: Here are a couple of photos from the Associated Press from the event.

UPDATE3: Here’s a story by the Contra Costa (Calif.) Times.

Here’s a photo gallery by the Los Angeles Daily News.

Here’s the Santa Monica Pier’s Flickr feed from the ceremony.

UPDATE4: Here’s a New York Times story.

The Argonaut in Marina del Rey, Calif., has a story.

UPDATE5: Here’s a very good analysis and forward-looking piece by The Independent in London.

UPDATE6: Another report from the Belfast Telegraph.

A dissenting view from Bill Bauer, writing an op-ed piece to the Santa Monica Daily Press.

UPDATE7: Joel Martin Levy responds to Bauer’s missive in the Santa Monica Daily Press. In short, he says: “Chill, Bill.”

UPDATE8: Another interesting response to Bauer called “Why So Serious?”

Straight from the garage November 11, 2009

Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.
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Here are The Visions, a Fort Worth-area band performing “Route 66″ during the 1960s. The song comes from a compilation “Fort Worth Teen Scene, Vol. 2.”

It’s a fun listen, especially hearing the hollers in the background.

“Ultimate Cars Gift Pack” review November 11, 2009

Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies.
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Kevin Cedeno of Ultimate Disney writes a thorough review of “Cars: Ultimate Gift Pack,” which contains a Blu-ray disc, a DVD and two die-cast models from the film.

It sounds like the DVD is a lot more generous with the making-of details behind the film. That includes the background about Route 66, which also was with the first DVD release. There also is commentary by director John Lasseter and other production people behind the movie.

Capitol Christmas tree to cruise Route 66 November 10, 2009

Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions.
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For the first time, Arizona will provide the big Christmas tree that graces the nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C., reports the Williams-Grand Canyon News. That tree will be transported through the Route 66 town of Williams before heading to the Beltway.

The Capitol Christmas tree will pass through Williams at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday and be in town for one hour accompanied by Secret Service agents.

Sue Atkinson, events coordinator for the Williams-Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce, encourages residents to dress in their favorite winter outfit and gather at the corner of Route 66 and Second.

“We’re totally excited for this once in a lifetime opportunity for the tree to come through Williams,” she said. “The flatbed truck that it’s going to be on is 108 feet long. We’re going to be giving away candy canes and hot chocolate and we’ll sing some Christmas carols. The Cataract Creek Gang is going to do a skit. Santa is going to come in and save the day.”

It sort of cracks me up that a tree is getting Secret Service protection. I guess agents are fearing an attack from Paul Bunyon.

The tree being used is an 85-foot-tall blue spruce that was cut down in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest in northeastern Arizona. The tree will be presented to the U.S. Congress on Nov. 30, and will be decorated with 5,000 handcrafted ornaments.

The Capitol Christmas Tree has a spiffy Web site here.

Meet at the Pier November 10, 2009

Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Signs.
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The Santa Monica (Calif.) Daily Press has a preview story today about the ceremony Wednesday morning that will name the Santa Monica Pier as the official western end of Route 66.

The actual endings of U.S. 66 was in downtown Los Angeles, then later at Olympic and Lincoln boulevards in Santa Monica (about a mile from the pier).

But both endings were rather uninspiring, and many Route 66 travelers continued westward to Santa Monica Boulevard to Ocean Avenue, then a couple of blocks south to the Santa Monica Pier and the Pacific Ocean.

“There has been a question over the years, especially foreign tourists, as to where to end [their] trip. [They ask,] ‘Where do I go?’ ” said Jim Conkle, chairman of the Route 66 Alliance and one of the planned speakers at Wednesday’s event.

Conkle feels that the new official end is solely for the benefit and convenience of the tourists.

“We aren’t trying to rewrite the history books. The accepted end or beginning is going to be the Santa Monica Pier; it gives a tourist and tour groups a place to start and finish,” said Conkle. [...]

Conkle feels the new ending will allow tourists a more scenic and fulfilling end to their 2,500 mile journey across the highway.

“If you go to Olympic and Lincoln, would you not go a mile away and see the Pacific Ocean?” said Conkle.

There is some historical precedent with the Santa Monica and Ocean intersection; it was for many years the site of an albeit unofficial “End of 66″ sign there — one that will be re-created at the Pier on Wednesday. It was believed that the sign originally was a prop for a movie shoot during the 1930s that was left there by local boosters.

And since U.S. 66 was decommissioned decades ago, there’s no problem with having a new “official” end point.

UPDATE: More media previews of the event …

From the L.A. Now blog of the Los Angeles Times.

From NBC Los Angeles.

From KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

From the LAist.

I noted that Glen Duncan of the California Route 66 Preservation Foundation called the Santa Monica Pier the “spiritual end of Route 66.” That’s got a nice ring to it.

Veterans Day tribute November 10, 2009

Posted by Ron Warnick in People.
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Here is a list of military personnel from Route 66 towns who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve also added informative links to each of the fallen, wherever possible.

ILLINOIS
Chicago