From across the pond February 15, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
The person who posted this on YouTube is from Turkey, but I’m not sure this version of Bobby Troup’s best-known song was shot there. I’m certain it was somewhere in Europe or Eurasia. Regardless, this is a fine performance.
“Hooked on 66″ site launched February 14, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, History, Photographs, Road trips, Web sites.3 comments
Richard Dinkela II’s new website, HookedOnRoute66.com, has been live for a few days. But today was when he announced the launching of the site.
Dinkela, a St. Louis resident, says it isn’t just a fan site, but also a resource for those wanting to find the more obscure alignments of the Mother Road:
What most new explorers of Route 66 fail to realize Route 66 was never just one path. Since its commission in 1926, until its decommission in 1985, the path labeled “Route 66″ was constantly changing and evolving. [...] Today there are many hurdles finding all of Route 66. The greatest hurdle is getting to alignments of 66 that are on private property.
Hard core adventurists like me are driven to find and explore every remnant possible of the mother road. This site will be a resource for the adventurist – a place where travelers learn to go beyond what is found on tour guides. [...]
Hooked On Route 66 is about assisting people in any way possible with their involvement of Route 66 and its people.
Dinkela already has posted “Virtual Tours” of Illinois and Kansas with dozens of photographs — even of the little-known stretches of Route 66. In Illinois, he found 1926 remnants of the original road, a ghost bridge near Carlinville, and plus shot a few terrific photos of the brick Route 66 near Virden.
Dinkela will post more material on the site in the coming days.
Tulsa service station nominated to National Register February 12, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Gas stations, Preservation.3 comments
Cities Service Station No. 8 in Tulsa has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places, according to a recent print edition of the Tulsa County News.
The nomination for long-closed station, at 1648 Southwest Blvd. (aka Route 66), was unanimously approved by the Tulsa Preservation Commission and also approved by the state.
The newspaper story quoted Jim Adelman, property manager for the building.
“The most challenging thing was the porcelain panels along the outside of the structure. [...] They originally were made at Southwest Porcelain on Charles Page Boulevard. But that has been gone a long time. Each piece had to be carefully taken down and numbered. Then each was sandblasted and a powder coating applied before they went back up. Some pieces had to be repaired in a body shop and a few we had to be built to replace the unsalvageable.
“This Historic Preservation requirements are very exact and specific. For example, the molding around the building had to be just so. [...] This isn’t something you can just go out and buy, but has to be acquired — about 1,000 pounds of it. Luckily, we found a building being torn down that had some of that work.”
Whether the station goes into the National Register should be known by late February to early March. Once nominated by a state, National Register listings are seldom rejected.
The station was built about 1940. The station received a $30,000 cost-share grant from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program in 2009 to help refurbish it. You can see what the station looked like just a few years ago here. Tulsa attorney James Frasier is a co-owner of the building, and has it up for lease now.
Part of Cadillac Ranch goes topless — temporarily February 12, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Preservation, Vehicles.4 comments
The roof on one of the Cadillacs at the iconic Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas, has rusted off. But its longtime benefactor says the roof will be welded back on, reported the Amarillo Globe-News.
Stanley Marsh 3, the Ranch’s patron saint, isn’t sure when the top dropped from the vintage auto situated second from the west in the row of 10 buried nose down in the flatlands. But he knows what needs to be done: Amarillo artist Lightnin’ McDuff will have to operate.
“Eventually it will have its head back on,” said Marsh, the millionaire and jester who orchestrated the move of the roadside wonder in 1997 to its current location from a spot two miles east. “Lightnin’ McDuff is a real good welder. I always get the best and give them credit.” [...]
McDuff pledges the repair will begin soon.
“I’ve been waiting for the weather to warm back up. I can’t hardly take that into the shop,” McDuff said. “I’ll have to build a framework to straighten it back out and have something to weld to. If the weatherman’s not lying, I should be doing something on it next week.”
McDuff also said metal fillers might eventually be used to replace a missing door or two from the angled Cadillacs.
I confess to being a bit surprised that any of the Cadillacs have a rust problem, considering the hundreds of coats of spray paint applied over the decades.
The 1974 landmark has inspired countless songs (including Bruce Springsteen’s “Cadillac Ranch”) and videos over the years, including this fairly recent one by Brooks & Dunn:
UPDATE: Kelly Ludwig provided this photo of Cadillac Ranch in December. You can see the roof of the one Cadillac on the ground.
Arroyo Seco Parkway named to National Register February 11, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, History, Preservation.add a comment
The Arroyo Seco Parkway Historic District, a highway that once carried Route 66 in Los Angeles County, was named to the National Register of Historic Places effective Feb. 4, according to a National Park Service e-mail.
According to the e-mail, the historic district covers California Highway 110 from a four-level interchange in Los Angeles to East Glenarm Street in Pasadena. (Map is here.)
Because the Arroyo Seco already was established as a Scenic Byway, I had assumed it was already listed on the National Register. But I found was described as National Register-eligible. At least, until now.
Here’s a video that shows a typical trip on the Arroyo Seco, aka the Pasadena Freeway:
The National American Engineering Record gives a good overview of the highway’s significance:
The Arroyo Seco Parkway (Pasadena Freeway) was the first divided-lane, high-speed, limited-access road in the urban western United States and the first stretch of road for what would become the extensive Los Angeles freeway network. The approximately six-mile initial stage of the 8.2-mile roadway, completed in 1940,was envisioned as both a scenic road traversing the Arroyo and a vital traffic conduit linking the expanding cities of Pasadena and Los Angeles. Engineers and planners attempted to blend landscaping and native plants into the overall design while implementing safety features appropriate for high-speed travel. Construction proceeded alongside the installation of the federally assisted Arroyo Seco Flood Control Channel, necessary to ameliorate seasonal flooding.
The Arroyo Seco contains some limitations — namely, its tight and short access ramps. But it’s also a joy to drive. If you’re traveling Route 66, I wouldn’t pass it up.
Book about “Route 66″ TV show has been revamped February 11, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Books, Television.add a comment
James Rosin, who published a book about the “Route 66″ television drama a few years ago, in mid-January published an extensively revised and augmented edition.
“Route 66: The Television Series” (286 pages, softcover, Autumn Road, $21.95) contains about 100 more pages than its 2007 predecessor. (A review of the first book can be read here.) It still contains extensive summaries of all 116 episodes, plus stories and quotes from the stars, directors and producers about how “Route 66″ was made.
“Route 66,” which aired from 1960 to 1964, co-starred Martin Milner and George Maharis (read my interview with Maharis from a few years ago here). Milner and Maharis portrayed Tod Stiles and Buz Murdock, respectively, as they tooled around the country in a Corvette convertible, looking for adventure.
The series earned praise for its on-location shooting, and its smart and socially conscious scripts. “Route 66″ earned two Emmy nominations during its relatively short run.
Here are the other additions and improvements to Rosin’s new book:
- Additional commentary by the producers and actors, including Maharis.
- Plot summaries of each episode have been revised, and contain no spoilers.
- More photographs.
- Rosin’s top 25 episodes.
- A listing of memorable scenes.
- Favorite quotes from the show.
- Awards and nominations.
- Trivia questions.
About the only thing missing from Rosin’s book is a mention of the short-lived revival of the “Route 66″ series in 1993. It lasted just four episodes, and was critically reviled. So Rosin’s omission of the latter-day series probably is no great loss.
Perhaps coincidentally, DVD releases of the first three seasons of “Route 66″ finally started to arrive barely a year after Rosin’s initial book was published. Now with Rosin’s revised volume, perhaps the long-delayed Season 4 eventually will make it to the digital format.
New wooden toys created of “Cars” characters February 10, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies, Toys.add a comment
Those who love to collect the massive amount of memorabilia from the 2006 Disney/Pixar animated movie “Cars” will have a new bunch of toys to acquire.
Toys “R” Us and Disney announced today it is launching its first series of wooden vehicles from the film, much of which uses the fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs as its setting.
According to the news release:
[...] The current collection of 15 items consists of a variety of collectible Cars vehicle 2-packs, destination playsets and a track set giving kids a unique way to recreate the storyline from the 2006 blockbuster movie. The wood line will soon be expanded with vehicles and playsets based on the highly anticipated release of Cars 2, in theaters June 24, 2011.
The Disney-Pixar Cars Wood Collection is one of this year’s first Toys”R”Us global exclusives with the full product line available in the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, U.K., Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Cars enthusiasts, both young and old, can collect all of their favorite, four-wheeled characters like Lightning McQueen, Mater, Doc Hudson and Sally, and race through an adventure-filled wood world of ramps and tracks down the iconic Route 66 to end up at original Cars destinations, such as Tow Mater’s Yard or Luigi’s Casa Della Tires. Customers can find the distinctive wood vehicles, playsets and track set in the Imaginarium® department of Toys”R”Us stores.
The toys are available at Toys”R”Us stores and here at ToysRUs.com.
The series includes:
Disney-Pixar Cars wood collection vehicle 2-Packs (with photos below): “Radiator Springs Lightning McQueen and Sally; Doc Hudson and Dusty Lightning McQueen; Fillmore and Sarge; Flo and Ramone; Mater and Hudson Hornet Doc; The King and Chick Hicks; Dinoco McQueen and Tex; and Wingo and Boost.
“Additionally, the following Disney-Pixar Cars Wood Collection Vehicle 2-Packs will be available exclusively at Toys”R”Us this spring: DJ and Snot Rod; Cruisin’ Lightning McQueen and Ramone; Tractor and Young Tow Mater; Red and Guido.”
Luigi’s Casa Della Tires Playset (photo below): “While visiting Luigi’s, kids can spin his tower of tires, stop by the air pump for a “fill up,” or crank-up the vehicles onto the mechanic’s ramp for a quick tune-up before launching them onto the track. This playset includes a Luigi vehicle.”
Tow Mater’s Yard Playset: “Kids can use the working crane to grab, lift, swing and drop the vehicles into the fenced-in tow yard or head out into Radiator Springs through the quick-escape ramp that exits through the garage. This playset includes a Mater vehicle.”
Sheriff’s Race ‘n Chase Track Set: “Cars fans will be delighted to relive one of the film’s classic scenes – when Lightning McQueen first raced through Radiator Springs frantically searching for Mack with Sheriff hot on his bumper! Kids can race through the set, knock down a row of cones and topple a tower of Luigi’s tires. This set includes a special edition metallic Lightning McQueen vehicle, a Sheriff vehicle, a Radiator Springs billboard sign for Sheriff to hide behind, a race ‘n chase ramp, interchangeable track pieces and four tires.”
All told, the entire set likely will cost about $200.
Although “Cars” was a modest hit by Pixar’s lofty standards, the film has proven to be a bonanza for memorabilia sales. In just the first year the film was released, it was estimated that “Cars” memorabilia generated about $200 million in sales.
(Photos courtesy of Disney, Toys”R”Us)
Exotic World is subject of a documentary February 10, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Movies, Museums, People.add a comment
Exotic World, the burlesque museum once located off Route 66 in Helendale, Calif., and run by the irrepressible Dixie Evans, now is the subject of an upcoming documentary.
“Exotic World and the Burlesque Revival” is being produced by Red Tremmel, a professor at Tulane University and a longtime scholar about gender and women’s issues.
Here’s some footage from the film, including Evans when she ran the museum in the middle of Southern California’s high desert. (Some of the footage is risque, but there is no real nudity.)
According to Weekly Volcano, Tremmel says he expects to have the film finished by June.
Weekly Volcano also gave a brief description of Exotic World:
Burlesque performer Jennie Lee, known as “The Bazoom Girl,” and her husband began preparing to build the museum in the Mojave Desert by collecting photos, props, stories and other materials from retired strippers beginning in the late 1950s, but it didn’t really come together until the 1980s when she teamed up with another exotic dancer, Dixie Evans, known as “The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque.” The museum was located in an old goat farm in the desert. It was named Exotic World.
Jennie invited strippers to come to the museum and share their experiences. An annual retreat became something of a Mecca for exotic dancers.
Jennie died in 1990, but her husband and Evans kept the museum alive. The annual reunion of strippers that Jennie had started continued and gained fame. Young performers and older retired strippers began to flock to the annual reunions turning the unique museum at the old goat ranch off Route 66 into a national phenomenon. It sparked an international revival of the art of burlesque.
The hospitable Evans also provided memorable moments for many road-trippers who paid a visit to her museum. But the place still languished with attendance because of its isolated location.
Exotic World eventually moved its collection to the more tourist-friendly Las Vegas, where it reopened as the Burlesque Hall of Fame. And I’m glad to see Evans still is very much involved in the museum.
More murals for Cuba February 9, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Vehicles.1 comment so far
The Route 66 town of Cuba, Mo., is known for its outdoor murals along the main drag.
Now, it appears Cuba will start to be known for indoor murals as well.
Painter Ray Harvey has completed artwork of vintage vehicles on four walls inside the Midwest Petroleum Travel Plaza, located just north of Interstate 44, according to Jane Reed of the Cuba Free Press. The truck stop formerly was known as the Voss Truck Port.
Don McNutt, president and CEO of Midwest Petroleum, said the original idea for the murals came from a waitress, and it made sense because the murals would make an immediate impact when a customer entered the two-story atrium. The murals are just part of Midwest’s overall plans to improve the facilities, and they complement Cuba’s “Mural City” reputation. [...]
A few months after Harvey completed the first 50-foot wall of classic cars, which he called Classic Road Show, McNutt and his customers were so pleased with the result that Harvey was commissioned to complete the remaining three walls above the entrance area.
One 25-foot wall was painted with nostalgic 18-wheelers and a Greyhound bus. This section of the mural above the restaurant entrance contains the logo Dottie’s Restaurant, which pays tribute to McNutt’s mother Dottie, who raised five young sons with a loving but firm hand after her husband died. The restaurant at the Travel Plaza will be named Dottie’s, with a change of the menu art and other signage that Harvey also painted.
The article includes two photos of Harvey’s artwork in the truck stop. The murals are part of extensive remodeling and improvements scheduled there.
Other images can be seen here. And Ray Harvey’s site contains a bunch of photos, too.
Happy ending to petroglyphs vandalism February 9, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, History, Preservation.add a comment
In August, ancient petroglyphs east of Route 66 near Williams, Ariz., were found vandalized by spray paint. Experts believe the petroglyphs at Keyhole Sink are at least 1,000 years old.
But according to Seth Muller at the Arizona Daily Sun in Flagstaff, the paint has been removed and the petroglyphs mostly restored:
In November, Weintraub and the staff with the Kaibab National Forest managed to clean up the graffiti with the help of Johannes Loubser, a rock-art restoration expert who originally did his work in South Africa. He traveled to northern Arizona to repair damage done to a petroglyph panel in Glen Canyon, just below the dam. [...]
“We got really lucky in that (Loubser) was already in the area,” Weintraub said. For little extra in costs, the Kaibab National Forest staff managed to get his expertise on the cleanup. Still, the type of paint used proved difficult to remove without damaging the panel. A firefighter assisting with the restoration made the suggestion of applying heat, which melted the paint off.
Loubser used other solvents and had crews cover the panel with a wash of local mud to help protect the rock art and help return the panel to its original color.
Muller reported that he could barely tell any difference from the last time he visited the site, save for a bit of discoloration where the spray-painting had occurred. And it’s hoped the discoloration will fade over time.
Here’s a good picture of the petroglyphs before the vandalization.