The nine monuments of Cajon Pass September 11, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, History.add a comment
Mark Landis, correspondent for the San Bernardino County Sun, posted a story today about the little-known nine monuments found along Cajon Pass, aka Interstate 15 and Route 66.
American Indians, then pioneers, made their way down the pass for hundreds of years until roads finally were built. Most of the monuments pay tribute to the white settlers and the hardships they endured during their journeys.
According to the article, most of the monuments are accessible by car. Here’s a listing, along with a link to a photo if available:
- Stoddard-Waite Monument (accessible only by special permission)
- Santa Fe and Salt Lake Trail Monument
- Sycamore Grove Monument
- Mohave Trail Monument (four-wheel drive recommended)
- Mormon Trail Monument
- Pioneer Woman Monument
- Mormon Pioneer Trail (accessible only by permission)
- Blue Cut
- Summit Train Station Monument
“Dust in the Wind” September 11, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music, Television.add a comment
This song by Kansas has been embroidered into a tribute to Martin Milner, co-star of the “Route 66″ television series of the early 1960s.
A tour of the Boots Motel September 10, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Preservation.1 comment so far
This excellent video by blogger Ace Jackalope was shot during this weekend’s open house of the Boots Motel in Carthage, Mo.
Ron Hart of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce is the one showing Ace around one of the motel’s rooms — and the tunnel system underneath.
Sisters Priscilla Bledsaw and Debye Harvey bought the motel a few weeks ago and plan to restore it to its original 1946-era look.
Three Route 66 sites receive Tulsa Preservation awards September 10, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Preservation, Railroad, Signs.add a comment
Three sites on Route 66 in Tulsa were among the 13 honored today by the Tulsa Preservation Commission‘s Outreach Committee, according to an article in the Tulsa World.
The annual awards are given to projects that “demonstrate good stewardship of a historic resource, increase awareness and access to a historic resource, or save a historic resource that is in decline.”
This year’s Route 66-related honorees include the Campbell Hotel, at 2636 E. 11th St.:
“Their careful rehabilitation project included restoration of the original windows and returning the facade to its original look, including awnings and the blade sign above the entrance,” DeCort said.
Aaron Meek, president of Group M Investment, said he bought the building in 2008 with the thought that it could be turned into loft apartments.
“But after we started looking into it, we thought, ‘We can turn this back into a hotel,’ ” he said. “It was more fitting for what it was set up for.”
The 1927 hotel now serves as an upscale boutique establishment, near the University of Tulsa campus.
The second award goes to the historic Meadow Gold sign at 11th Street and Quaker Ave., which was dismantled and saved in 2004 when its owner threatened to demolish it. The letters and neon tubing were refurbished, and the sign was re-erected at its current location in 2009.
Finally, the Frisco Meteor 4500 steam locomotive at Route 66 Village at 3700 Southwest Boulevard (aka Route 66) also was recognized. Preservationists beautifully restored the steam engine and moved it to its current location a few months ago, along with a caboose and a passenger car. The video below shows the day when it was moved to its final spot:
Avilla residents make plea to save post office September 9, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Towns.3 comments
About 35 residents attended a public hearing Thursday to plead with the U.S. Postal Service to not close the post office in Avilla, Mo., as a part of cost-cutting measures, reported the Carthage Press.
Thirty-five doesn’t sound like much — until you realize that Avilla’s population, according to the 2000 Census, was about 130. (2010 Census figures for all towns aren’t yet available.)
A few choice excerpts from the story:
“I have a book Marvin VanGilder had written about our history and a lot of our history is gone,” said Avilla Mayor Rosemary Lombard. “This post office has been here since I was a little kid and it’s so handy and we want it for our town. It’s a historical site, Route 66 runs right by here and I watch those people take pictures. This would be a big blow to the community to lose this post office, we’re proud of it.” [...]
“It’s just one of the icons that’s been on the road for years and it’s one of the few post offices that is on the Route,” said Tommy Pike, Springfield, president of the Route 66 Association of Missouri. “There’s one in Devil’s Elbow, but everything like that that you lose is gone. It’s an asset to this community and it really needs to be saved. I can see that the people here are not happy about it closing. I wasn’t too happy either, when I heard about it.”
Here’s the link to about 12 small-town post offices on Route 66 that would be closed under the proposal. In total, more than 3,600 post offices across the country are targeted. And the postmaster general earlier this week said the U.S. Postal Service may default if drastic measures aren’t taken.
Land deal expands Petrified Forest National Park September 9, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions.6 comments
The Petrified Forest National Park in eastern Arizona is expanding by 26,500 acres following a land deal with the estate of a local rancher, reported the New York Times.
The acquisition enlarges the park about 25 percent. The new land is to the east and west of its current boundaries.
The Times had some details about the long-percolating land deal involving Marvin Hatch:
Negotiations stretched over years, but a deal was never reached.
“He was firm,” Mr. Ford said of the owner. “He wanted $500 an acre. He believed it was worth considerably more than that and he locked on that number.”
When talks failed, Mr. Hatch sought to turn the land into a private park, building giant concrete dinosaurs along I-40 to attract visitors to a museum and natural area that he billed the International Petrified Forest. Scientists feared that the private effort would lead to the poaching of fossils and petrified remains by tourists.
After Mr. Hatch died several years ago, with his park never truly taking off, his sons re-started talks to sell the ranchland. The agreed-upon price was $300 an acre, which came to roughly $8 million, officials said.
Route 66 once went right through the park, and it has a display devoted to the remnants of the Mother Road there.
It’s unknown how this land acquisition will affect access — if at all — to the ruins of the Painted Desert Trading Post, which is east of the park’s main entrance on Pinta Road.
The best overview yet of the Cars Land project September 9, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Movies.add a comment
The Mouse Planet site posted today the best overview yet of the Cars Land amusement park that’s being constructed at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Calf.
The post contains dozens of images of the plans, construction photos, and other displays from the recent D23 Expo for Disney enthusiasts.
Cars Land is inspired by Radiator Springs, the fictional Route 66 town depicted in the 2006 Disney-Pixar film “Cars.” Cars Land is slated to open in summer 2012.
The funny part is that Cars Land has been on Disney’s drawing board for a long time:
Imagineer Kevin Rafferty noted that the concept had been around for a while, and that the area was originally called “Car Land.” The land was to play off of California’s car culture, and the main strip would be “Cruise Street,” themed to 1955-1965, when cars became less about transportation and more about personal expression. Food would have included Marty’s Drive-In, with carhop service. The Road Trip, U.S.A. attraction would have started with a ride past California Crazy architecture, with a cross-country trip past many roadside landmarks ending in a ride through a Nature’s Wonderland-type cavern. It even included a ride through a car wash, where guests not on the ride could squirt those in the cars. “And then John actually took a look at that and said ‘You know what? Maybe you should think about more characters,” said Rafferty. [...]
At first, the idea was to use all sorts of Disney characters. Goofy About Road Trips would have followed Goofy’s driving antics as he traveled around the country. Herbie the Love Bug would have had a role in Car Land, as well. One attraction would have been Junkyard Jamboree, where cars would come to life and play music for the cars that would begin dancing. WhenCars came out and was a big hit, elements of the movie were added. Sally’s Road Rally ran through and around the town. The final model had Cruise Street as the main strip, Luigi’s Casa Della Tiies, and Radiator Springs Racers in the back of the area. In the summer of 2007, the team presented the concept to Lasseter, who said “why not just turn Car Land into Cars Land. Let’s build Radiator Springs.” [...]
Food plays an important part on Route 66, and it hasn’t been left out in Radiator Springs, either. Flo’s V8 Cafe is a gas station, because food is to humans as gas is to cars. Flo’s serves a role similar to that of a small-town diner, where everybody would gather and eat and chat and deal with the town’s problems. The Cozy Cone Motel will serve as a food location, serving various cone-themed eats. Fillmore’s Taste-In (where Fillmore would sell his organic fuel) will serve as a beverage location.
There will be two main shops in Carsland. Radiator Springs Curios will sell odd and ends and other ephemera, while Ramone’s Paint Shop will be the major merchandise location for the land.
The post also contains details about the various rides in Cars Land, including Radiator Springs Racers, Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, and Luigi’s Flying Tires.
This video also shows some of the Radiator Springs projects, and a Disney Imagineer describing the Radiator Springs Racers: