Route 66 exhibit opens at Springfield, Mo., museum April 29, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Highways, History, Museums.2 comments
A new exhibit about a local history of Route 66 – “Woodruff’s Dream: The Mother Road Through Springfield” — opened over the weekend at the History Museum on the Square in downtown Springfield, Mo.
It speaks a lot for the exhibit when Tonya Pike, a local who’s very well-versed about Route 66, said it made a favorable impression on her. She said in an email:
It was a very nice opening and honestly, I wasn’t the biggest supporter of this display. But even I was impressed with all the things they had on display and the thoroughness they’ve done showcasing the businesses along Route 66 in Springfield through the years. [...]
Two special treats — an entire room devoted to Campbell’s 66 Trucking and a special video done by Springfieldian Lou Whitney about eating at Red’s … and filmed entirely at Red’s. Somehow I think Red & Julia would be proud and honored it’s playing non-stop in the display area devoted to diners. They were very special people to me. And yes, lots of reprints from “Show Me 66″ and the Route 66 Magazine, and lots of references to Skip Curtis’ books.
There is also one photo of a painting of the Square, circa mid-50′s, The exhibit also features the paintings of Jerry Rice, a local artist who has done a series of of paintings of Springfield, all circa mid-50′s to early 60′s … and many featuring the cars of local car enthusiasts. My dad’s ’56 Fury is in the painting showing the Sky Ranch Drive Inn, which was at College and Kansas, on Route 66 and is in the Diners exhibit area.
Pike also emailed several photos from the exhibit, including the Rice painting and the Campbell display.
“Woodruff’s Dream” will remain on display through Aug. 31.
UPDATE 5/5/2013: The Springfield News-Leader today posted a long article about the exhibit and Springfield’s history with Route 66.
Springfield museum exhibit will focus on Route 66, its patriarch March 23, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Highways, History, Museums.add a comment
An exhibit dedicated to John Woodruff and the highway he helped guide to fruition, Route 66, will debut April 28 at History Museum on the Square in downtown Springfield, Mo.
According to a news release from the museum:
The exhibit titled “Woodruff ’s Dream: The Mother Road through Springfield – The Route 66 Exhibit” will be on display at the History Museum on the Square. The exhibit tells the story of the early development and growth of Route 66 through Springfield. “Woodruff ’s Dream” explores both the impact of Route 66 on Springfield and the effect the “Queen City” had on the Mother Road. History Museum on the Square will show some never-before-seen items and photographs that will fill two floors with this exciting exhibit at 155 Park Central Square.
Sunday at the Museum, our preview exhibit opening and reception, will be from 1 to 4 p.m. April 28. “Woodruff ’s Dream’s” public opening is on Tuesday, April 30, and will remain open from 10:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday through Aug. 31.
Along with “Father of Route 66″ Cyrus Avery, Woodruff promoted the idea of a national highway, eventually designated as U.S. 66, coming through the region. Woodruff, an attorney and businessman based in Springfield, was called the Godfather of Ozarks Highways.
The museum, which sits on an alignment of Route 66, is closed so it can prepare for the exhibit.
Sinkhole appears next to Route 66 in Galena March 4, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, Weather.add a comment
During a time in which a sinkhole in Florida drew national attention, another sinkhole appeared next to Route 66 west of Galena, Kan., reported KOAM-TV.
Fortunately, this hole hasn’t caused any injuries or deaths. But its sudden appearance prompted highway officials to block one lane of traffic on Route 66 until they determine whether the hole will grow.
This hole is about 10 by 12 feet across and about 14 feet deep. Officials think the sinkhole was caused by an abandoned mine shaft that caved in. Lead mines once dotted the landscape of southwestern Missouri, southeastern Kansas, and far northeastern Oklahoma.
In 2006, a sinkhole appeared behind the Green Parrot Tavern in downtown Galena. The hole compromised the 100-year-old building, and eventually was razed. A smaller sinkhole appeared that year near Route 66, but caused little damage.
A sinkhole in Seffner, Fla., suddenly opened in a bedroom of a house last week, taking a sleeping man with it. The man remains missing and is presumed dead. Officials have razed the house because the growing sinkhole has compromised the home’s structure. Unlike Galena, Florida sinkholes are thought to be a natural phenomenon.
Does Route 66 through central New Mexico need “rebranding”? February 24, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Highways, History, Signs.1 comment so far
A panel that’s working to re-energize Route 66 from Moriarty, N.M., to the Rio Puerco west of Albuquerque wants to designate it as “Retribution Road,” reported the Mountain View Telegraph.
The “retribution” part comes from the diabolical deed of Gov. A.T. Hannett in the late 1920s. When he lost re-election, he gained his revenge on Santa Fe by using allies to build a new path of U.S. 66 straight west from Santa Rosa to Albuquerque and bypassing the capital. The new road shaved 90 miles off the journey to New Mexico’s largest city.
The new alignment wasn’t designated U.S. 66 until the late 1930s. But Hannett had already gained his revenge against Santa Fe because westbound motorists were more than willing to take a shorter and less-arduous path to Albuquerque.
The committee, dubbed “Retro — Relive the Route” and led by co-chairman Roger Holden, floated good ideas to draw more tourists to Route 66:
Some committee members talked about procuring equipment used in the actual construction [of Route 66], others hoped to add more neon signs along the route. [...] There was also discussion of heightening legislative interest in Santa Fe, involving Moriarty High School students in art projects, adding Route 66 to official maps and websites, and promoting the highway at the state fair, the Balloon Fiesta and other public events.
Everyone seemed to like the idea of planting a midway point marker — somewhere between Edgewood and Moriarty [that marks the midway point of Route 66 in New Mexico. -- Ed.] And plans are in the works for foot races between towns, old-car shows, new signs, historical markers, and, hopefully, changing the formal designation of N.M. 333 to U.S. Hwy 66.
Pogue, who with her husband owns the Sunset Motel, announced that the state’s Historic Preservation Division on Tuesday had just decided that the highway is eligible for a berth on the National Register of Historic Places.
I like most of these ideas, and the panel should pursue them.
However, I’m not sold on rebranding Route 66 as “Retribution Road.” Motorists have a hard enough time following Route 66 in their travels, and adding a name inferred from an obscure story in New Mexico’s history wouldn’t help.
Perhaps a kiosk or display telling the story of Hannett’s Revenge would be proper. But slapping another name on Route 66 road markers would confuse, not help, travelers.
Exploring obscure remnants of Route 66 February 14, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, History.5 comments
Nick Gerlich, a marketing professor at West Texas A&M, explores obscure or near-forgotten stretches of the Mother Road.
This video he produced will prove fascinating to Route 66 researchers. He examines remnants of the old road at Exit 15 of Interstate 40 in the far western Texas Panhandle, near the ghost town of Boise.
It’s remarkable how little of that old road is left. Mother Nature is relentless.
Gerlich also recently posted this video about an obscure Route 66 alignment near Newkirk, N.M.
You can poke around Gerlich’s YouTube channel for other Route 66-related videos, including of the notorious Jericho Gap in Texas.
Confirmed: Depew was first town bypassed by U.S. 66 January 20, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Highways, History, Movies, Towns.1 comment so far
About six months ago, Frank Gifford of rt66pix.com found strong preliminary evidence that indicated Depew, Okla., was the first official Route 66 town bypassed by a later alignment of the Mother Road.
This past week, Gifford said he has confirmed that Depew was indeed the first Route 66 community bypassed, in 1928. He calls Depew “the original Radiator Springs.”
You may remember the 2006 Disney-Pixar animated feature “Cars,” which depicted the fictional Route 66 town of Radiator Springs. One key scene — with the help of singer James Taylor and songwriter Randy Newman — conveys the emotional and economic devastation wreaked on the town after it was bypassed by the interstate.
The bypassing of Depew seems similar to Radiator Springs’ story — except it occurred decades before the interstate era.
With the help of transportation officials in six states where Route 66 traversed plus extensive research in Missouri and New Mexico, Gifford concluded that Depew was the first town bypassed by U.S. 66, less than two years after the highway was certified in November 1926.
Gifford wrote:
The town’s paving [of Route 66] was a giant horseshoe. The state bypassing happened so early because it was so easy. A straight line of pavement north of town cut the mileage by more than half. More importantly, it also eliminated four 90-degree turns on narrow concrete, two at-grade railroad crossings, plus up-and-down slopes of downtown’s small hill.
The bypass of Depew was completed in October 1928, according to Gary Ray Howell of ODOT who pulled construction records (for project FA136B) at my request. The Town Clerk of Depew confirms an important distinction — the new bypass was entirely outside the town limits. She told me: “That about killed the town.” [...]
One road-related structure survives from this era: the Gimmel gas station. The owner confirms it was in operation before bypassing. It is architecturally interesting, built of stone and concrete (with a concrete pump canopy), and well-preserved. Period Sinclair pumps and signage would create an attraction.
Finally, Gifford makes this interesting proposal in his report:
The State of Oklahoma’s Tourism & Recreation Department, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma Route 66 Association, and local groups, should consider the many road-related business and promotional opportunities Depew’s new status offers.
One possibility: “The Cars Corridor” on Route 66. In fact, it already exists, running from Tow Tater in Galena KS, past the Blue Whale, Depew, Pops, Lucille’s, three Oklahoma Rt 66 museums, to the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock TX, ending at the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo. It would simply need to be promoted with that name to the theme park crowd.
Oral history work is needed in Depew to document the Route 66 era, the aftermath, and how other factors contributed to the town’s decline. (A quick on-line search found almost nothing.) And a National Register application should obviously be considered.
Another Route 66 story can now be told. Disney/Pixar had to invent the bypassed town of “Radiator Springs” for the “Cars” movies and “Cars Land.” Oklahoma has the real thing and it’s in a perfect spot — halfway between Pops in Arcadia and the Blue Whale of Catoosa.
The only knock on Gifford’s idea is the inspirations to the Radiator Springs story come from a much longer stretch — as a post I wrote in 2006 reveals — than just 500 miles from Galena to Amarillo. But the abbreviated length of Gifford’s plan also makes it more accessible for weekend getaways.
Whether officials can use the “Radiator Springs” tag in tourism materials is another thing. I’m not a lawyer, but I suspect Disney may have some trademark ownership of the name and its use. The idea seems worth investigating, however.
In case you’re wondering, it’s certain Depew wasn’t the first town bypassed by a U.S. highway. A decade before U.S. 66, the Lincoln Highway was constantly realigned. From the beginning, engineers looked for ways to improve the safety and speed of roads. Bypasses were part of that effort.
(Photo of downtown Depew by Redforkhippie)
Kingman’s Route 66 history January 5, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Highways, History, Towns.add a comment
Norman Fisk of Diamond Valley Productions posted this promotional video about Kingman, Ariz.
It focuses on the attractions of Route 66 in Kingman, plus a lot of the history and 19th-century pioneer trails that led to the Mother Road.