The resurrection of Old Route 66 as a tourist attraction has spawned smaller, but no less enthusiastic, efforts to revitalize other historic two-lane roads. U.S. 50, the Lincoln Highway and the National Road are examples of this.
It looks like U.S. 27 is being added to the list. According to the The Morning Sun of Mount Pleasant, Mich., a bunch of communities in Michigan are seeking to add U.S. 27 as a Heritage Route, which would eventually qualify it for the National Scenic Byways program.
And look who’s leading the effort:
The project is the brainchild of car enthusiast Craig Parrish of Dewitt. He once was involved with the preservation of the former U.S. 66, which once stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Today, parts of the road in Illinois, New Mexico and Arizona, designated as Historic Route 66, are designated as National Scenic Byways.
“We’re trying to get 27 the same status,” Parrish said. “Old 27, the north-south road, was like Route 66 in its heyday.” […]
He said he’s convinced that car enthusiasts would love to have a clearly marked, historic route to travel, much as they do on Historic Route 66. Parrish believes that could boost tourism.
He’s organizing a classic car tour of Old 27 for August 21 through 26, which will travel from Coldwater to Cheboygan.
”About 90 percent of the old route is still there,“ Parrish said.
According to the U.S. Highways site, U.S. 27 originally started from St. Ignace, Mich., and went to Miami, Fla. In addition to Michigan and Florida, it goes through Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia. The original alignment goes more than 1,700 miles.
U.S. 27 doesn’t technically exist any longer in Michigan, but as this site explains, U.S. 127 was designated on much of the original route. Here’s a nice site about U.S. 27 in Michigan.
thank you for this, went down many times in the 60,70 on old 27, dad driving, behind the coal trucks, around and up and down, lovely scenes, never to be forgotten stuckies, oh gosh, the old pop machinces, yes it was great with no moives, no blue claws, nothing but our own songs and burma-shave signs.
Hi all, check out our new website promoting Old 27. We have met Craig a few times. He is doing a great job on getting Old 27 the national designation it needs. Soon Historic Old 27 will be as popular as Route 66.
Check us out http://www.historicold27.com
Well, that’s optimistic, but I doubt it.
Route 66 has too much history and popular culture going for it. I don’t see anything supplanting the Mother Road as the most popular historic highway.