Nearly two weeks ago, the World Monuments Fund announced that American Express was awarding a $150,000 grant for a study to help sustain historic Route 66.
The news release announced several other AmEx grants, so the finer points of the Mother Road money weren’t included. Also, this comment from Route 66 News reader DynoDave motivated me to find out more details.
Today, after gathering more information from a World Monuments Fund spokeswoman and Michael Romero Taylor of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, I am confident the AmEx grant will pay valuable dividends for Route 66.
The grant has three purposes:
- A comprehensive economic study of Route 66.
- A environmental study that focuses on rectifying problems from underground fuel tanks at Route 66 gas stations.
- A assessment and preservation plan for the fire-damaged Santo Domingo Trading Post north of Albuquerque.
The economic study will compile visitor information that’s been collected for years from museums and other gathering spots, said WMF spokeswoman Holly McCannon. It also will gather tourism and financial data from Mother Road businesses during a series of meetings, she said. The economic impact study of Route 66 tourism is scheduled to be finished by late 2009.
Taylor said he’s particularly enthused about the economic study because it’s never been done. The Mother Road’s financial impact has been based on very rough estimates and anecdotal evidence. Within this study, he said, Route 66 finally will have hard numbers on how many jobs it creates, how many people travel it, how much money it generates, which way visitor trends are going, and other useful statistics.
“This is something that we and our (Route 66) partners have wanted for a very long time,” Taylor said, adding that the Corridor Preservation Program specifically requested such a grant from WMF.
Taylor said specific data will make it easier for businesses and preservation groups to justify government grants. It also will ease the quest to pass legislation friendly to Route 66.
That just scratches the surface. Such economic reports can persuade more communities on the road to be more tourism-friendly. Entrepreneurs will be more willing to start Mother Road businesses if they know what to expect. National marketers will be more quick to take notice.
The environmental study about underground gas tanks, slated to be finished in late 2008, is worthwhile, too. Arizona, Kansas and Missouri started their own programs to clean up brownfields and make abandoned gas stations more attractive for redevelopment. But the grant can help states that don’t have these programs.
And a plan for the Santo Domingo Trading Post seems like a constructive endeavor. A local Indian tribe wants to rehabilitate what’s left of the structure and transform it into a museum or interpretive center.
But I’m the most excited about the comprehensive economic study. This is something Route 66ers should get behind and support.
Thanks for the follow up story, Ron.
That sounds like great news. I can definitely see the benefits of all the projects, but especially the comprehensive study, as that’s not something easily done by any of the volunteer Rte. 66 groups alone, or even working together.