A company based in Washington state is developing a touring show, “America’s Road: The Journey of Route 66,” that will
launch in early 2014. It is seeking artifacts or objects it can borrow to help tell the Mother Road’s story.
Seth Leary of NRG! Exhibits is based in Kirkland, Wash., but grew up in the Route 66 town of Springfield, Ill. He explained his enthusiasm for Route 66 in an email:
I knew Bob Waldmire and he was instrumental in fueling my desire to explore the Mother Road. I made a research trip for the exhibit three years ago with my son, who was then 12 years old, in a 1965 Mustang. It was a great experience.
A pamphlet that describes the Route 66 exhibit says it will feature these things:
- A 1965 Ford Mustang convertible
- Population change over time map
- Drive-in theater experience
- Share travel stories
- Guess-the-artist radio show
- Photo essay from the “Route 66: Lost and Found” books
Sounds good. But Leary would welcome any efforts to make the exhibit better:
The exhibit is not intended to be full of artifacts but I would like to have a few things for visitors to see that were part of the road’s history. […] Ideally, I would like to borrow pieces for an extended loan but purchasing is also a possibility. I don’t want to deprive a collector of their favorite pieces but maybe someone would like to show off a really unique artifact to the world.
If you have an artifact or object that may prove useful for the exhibit, you can contact NRG here.
The exhibit can be rented for $6,600 for one month, or $12,600 for three months. It’s already booked for summer 2014.
A placeholder website for the exhibit is here. “America’s Road: The Journey of Route 66” has a pamphlet you may download here (two-page PDF format).