Route 66 exhibit at Missouri History Museum begins today

The Missouri History Museum in St. Louis begins today its “Route 66: Main Street Through St. Louis” exhibit through July 16, 2017.

The museum sits at 5700 Lindell Blvd. (map here) in Forest Park. The Route 66 show has free admission.

Here’s one of the images displayed at the show, of the Chain of Rocks Bridge in 1929, shortly after it opened:

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch recently published a story about the show:

“There were many ‘re-alignments’ of 66 through St. Louis,” says Sharon Smith, curator of civic and personal identity at the museum. “We will highlight the iconic places to eat, sleep and refuel in St. Louis that once existed, as well as those that remain.”

Incorporated into the exhibit will be vintage automobiles, trucks and trailers, and plenty of music and neon signs characteristic of the time Route 66 was most popular. […]

“One of our exhibits will be an interactive map of Route 66 through Missouri,” Smith says. “Visitors can highlight current-day Route 66 attractions, and historic and current photos and facts about the location will appear.”

The museum scheduled plenty of related special events during the show’s run, including about the Negro Motorist Green Book, a concert from the Western Satellites, AAA Day, and a speech by “Route 66: The Mother Road” author and St. Louis native Michael Wallis. More about the related shows may be found here.

Jim Thole of the Route 66 Association of Missouri‘s Neon Heritage Preservation Committee sent along these photos from a few days ago, when the restored Motel St. Louis neon sign that once stood in St. James, Missouri, was installed in front of the museum to help promote the show:

(1929 image of the Chain of Rocks Bridge in St. Louis by Missouri History Museum; image of Motel St. Louis sign and interior of Missouri History Museum’s show by Jim Thole)