On Saturday, Chicago will host a 90th-birthday party for Route 66 near the eastern terminus of the Mother Road.
According to Time Out Chicago, the Illinois Office of Tourism will throw up a pop-up birthday party for Route 66 on Jackson Boulevard in downtown Chicago, near Michigan Avenue, where the historic highway begins.
The nearby Bow Truss coffee shop at 73 E. Jackson Blvd. will help with the celebration. According to Time Out:
This Saturday, between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., attendees will be able to see memorabilia from the Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum and a classic car from the Berwyn Route 66 Museum, plus watch as a Route 66 mural is painted.
The event will also feature music, food and free samples of Bow Truss’s new Route 66–themed coffee blend, which is roasted with chocolate, cherries and peaches (not that we understand the significance of these flavors).
Jackson Boulevard, incidentally, is the eastbound part of Route 66 in downtown Chicago. To go west, you go a block north to Adams Street.
(Image of the end of Route 66 in Chicago by Martin Kessler via Flickr)
Happy Birthday Route 66!!!!