Anthony Reichardt recently uploaded more videos from Route 66 trips he undertook in a 1959 Cadillac during the early to mid-1990s.
The videos contain plenty of historic value because it documents landmarks that have disappeared or changed. Reichardt’s dedicated YouTube channel now contains more than 30 videos, and they’re still coming. Watching them are worth your time, especially if you view them in full-screen mode.
The first is from the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri, when Harold and Pauline Armstrong ran it and a good room could be had for $17 a night — incredibly inexpensive by even mid-1990s standards.
Connie Echols restored the Wagon Wheel not long after Harold Armstrong’s death in 2008 and has become a must-stop in Route 66 lore.
Here’s a video of the 66 Hotel Court in Litchfield, Illinois, torn down in 1999.
Finally, here are a couple of clips from the U-Drop Inn in Shamrock, Texas, including one when the cafe there still was operating:
After undergoing a complete restoration about 15 years ago, the U-Drop Inn now serves as a tourist welcome center.
(Image of the Wagon Wheel Motel’s neon sign by Jim Grey via Flickr)