Book review: “Route 66: Then and Now”

Call it a cousin to the “Route 66 Lost and Found.”

Author Joe Sonderman in a Facebook post in January acknowledged that influence from Russell Olsen’s books. Those “Lost and Found” books (now compiled into one volume) showed decades-old images of Route 66 landmarks and newer photos — both often taken from the same angle — showing the ravages of time and change or the careful maintenance of their caretakers.

But more than 10 years have passed since Olsen’s last new “Lost and Found” book, and London-based Pavilion Books persuaded Sonderman a new take might be in order.

“Route 66: Then and Now” contains dazzling and sometime-obscure color photos and plenty of Sonderman’s diligent research. For instance:

• Sonderman found an old image of La Cita restaurant in Tucumcari, New Mexico, before its now-famous big sombrero was built above the entrance.
• The current-day site of the famed Andreas Feininger photo of Seligman, Arizona, in 1947 is almost unrecognizable, mostly because the highway was widened.
• Baseball fans will appreciate Sonderman writing about the location of Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis, the home of the Cardinals and Browns for decades. (It’s at Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street.)
• The future site of the Gateway Arch in St. Louis was a moribund riverfront with grimy buildings, a shown in a 1936 photo.
• Before-and-after shots of the Coral Court Motel in Marlborough, Missouri, prove striking. All that’s left of the Art Deco masterpiece are small sections of stone walls fronting a nondescript subdivision.
• The Sky View Drive-In theater in Litchfield, Illinois, survives, but its original big screen, shown from a 1950 image, did not.

What’s remarkable about Sonderman’s book is Route 66 sites that have changed little over the decades — Lou Mitchell’s in Chicago; Rialto Theatre in Joliet, Illinois; the Old Courthouse in Pontiac, Illinois; Hooker Cut in Hooker, Missouri; Rest Haven Motel in Springfield, Missouri; Coleman Theatre in Miami, Oklahoma; Round Barn of Arcadia, Oklahoma; and downtown Santa Fe and its La Fonda Hotel. Show someone this list when he or she complains about Route 66 losing all its landmarks.

The book is fun, and it might be a good option for someone who wants to do some early Christmas shopping.

Recommended.