The new second installment of Russell A. Olsen’s “Route 66 Lost and Found” book (160 pages, $32) made me realize how far the renaissance of the Mother Road has come and how very far it still has to go.
For those who are unfamiliar with his books, Olsen finds vintage photographs of businesses along Route 66, then shoots a photo — often from the same angle — of that same business in the current day. A good example is shown above, of the Blue Dome Station in Tulsa in 1949 and the Blue Dome Station now. The text that accompanies the photos provides a concise and informative history of the property.
But “Route 66 Lost and Found” breaks hearts, too. Little is left of the once-thriving Indian Trails Trading Post near Lupton, Ariz., except for a rocky butte that overlooks it. The Arrow-Head Camp in Glorieta, N.M., is in ruins amid weeds and trees. The Spring River Inn in Riverton, Kan., is little more than a vacant lot. Little is left of the Rio Puerco Trading Post in New Mexico. Road Runner’s Retreat in Amboy, Calif., is abandoned and crumbling. In some ways, “Route 66 Lost and Found” is like a real-life companion to James Taylor’s somber “Our Town” song from the “Cars” movie.
But what also struck me was how much optimism I found in the book, just two years after Olsen’s last volume. Ambler’s Texaco gas station in Dwight, Ill., is set to be renovated and become a Route 66 interpretive center. Odell Station in Odell, Ill., Magnolia Station in Vega, Texas, and Soulsby’s Service Station in Mount Olive, Ill., have been lovingly restored. Palms Grill Cafe in Atlanta, Ill., is being renovated after years of neglect. The Blue Dome of Tulsa sits amid a rapidly improving business district. The Flying C Ranch in Palma, N.M., bears little resemblance to its old self but continues to thrive. De Anza Motor Lodge in Albuquerque is about to be reborn.
In Olsen’s Afterword, he updates readers on changes to properties featured in the first volume. The Wishing Well Motel in Countryside, Ill., is endangered after longtime owner Zora Vidas died. The Winona Trading Post has changed from a Texaco to a Shell but is otherwise the same. The Log Cabin Lodge in Gallup, N.M., continued to decline and was razed. Shady Rest Court in Tulsa was bulldozed after it deteriorated into an unsanitary flophouse.
The book ends on an optimistic note — the full restoration of the Cool Springs Camp near Kingman, Ariz., after some 40 years of neglect. As interest in Route 66 continues to grow, perhaps success stories like this one will become more common.