Miniature Route 66

The Bowling Green (Ky.) Daily News has a story about David Malcolm Rose’s exhibit of Route 66 sights in miniature at the National Corvette Museum. The article contains several photos shot at the exhibit, and the reporter talked to Rose, too.

Reminding people of the landmarks through the use of models is important because “there was a time when businesses were owned by people who lived in little towns. … They had a loyalty to their business but also a loyalty to their town.”

In many cases, “that’s kind of gone now,” he said.

And many businesses have become homogenized.

“You can drive across the country and eat the same meal at every stop,” he said.

While Rose appreciates that interstates make traveling easier, he wishes the homogenization they brought in terms of architecture and other things would change.

“When our artistic decisions are being made in corporate boardrooms, for an artist that’s kind of scary,” he said. Mom-and-pop businesses along the less-traveled roads “were almost like little laboratories. If something didn’t work, the owner would try something else. If you’re a franchise, you don’t have that flexibility.”

You also can see Rose’s work here.