The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership is working with the Research Route 66 Consortium and the
University of New Mexico to explore the feasibility of establishing a Route 66 National Center there.
That intriguing item was tucked into the partnership’s third-quarter report.
Audra Bellmore, a member of the consortium, is the lead person on the initiative, with the partnership’s Bill Thomas as the liaison.
According to the report, Bellmore was tasked with “gaining support for the National Center Initiative
amongst UNM faculty, NPS Partners, Road Ahead Board, local, county, state-wide community entities.”
Thomas and Bellmore also met with Kaisa Barthuli of the federal Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program about the matter. Bellmore also conserved with Amy Webb of the National Trust for Historic Preservation; Aaron Mahr, director of the National Park Service, National Trails programs; and Angelica Sanchez Clark, National Trails coordinator.
Other conversations to gain support for National Center at UNM have been had with the following:
- City of Albuquerque, Department of Cultural Affairs
- Bernalillo County, Route 66 Visitor Center
- New Mexico State Historic Preservation Division
- Historic Santa Fe Foundation
- Spanish Colonial Arts Museum
- Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
The National Route 66 Center is just at the feasibility stage, but the report makes clear that Bellmore already has accomplished a lot with it in less than a year.
Other items from the third-quarter report:
- “The Bibliography of Route 66,” prepared by David Dunaway and Steve Mandrogoc, will be available starting next month from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program in print and for free online.
- A National Endowment for the Humanities funded a grant to train teachers. “This means that in
July 2023, 72 teachers from around the country will be flown into flagstaff for training and curriculum
development in a new, multicultural vision of the Mother Road.” - The California Department of Transportation anticipates storm-damaged and old bridges won’t be repaired along Route 66 in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County until after Route 66’s centennial in 2026.
(Image of a Route 66 shield on the road in Adrian, Texas, by Thomas Hawk via Flickr)
Why Albuquerque, NM?
Why not Albuquerque?
Indeed. Nothing against NM. I just didn’t see (maybe I missed it) why there was such a push for this location, why it was selected, the unique benefits of same, etc.). I guess my thought is, if you are creating a NATIONAL center for the study of Rt. 66 (IE: people from ALL OVER the country coming to use the facility), and the route runs from the MIDDLE of the country to the west, then something more central might make sense?