Taking note of Route 66's 90th birthday, the Wall Street Journal a couple of days ago produced this video -- virtually all of it in California's Mojave Desert -- about America's most famous highway: At 4 1/2 minutes, it conveys the road's history and the challenges it faces quite well. (Video-capture excerpt from Wall Street … Continue reading Wall Street Journal produces short video on Route 66
Category: Publications
Curt Teich Postcard Archive to be donated to Chicago library
TheCurt Teich Postcard Archive, which contains thousands of vintage images from Route 66 from the 1920s to the 1970s, soon will be donated to The Newberry library in Chicago. The Lake County Forest Preserve District, which had owned the archive for decades, said the deal to The Newberry likely will be finalized sometime next week … Continue reading Curt Teich Postcard Archive to be donated to Chicago library
Book review: “Portrait of Route 66”
"Portrait of Route 66" provides many colorful or obscure images from the massive Curt Teich Postcard Archive, and it offers a look at the Mother Road from the mid-1920s to the early 1950s. But one of the most enjoyable parts of "Portrait of Route 66" (280 pages, cloth, illustrated, University of Oklahoma Press) turns out to be … Continue reading Book review: “Portrait of Route 66”
When much of Route 66 was segregated
If you've got an hour, watch this recent video about author and photographer Candacy Taylor, who attended the Bay Area Book Festival to talk about her research into Route 66 and the Negro Motorist Green Book. If you're not familiar with the Green Book, it was an annual guide published from 1936 to 1966 by Harlem postal … Continue reading When much of Route 66 was segregated
“American Indians and Route 66” guide published
A 68-page "American Indians and Route 66" guide for tourists recently was published, along with its companion website. "American Indians and Route 66" is a partnership between the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association and the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, which awarded a cost-share grant for the publication. Lisa Hicks Snell, a member of the … Continue reading “American Indians and Route 66” guide published
This shows why black people aren’t nostalgic about Route 66
Interest in the history of Route 66 largely is fueled by the memories of people who traveled the Mother Road from 1946 to the mid-1960s. It's nostalgia. Black people don't share nostalgia as enthusiastically. I surmised it was because Jim Crow laws kept African-Americans at least uncomfortable or, at worst, fearful for their lives until the civil-rights … Continue reading This shows why black people aren’t nostalgic about Route 66
Newspaper lists 66 Things About Route 66 in Illinois
For the past few weeks, the State Journal-Register in Springfield, Illinois, embarked on an ambitious project to list daily a landmark on Route 66 in the state. It was called 66 Things About Route 66, and each entry featured a photograph and a few paragraphs about it. The newspaper finished No. 66 on Tuesday morning. … Continue reading Newspaper lists 66 Things About Route 66 in Illinois
Pontiac shield featured on cover of National Geographic Route 66 calendar
The giant Route 66 shield mural featured on the back of the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac, Illinois, is the cover image of the 2016 Route 66 wall calendar published by National Geographic. The cover image is seen above. The inside of the calendar features images from the Blue Swallow … Continue reading Pontiac shield featured on cover of National Geographic Route 66 calendar
Documentary film, book coming about Negro Travelers Green Book
This weekend, filmmakers Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Becky Wible Searles will interview relatives of the former publisher of the Negro Travelers Green Book for a documentary, according to the New York Times. Victor Hugo Green, a letter carrier who lived in New York City, in 1936 began publishing the guidebook to help travelers find black-friendly … Continue reading Documentary film, book coming about Negro Travelers Green Book
Full inventory of Negro Motorist Green Book sites released
Here's another reason to go on a road trip: The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program has released a list of all the properties listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book from 1936 to 1964 during the Jim Crow era of rampant racial segregation. A full list of the properties and their statuses is here. Kaisa … Continue reading Full inventory of Negro Motorist Green Book sites released