Route 66 is throwing a party, and we’re all invited

U.S. Route 66 celebrates its 100th birthday in 2026.

Having grown up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, I am quite familiar with Route 66, better known as the “Mother Road.”

My boyhood home was one-half mile south of Route 66, which is 11th Street in Tulsa.

In fact, one city block of my newspaper route was on Route 66.

Every morning I walked or rode my bicycle on Route 66.

When I was a kid, I didn’t give it much thought.

Today, with all the popularity of Route 66, I enjoy telling people that I grew up one-half mile from the famous highway.

In Tulsa, Route 66 featured many eateries and motels, including the now demolished Will Rogers Motor Court.

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The famous motel sign is now part of the Route 66 Neon Sign Park in Tulsa and located at the Southwestern end of the 11th Street Bridge, which carries the road across the Arkansas River near downtown Tulsa.

In addition, there are other stores and eateries in Tulsa town, including Buck Atom’s Cosmic Curios on 66, Mother Road Market and Tulsa Market District, an innovative, entrepreneurial district and home to Route 66 attractions, restaurants, bars, art galleries and retail shops.

Route 66 covers 2,448 miles starting in Chicago and rolling through Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and ends in Santa Monica, California.

According to Wikipedia, U.S. Route 66 was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on Nov. 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year.

Many books and now social media posts and videos popularize the road.

Some of the most famous books include “Route 66: The First 100 Years” by Graham Shellee and Jim Ross, “Route 66: The Mother Road” by Michael Wallis, “Ghost Towns of Route 66” by Jim Hinckley, “Route 66, A Photographic Essay” and “Along Route 66” by Quinta Scott, “EZ 66 Guide for Travelers” by Jerry McClanahan, “Travel Route 66” by Jim Hinckley and “The Best Hits on Route 66: 100 Essential Stops on the Mother Road” by Amy Bizzarri.

According to Wikipedia, Route 66 was recognized in popular culture by the 1946 hit song “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” written by Bobby Troup and recorded in April 1946 by the King Cole Trio.

The Route 66 television series, which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, featured Martin Milner of “Adam-12” fame, George Maharis, Glenn Corbett, Robert Redford, William Shatner and Donna Douglas. It was a popular television show about two men traveling the United States in a Chevrolet Corvette convertible and the events and consequences surrounding their journeys.

There is a board game entitled “Route 66 Travel Game” centered around the television show, along with a number of other board games about the famous road. I would love to find the television version board game and add it to my collection.

And in John Steinbeck’s novel, “The Grapes of Wrath,” published in 1939 (one of my favorite books), the highway symbolizes escape, loss and the hope of a new beginning; Steinbeck dubbed it the Mother Road. Other designations and nicknames include the Will Rogers Highway and the Main Street of America, the latter nickname shared with U.S. Route 40.

Route 66 was decommissioned June 27, 1985. However, Route 66 has not totally vanished. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, about 85% of the road is actually still drivable — it just exists under a variety of other official names and numbers, though sometimes marked with a “Historic Route 66” sign.

One article I found said the road became functionally obsolete because of narrow pavements and antiquated structural features that reduced carrying capacity.

These days there is quite an interest in the road. I know several people here in Iowa who have traveled the road or traveled parts of it more than once.

A good friend of mine in Lebanon, Missouri is part of the Lebanon-Laclede County Route 66 Society. There is a nice Route 66 Museum worth the visit at the Lebanon Public Library. And of course, Lebanon is home to the Munger Moss Motel located on the famous highway and still in operation.

And last year while visiting another friend who is an art and photography teacher at Lebanon High School, I learned that some of his students were painting tiles of sites in Lebanon that were then placed around a Route 66 mural in the city park.

Travelers of the road will discover many attractions such as the world’s second largest rocking chair in Cuba, Missouri; Route 66 Drive-In in Carthage, Missouri; The Blue Whale in Catoosa, Oklahoma; Arcadia round barn in Arcadia, Oklahoma; Ed Galloway’s Totem Poles in Foyil, Oklahoma; Meadow Gold Sign and the Blue Dome District in my hometown of Tulsa; Gearhead Curios in Galena, Kansas; Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas; Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona; Illinois Rock & Roll Museum in Joliet, Illinois; Tee Pee Curios and M. Richardson’s Trading Company, both in New Mexico; and Elbow Inn Bar and BBQ in Devils Elbow, Missouri where the owner has a fine tradition of hanging women’s bras from the ceiling.

And in 2026, the Hemmings Great Race will travel Route 66 from Illinois to California.

There is a ton of history about Route 66 available on the internet as well as information about planned celebrations in states and communities all along the Mother Road. Consider marking your calendar and joining in on all the fun at a small town along the route.

Have a great week, and always remember that “Good Things are Happening” every day.