U.S. Route 66

U.S. Route 66 was a highway connecting Chicago, Illinois, with Santa Monica, California. Established in 1926, it became an emblem of American road travel and was removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985.

Federal Aid Highway Act of 1921: A U.S. law that established a system of federally funded primary roads. Federal road funding helped create the national network that Route 66 joined.
U.S. Route numbering: A system for assigning numbers to the national network of U.S. highways. Route 66’s number followed the grid-based conventions used for the system.
Chain of Rocks Bridge: A former Route 66 bridge over the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, known for its unusual midspan bend. It carried early Route 66 traffic across the Mississippi and remains a preserved landmark.
Dust Bowl migration: The mass movement of people from drought-stricken Great Plains states during the 1930s. Many migrants traveled west along Route 66 in search of work and security.
Decommissioning of U.S. Route 66: The removal of Route 66 from the U.S. Highway System, completed in 1985. Its official end followed the replacement of many segments by interstate highways.
U.S. Highway System: A network of numbered roads designated by the American Association of State Highway Officials beginning in 1926. Route 66 was one of the system’s original routes.
Historic Route 66 in Illinois: The Illinois portion of Route 66, running from Chicago toward the state’s border with Missouri. Its northern segment shows how the highway began at Chicago and crossed the state.
Cadillac Ranch: A public art installation near Amarillo, Texas, featuring Cadillacs buried nose-down in a field. The installation became one of Route 66’s most recognizable roadside attractions.
The Grapes of Wrath: John Steinbeck’s 1939 novel about an Oklahoma family displaced by the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. The novel made Route 66 a prominent symbol of hardship and westward migration.
National Historic Route 66 Federation: A nonprofit organization formed to preserve and promote historic Route 66 and its communities. Preservation groups helped sustain interest after the highway’s decommissioning.

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