The Rise and Fall of Route 66 (Why America's Greatest Road Fell into Oblivion)

route 66 is over 90 years old and has definitely  become a road less traveled however for those with   the time there are plenty of weird attractions to  see along this iconic route starting in chicago   and ending in los angeles heavy on nostalgia  route 66 still provides plenty of kicks but   did you ever wonder how it came to be and how  it came to fall well today we will discover   the rise and fall of route 66 i'm your host  ryan socash and you're watching it's history this video has been brought to you by bespoke a  free to join monthly membership club delivering   awesome boxes of top shelf goods from under the  radar brands every month they introduce their   members to cool new products like outdoor gear  bar wear home and kitchen goods clothing and more   members fill out a preference quiz when signing up  and almost like magic things you love will arrive   in the mail you'll never get bored as the box  lineup changes every month and each box has around   70 dollars in value 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seasoning isn't an issue either it's amazing  that after a quick survey boxes filled with items   perfectly suited to my passions arrived at  my doorstep it couldn't have been easier and   honestly it almost feels as if someone i know  personally chose this assortment so my advice to   you is to sign up right away to get twenty 20 off  your first box click the link in the description   and enter it's history 20 at checkout or go to  bespokepost.com it's history 20. us route 66   also known as the will rogers highway was one  of the original highways constructed by the   u.s highway system in 1926 but before that date  travelers would indeed traverse westward along   what is the unknown primitive path of route  66 cultivated in the early 1800s when american   pioneers beckoned westward into unsettled areas  adventurers in pursuit of land ownership and the   riches of gold and silver these pioneers went  west of the mississippi eventually penetrating   the pacific ocean traveling by horseback and wagon  trail they forged what would become corridors for   others to follow along the way to new territories  boom towns sprouted and soon the wild west period   went full throttle railroads eventually were  built alongside the dusty trails enabling more   incredible migration and development of commerce  routes naturally the fastest transportation in   the 19th century was the train with the first  transcontinental railroad being completed in 1869   across the northern part of america a southern  link was completed in 1883 from new orleans to   los angeles it would take another 50 years for the  car to compete effectively against these trains   a time that would indeed arrive soon enough when  ford's horseless carriage would change the face   of travel forever although automobiles have been  around since the late 1800s they began to become   more prevalent towards the end of the first decade  of the 20th century the automobile experienced a   boom in the early 1920s from 180 000 registered  vehicles in 1910 to 17 million in 1920. this   increase in cars led to a growing demand for  better roads and a coherent network of highways   cars transformed the nation and the world it  simplified the way people could move about   turning the key in the ignition was much easier  than saddling a horse it modified family life   jobs and horizons by allowing people to travel  further quicker and with flexibility it was more   adaptable than taking a train therefore the  path of route 66 was modified for cars and   followed many of the tracks initially forged  by exploring pioneers in the early 1800s   by intention route 66 was not a straight highway  but it zigzagged across the midwest the plains   in the southwest on its way to santa monica and  the pacific coast although seemingly inefficient   in terms of going from point a to b route  66 was designed to connect small towns in   a pattern that focused on relatively flat  terrain through areas of favorable weather   from the beginning u.s route 66 was designed  to connect the main streets of rural and urban   communities along its route because at the time  most small towns had no access to significant   national roadway well not the first long distance  highway or the most traveled route 66 ultimately   gained fame beyond almost any other road carrying  hundreds of thousands of depression-era migrants   from the midwest who went to california hoping for  jobs and a better life even though route 66 does   not stand out as america's oldest or longest  road it is significant as the nation's first   all-weather highway linking chicago to los angeles  and this connection was no coincidence actually it   all started when legislation for public streets  first appeared in 1916 with revisions in 1921.   it was not until congress enacted an even  more comprehensive version in 1925 that the   government executed its plan for national highway  construction officially the numerical designation   66 was assigned to the chicago to los angeles  route in the summer of 1926. with that designation   came its acknowledgement as one of the nation's  principal east-west arteries public road planners   intended u.s 66 to connect the main streets of  rural and urban communities along its course for   the most practical reasons most small towns had  no prior access to a major national thoroughfare   cyrus avery a businessman in tulsa oklahoma is  credited with creating the identity of route 66   avery saw the need for better roads throughout  his state and as chairman of the state highway   commission he helped plan the national system of  numbered highways his proposal for a road from   chicago to los angeles along the southwestern  route was approved and designated us-66 in   1926. from there avery founded the us-66 highway  association and coined the route's nickname quote   main street of america as a boy avery and his  family journeyed west from pennsylvania by covered   wagon to missouri and later settled in indian  territory he made his living in farming real   estate and oil among other ventures and became  a civic leader in oklahoma avery participated in   the good roads movement which advocated for  improved american roadways the movement was   started in the late 1800s by bicyclists and  grew during the early 1900s with the arrival   of mass-produced automobiles during route 66's  planning avery was instrumental in getting it to   pass through oklahoma additionally avery pushed to  get the entire highway paved a task completed by   the late 1930s overall route 66 reduced the  distance between chicago and los angeles by   more than 200 miles for the great benefit of  thousands of motorists who drove west in the   subsequent decades from 1933 to 1938 thousands of  unemployed male youths from virtually every state   were put to work as laborers on road gangs to pave  the final stretches of the road as a result of   this monumental effort the chicago to los angeles  highway was reported as continuously paved in 1938   avery was later nicknamed father of route 66 oddly  route 66 was almost named route 60. you see even   though route 66 was not a transcontinental road  avery wanted it to be numbered as if it was us-60   or in other words a multiple of ten but the us-60  name was displayed by a highway following the   historical national roosevelt midland trail the  feds proposed route 62 as an alternative but avery   came up with the name 66 and sent a telegram from  springfield missouri to washington dc this request   was approved and route 66 was born so then you  might ask what became of route 60. well eventually   us-60 began in newport news virginia and crossed  west virginia kentucky and the mississippi at   cairo ending at its crossing with u.s 66 in  missouri near springfield only later would it   continue across oklahoma and texas crossing route  66 again in armarillo before finally reaching los   angeles running along what is now the alignment  of interstate 10 with its current western terminal   being courtside arizona traffic on highway 66  increased as did a need for facilities such as   food fuel repairs and shelter a fact that  transformed the economies of the towns through   which route 66 passed therefore in 1941 carl and  lucille hammonds purchased a gasoline station   in a tourist court on a rural stretch of route 66  in province oklahoma lucille ran the business and   lived there for almost 60 years her self-reliance  and generous assistance to motorists earned her   the nickname mother of the mother road it's also  important to point out that the evolution of   tourist targeted facilities is well represented  in the roadside architecture along u.s highway   66. you see this roadway spawned rapid growth  westward giving rise to small towns in major   u.s cities including oklahoma city and albuquerque  this brisk development of tourism spawned motels   shops filling stations and rather bizarre roadside  attractions route 66 changed the travel landscape   and cemented its reputation as a microcosm of  the cultures of america linked by the automobile   most americans who drove the route did not stay  in hotels preferring the novel accommodations   that emerged from the automobile travel known as  motels you see motels evolved from their earliest   forms of the american roadside such as the auto  camp and the tourist home the auto camp developed   as a townspeople along route 66 with roped off  spaces where travelers could camp for the night   camp supervisors some of whom were employed  by the various states provided water firewood   flush toilets showers and laundry facilities  oftentimes free of charge indian trading posts   also became popular route 66 crossed parts of new  mexico that had long been tourist attractions for   example starting in the early 1900s the santa fe  railroad promoted the area to wealthy tourists   the tourists wanted souvenirs and store owners or  indian crafts people were happy to oblige them the   first popular tourist crafts were navajo weaving  and silverwork however during the segregation   era african americans were unfortunately  banned from many motels restaurants and   other businesses along route 66 bordering the  highway were several so-called sundown towns   communities where african americans were unwelcome  after dark and kept out through intimidation force   or even local ordinance in 1936 victor h green an  african-american postal worker from new york city   started publishing the green book a travel guide  featuring places to stay eat and shop that were   friendly to african-american travelers the green  book series continued to be published until 1966.   overall route 66 did have a significant impact  on the small communities and large towns that   were lined up along it traffic brought businesses  and customers to local merchants and allowed goods   to flow from the local farmers and factories  to the rest of the nation its southerly course   made it a popular alternative to other east-west  corridors it had a more temperate climate than   those located further north and it crossed the  flat prairies avoiding dangerous high passes in   the rocky mountains which meant it was open during  the winter luckily a growing trucking industry   found its diagonal course appealing as it linked  dozens of small farming communities and trucks   distributed their product truck traffic grew  from 1 500 vehicles per day to 7 500 between 1931   and 1941. john steinbeck who would later win the  nobel prize in literature coined the name mother   road as a californian he experienced the reality  of those fleeing the terrible effects of the dust   bowl only to find no hope in california in 1939  he penned his novel grapes of wrath recording the   suffering of a migrant family who lost their  farm during the depression the dust bowl was   a severe drought in the 1930s coupled with wind  erosion due to poor farming techniques that led   to vast dust storms in the prairies of the united  states and canada clouds of dust darkened the sky   also known as black blizzards and deposited  dust as far east as new york over 100 million   acres were affected by erosion and drought tens of  thousands of families had to abandon their farms   as they defaulted on their mortgages they had to  seek fortune elsewhere so an estimated 210 000   people took to route 66 and migrated to california  seeking jobs but the depression had struck the   nation and as time passed most would simply drive  back from where they came only eight percent of   those migrants remained in the golden state but  it wasn't all in vain as their comings and goings   helped businesses along route 66 and many mom and  pop companies survived the depression years by   catering to them so thanks to john steinbeck's  book and the 1940 movie route 66 has remained   in american memory so at this point you might be  wondering what are the best sites along the road   well there are many weird stops along route 66 for  example the muffler man statue in atlanta illinois   this tall fiberglass statue is a glorious  example of roadside kitsch that evokes memories   of route 66. for years this hot dog holding giant  advertised a hot dog restaurant in cicero when the   restaurant closed the statue moved about 150 miles  south of its current home in atlanta illinois   next up is the world's second largest rocking  chair in fanning missouri this giant rocking   chair used to be the most oversized rocker in  the world but it's since been demoted despite   being the second largest it's still a whopping 42  feet tall built by the owner of a nearby general   store the rockers alone are more than 31 feet long  and weigh about 2 000 pounds each and legend has   it that when they moved the entire earth seemed  to shake unfortunately this massive chair is no   longer mobile due to safety concerns another  hot spot is cadillac ranch in armarillo texas   which is arguably the most famous ranch on route  66 technically it's a few miles off the road even   so it is worth the extra mileage to swing by  this ranch of a different color began as an art   installation in the 1970s and has never lost its  appeal visitors are even encouraged to add their   own touch of paint to the cars then we have the  oddity along route 66 known as the whale of katusa   in katusa oklahoma and its adjacent pond when the  original owners died the whale turned even bluer   as it began to fall apart luckily for visitors  and the whale the local citizens got together   and restored it to its former glory today people  can stroll through the whale's mouth and climb a   ladder up the tail for better vantage point lastly  another excellent place to stop is wild burros   in arizona what appears to be a pleasant town soon  reveals itself to be anything but thanks to the   wild donkeys roaming free but the donkeys are used  to people and not afraid if approached however   locals say it's best not to feed them and to be  careful when you try to pet one as cute as they   are they are still wild animals with big teeth  route 66 has proven to be a constant and defining   presence in american cinema route 66 has been used  in dozens of movies including recent examples like   rv starring robin williams and the disney animated  feature cars the highway has also been featured as   a primary or incidental element in many american  movie classics a notable example of this is the   classic 1988 feature film rainman starring dustin  hoffman in one of his primary roles many scenes in   the movie were shot at various locations alongside  route 66 principally in oklahoma because of the   highway's sheer size and a nearly endless variety  of scenery natural and artificial route 66 has   long been one of america's most enduring backdrops  for film well much of what made route 66 special   has disappeared following its decommissioning as  a major american highway in 1985 there remains   plenty of evidence to be seen and cherished by  historical and pop culture lovers large chunks of   route 66 related memorabilia have been preserved  at such venues as the route 66 association hall   of fame and museum among many others after the  u.s congress passed the route 66 study act of   1990 this roadway became recognized as a symbol of  the american people's heritage of travel and their   legacy of seeking a better life the legislation  resulted in the national park service conducting   the significance of route 66 in american history  and identifying options for its preservation   interpretation and use so i suppose it's safe to  say that route 66 has since passed into the realm   of myth and history but it continues to cast a  long shadow over the present making the promise   of route 66 more nostalgic and attractive to  travelers so until next time hit that subscribe   button and don't miss our episode about the new  jersey turnpike this is ryan socash signing off

Channel: IT'S HISTORY

Views: 428,137

Keywords: urban exploring, highways, Route 66, migrate, Travelers, independence, freedom, weird attractions, Chicago, Los Angeles, Will Rogers Highway, U.S. Highway System, American pioneers, adventure, Mississippi, boomtowns, horse, wagon, Transcontinental Railroad, New Orleans, automobiles, twentieth century, roads, Midwest, U.S. 66, urban communities, national roadway, long-distance highway, Depression-era migrants, America’s oldest, longest road, Route 60, Dust Bowl, The Whale of Catoosa

Id: uUgtzIstp7c

Length: 20min 11sec (1211 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 14 2022