1926–1985
Route 66 joined the new U.S. numbered highway system in 1926. Connecting Chicago with the Los Angeles region, it served freight, migration, and leisure travel. Its history includes both the practical needs of people on the move and the businesses that developed to serve them.
Motels, filling stations, and cafes gave the road a distinctive commercial landscape. Interstate construction gradually displaced its role as a through route, and the designation was removed in 1985. Surviving buildings and road segments now provide a way to study how travel changed local economies and everyday architecture.
What to look for
- A corridor linking the Midwest and Southwest
- Roadside lodging, food, and vehicle services
- Historic road segments bypassed by newer highways