Route 66 - America's Main Street
category : Landmarks
It is known as the Main Street of America - The Mother Road - The Free Road - even the Will Rogers Highway. And it evokes images of roadside diner's, mom-and-pop truck stops, old-fashioned service stations, motor courts, neon signs, and classic American automobiles.It is the famous Route 66, officially dedicated on November 11, 1926, 2,440 miles long joining Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. This revolutionary new road spanned eight states and three time zones, crossing rural countrysides, small towns, and major metropolitan hubs.
Oklahoma, the state where East meets West, stood at the heart of Route 66. For down-and-out sharecroppers, it was the road of opportunity. For travelers, it was a highway that bid America to "Get Your Kicks." From Quapaw to Texola and more than 400 miles between, the spirit of Route 66 came alive.
Through the past seven decades Route 66 has remained a reflection of America's ever-changing culture. it spawned a new breed of roadside diners, encouraged innovations in lodging and tourist attractions, and suymbolized the American ideals of high adventure and free-wheeling mobility. And it has left us a timeless reminder of our nation's heritage.
- In Elk City, the Road jogs from the I - 40 section at Exit 41 east of the city and becomes Bus. 40 to Van Buren and then to 3rd Street through Elk City. Southwest of the city it parallels I-40 again at Exit 32 where it follows the new road into Sayre until another jog before Sayre takes you on the original Road again.
Come visit us in Oklahoma, Oklahoma