US Highway 66, colloquially known as the Main Street of America, was established on November 11, 1926 as one of the original federal highways. It ran 2,448 miles from Chicago through St. Louis, Joplin MO, Oklahoma City, Amarillo TX, Albuquerque NM, and Flagstaff AZ, before ending in Los Angeles.
Route 66 served as a major path for those migrating west, especially during the Dust Bowl days of the Great Depression, and it provided major economic support to the towns through which it passed. People doing business along the route became prosperous due to the growing popularity of the highway, and those same people later fought to keep the highway alive in the face of the growing threat of being bypassed by the limited access Interstate Highway System conceived in the mid-1950s. Its importance was first recognized in popular culture through Bobby Troup’s 1946 Top-40 hit Get Your Kicks on Route 66, as recorded by Nat King Cole; fifteen years later, the popular 1960-64 television show, Route 66 also did a lot to popularize the Corvette!
Route 66 was officially removed from the US Highway System on June 27, 1985, having been entirely replaced by several new routes that were part of the Interstate Highway System. Nonetheless, its lore continues, through historic preservation, museums, plaques, books, movies, documentaries, songs, websites, special events, and the dedication of thousands of energetic members of Route 66 Clubs located throughout the nation.