Get Your Pics on Route 66

Our shop supports 35 Route 66 artists, authors and makers. We celebrate the history of the Mother Road.Our shop supports 35 Route 66 artists, authors and makers. We celebrate the history of the Mother Road.

New issue is at the printer and on its way to you soon!

January 13, 1934 - A gravel road opened on the last remaining unimproved stretch of Route 66, the dreaded Jericho Gap in Texas. The 17-mile stretch between Al...anreed and Groom turned into a sea of mud when wet and locals raked it in pulling vehicles from the muck. An asphalt surface was ready on September 15, 1936 and 5,000 people gathered in McLean to celebrate on October 9, 1936. January 13, 1947 - Automobile radio telephone service began on US 66 between Chicago and St. Louis. Just a few months earlier, St. Louis became the first city in the nation with urban radio-telephone service. From the Bell Building, the signals were sent to transmitters at Springfield, Peoria, Ottawa and then Chicago. St. Louis and Chicago were the first major cities linked by car telephone service. January 13, 1951 - The Veteran’s Bridge over the Mississippi River opened. Built by the City of East St. Louis as a toll bridge, it carried the Route 66 Mainline from 1955 until the Poplar Street Bridge opened in 1967. The span was renamed in honor of Martin Luther King in 1968 and the Illinois Department of Transportation took ownership in 1987. The tolls were removed during renovation work in 1988-89. In 2009, after a string of horrific head-on collisions, the bridge was reduced to two eastbound and one westbound lane with a concrete divider. It was closed again for repairs from July until December in 2015 and again in 2018-2019. January 13, 1958 - Highway 66 was shifted to the new 4-lane between Yukon and Bethany. The route was also moved onto present-day OK 66 from the Tulsa County line northeast towards Claremore. January 13, 1990 - The Route 66 Association of Missouri was founded with more charter members than any other state. Today, association members reside in nearly every state and membership has nearly doubled over the past 10 years. To learn more go to www.missouri66.org or find us on Facebook.

A peaceful looking scene of the square in downtown Springfield, MO. Not sure of the year, but based on the vehicles in the image it would be the 70’s/80’s.

Springfield, Mo. Circa 1953

Postcard featuring the Square, in Springfield. The back of the postcard reads, Springfield, the Queen City of the Ozarks, serves a vast trade area and is locat...ed in the heart of the Ozark hills with their rugged beauty, streams and lakes that attract thousands of tourists and vacationers every year. There is no date, but judging by the vehicles, probably 1950’s.

Phillipsburg Mo. .. Route 66 .. Midway Motel & Gas .