Tuesday, September 21, 2010

25 years since the demise of the "Mother road"



John Steinbeck famously christened Route 66 as America’s “Mother Road” in The Grapes of Wrath. It was was officially removed from the United States Highway System in 1985, after it was decided the route was no longer relevant and had been replaced by the Interstate Highway system.

Route 66 was established on 11 November 1926, It originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, before ending at Los Angeles for a total of 2,448 miles (3,939 km). It was a major path of the migrants who went west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and supported the economies of the communities through which the road passed.

Needless to say, many books have been published on the route, and a new one - Greetings from Route 66, a 240 page big hardback book from MBI which promises to be the ultimate road trip along America's Main Street - should be available in our shop in about 6 weeks.

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