Route 66 in the News
Missouri Volunteers Work for Scenic Byway
2006-01-01 11:35:38
Regardless of the route, you can still get your kicks on 66.
With three alignments of historic Route 66 traversing the St. Louis metropolitan area, tourists and history seekers will soon find the way marked with brown and white Route 66 signs and increased publicity thanks to the efforts of the Route 66 Association of Missouri and the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).
The Historic Route 66 Byway, covering 317 miles from the Illinois state line to the Kansas state line, is the longest scenic byway in the state. The Missouri Scenic Byways program is a statewide partnership of MoDOT, the Route 66 Association of Missouri and others to promote the recreational, educational and economic benefits to Missourians and visitors by developing touring routes on Route 66.
By getting agencies, groups or individuals to nominate routes for scenic byway status, as the St. Louis County Council recently did by approving a resolution expressing interest in designating Route 66, those groups can apply for funds through MoDOT that are available from the National Scenic Byways program to promote tourism along the route.
"What we want to do is tell the story of Route 66 as it passes through Missouri," R. Scott Taylor, MoDOT Field Liaison officer, said. "Unlike the state's other byways, Route 66 will be a 20th century byway."
"This is a grass-roots program and we want citizens of Missouri to define the byway," Taylor said. "Now that the byway is designated, private groups and local governments can apply for federal funds to develop interpretive sites and make other improvements to serve as a draw."
U.S. 66, built in 1927, was the principal highway between Chicago and Los Angeles. In the 1930s, motorists could choose two different entrance points to Missouri from Illinois: the Chain of Rocks Bridge and the McKinley Bridge.
For its first 30 miles in Missouri, Route 66 was both an urban and rural passageway that used three different alignments.
One route followed Gravois, Chippewa and Watson Road from downtown St. Louis through southwest St. Louis city and county. Another route generally followed Lindbergh Boulevard in North St. Louis County and turned south to Kirkwood where it joined the Watson Road route. A third followed Manchester Road from the St. Louis City limits west to Gray Summit where it joined the Watson Road route.
As in the 1930s, today's motorists entering St. Louis from Illinois on Route 66 prefer the Watson Road alignment, if for no other reason than to stop at Ted Drewes for a frozen custard break as they make their way west.
Leaving downtown via Tucker Boulevard and continuing as it turns into Gravois Avenue, travelers would turn westward on Chippewa Street and the first major landmark they encounter is Ted Drewes, which opened for business in the late 1920s. Continuing west and crossing the River Des Peres motorists would soon be upon the historic Coral Courts Motel in Marlborough, which was demolished in 1995 to make way for a new subdivision.
Continuing west for a few miles brought travelers past the historic 66 Park-In Theater in Crestwood, another landmark demolished in 1994 to make way for a shopping center. Several miles later one would pass over the Meramec River, near what was the former Times Beach (now the site of the Route 66 State Park Visitor's center), pass by the Red Cedar Inn, continue on through Pacific past its rock bluffs and continue on to points west.
One volunteer spreading the word of Route 66 is Tommy Pike, president of the Route 66 Association of Missouri. A Springfield, Mo., native, Pike grew up within one block of Route 66 and said its historic past stirred his interest in promoting the road.
"All the little communities that Route 66 passes through can apply for funds to have an information center or something like that built," Pike said. "It isn't going to pay for paving, but it is an opportunity for some of the communities along the way, if they so desire, to promote Route 66."
The Route 66 Association of Missouri, started in 1989, promotes the road by providing information at state fairs and festivals and helping MoDOT with presentations to various governing bodies. The association also sponsors various activities including an annual Motor Tour along the historic route's path in Missouri.
"I've lived within the vicinity of Route 66 all my life," Pike said. "Everybody you talk to has different reasons for being interested in Route 66. It's historical and it's interesting, not just in this state, but it crosses a lot of different cultures from Chicago to Los Angeles and there's a lot of interesting things to see and do along the way.
"People have a tendency to think of a scenic byway as, for instance, the Lewis and Clark Trail. Route 66 is a 20th century scenic byway," Pike said. "When you think of Lewis and Clark or the Trail of Tears, you think of scenic vistas. Route 66 might have been downtown St. Louis with neon signs to some but it's a scenic byway from a different time."
"The thing with Route 66 is there are a lot of travelers and foreign travelers on it," Pike said. "But we aren't Six Flags, we aren't Silver Dollar City or Worlds of Fun, and there is not a front gate. These people fly to Chicago and rent a car, or some guy from Kansas comes over here and cuts over to St. Louis and rides it back down to Oklahoma City or Albuquerque and then rides it back home. Sometimes people from Japan come here and rent a car in Chicago and ride Route 66 to Los Angeles."
"But we don't have a front gate where we sell a ticket and get an exact head count," Pike said. "I've met people from Norway, Japan, Germany and Australia in the past year, and people just don't realize these tourists are coming through their community."
"Now people may realize Route 66 is more significant," Pike said. "In it's heyday, it was a means of getting there. People traveled it to go somewhere. Now it is a destination. People come here to drive Route 66, but now Route 66 is a 2,400 mile destination."
~Steve Birmingham, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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