Route 66 was never America's longest highway, and it ran through only eight of the lower 48 states. It became the most famous anyway. Approved in 1926 and fully paved from Chicago to Los Angeles by 1938, it was the brainchild of Tulsa oilman Cyrus Avery, who wanted a diagonal road linking the Midwest to the oil-rich Southwest.

In the 1930s it carried Dust Bowl migrants west, a migration John Steinbeck dramatized in The Grapes of Wrath and for which he gave the highway its lasting name: the Mother Road. Eisenhower's interstate system replaced it beginning in 1956, and in 1985 Route 66 was formally removed from the U.S. numbered highway system. Its centennial falls in the same year as America's 250th.

Key Takeaways

• Between 1913 and 1920, the number of automobiles owned by Americans boomed from 1.3 million to over 8 million, driven by assembly-line production of Henry Ford's Model T. At the start of the decade 20 percent of American households owned cars; by 1929 that figure had reached 60 percent.

• Route 66 was the vision of Cyrus Avery, an oilman, banker, and real-estate developer who wanted a national highway connecting the Midwest to the oil-rich Southwest, running from Chicago to Los Angeles. The Bureau of Public Roads approved U.S. Route 66 in 1926.

• The route began largely as a combination of dirt and gravel roads. By 1938 it had been transformed into America's first fully paved highway from Chicago to Los Angeles. Unlike the near straight east-west line of its predecessor, the Lincoln Highway, Route 66 ran diagonally, connecting small towns and rural communities.

• During the 1930s, waves of migrants from Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas, devastated by the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, took Route 66 west to California in search of economic opportunity. Collectively they were known as Okies, a name that began as a term of origin and soon became a slur.

• John Steinbeck dramatized the migration in The Grapes of Wrath, later adapted for film by John Ford. It was Steinbeck who called Route 66 "the mother road," its principal nickname to this day. Though the Okies were abjectly poor, their modest spending actually increased revenue for diners and gas stations along the route.

• In 1946, jazz pianist Bobby Troup wrote "Get Your Kicks on Route 66," a song later covered by Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Chuck Berry, John Mayer, and the Rolling Stones. No American highway has inspired more music, fiction, television, or film.

• In 1956, President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system. Interstate 40 and other roads replaced old Route 66 and bypassed the small towns the highway had run through. In some cases 66 was paved over entirely. In 2006, Pixar director John Lasseter used real sites along the route to create the look of Cars, a wistful film about the bypassing of the highway.

• In 1985, Route 66 was formally removed from the U.S. numbered highway system. Remarkably, the highway's hundredth birthday corresponds with America's 250th.

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Questions & Answers:

Q1: When was Route 66 built?

The Bureau of Public Roads approved the establishment of U.S. Route 66 in 1926. It began largely as a combination of dirt and gravel roads, and by 1938 it had been transformed into America's first fully paved highway running from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Q2: Who created Route 66?

Route 66 was the vision of Cyrus Avery, an oilman, banker, and real-estate developer. He wanted a national highway connecting the Midwest to the oil-rich Southwest, running from Chicago to Los Angeles. His idea arrived at exactly the right moment: American car ownership had boomed from 1.3 million vehicles in 1913 to over 8 million by 1920, and by 1929 sixty percent of American households owned a car.

Q3: Why is Route 66 called the Mother Road?

The name comes from John Steinbeck, who called Route 66 "the mother road" in The Grapes of Wrath, his novel about Dust Bowl migrants traveling west to California during the Great Depression. It has been the highway's principal nickname ever since. Route 66 has also been known as the Main Street of America and, in one sign that appears in The Grapes of Wrath, the Will Rogers Highway.

Q4: What states does Route 66 go through?

Route 66 ran through eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. It only briefly cut through the corner of Kansas. The road ran diagonally from Chicago to Los Angeles, which distinguished it from the near straight east-west line of its predecessor, the Lincoln Highway, and let it connect small towns and rural communities along the way.

Q5: Who were the Okies?

The Okies were migrants from Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas who had been devastated by the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression and who took Route 66 west during the 1930s, mostly to California, in search of economic opportunity. The name began as a simple term of origin and soon became a slur. Though the Okies were abjectly poor, their modest spending actually increased revenue for the diners and gas stations along the route.

Q6: Does Route 66 still exist?

Not officially. In 1956 President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system, and Interstate 40 and other roads replaced old Route 66, bypassing the small towns it had run through. In some places 66 was paved over entirely. In 1985 the road was formally removed from the U.S. numbered highway system. Long stretches survive as state and local roads, and much of the route can still be driven today.

Q7: Where does Route 66 start and end?

Historically the eastern terminus was the intersection of Jackson Boulevard and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, on Lake Michigan. Because of street changes, travelers now enter at Adams Street and Michigan Avenue, and for the centennial Chicago designated Navy Pier as a symbolic origin point. The western end is technically the junction of Lincoln and Olympic in Santa Monica, California, though the Santa Monica Pier has become the symbolic finish. The road therefore connects Lake Michigan to the Pacific Ocean.

Never the Longest, Always the Most Famous

It was never America's longest highway. It only ran through eight of America's lower 48 states. Yet it became America's most famous highway, a title that holds today. No highway has inspired more music, fiction, TV, or film. Route 66. The Main Street of America. Route 66. The Mother Road.

The Model T and the Car Boom

Between 1913 and 1920, the number of automobiles owned by Americans boomed from 1.3 million to over 8 million. This sudden increase sprang from the assembly line production of Henry Ford's Model T. At the start of the decade, 20 percent of American households owned cars. By 1929 that number had ballooned to 60 percent.

Cyrus Avery's Idea

Fortunately for Americans, the dreams of oilman, banker, and real-estate developer Cyrus Avery aligned with the nation's growing love for automobiles. He envisioned a road that connected the Midwest to the oil-rich Southwest: a national highway running from Chicago to Los Angeles.

America's First Fully Paved Highway

In 1926, the Bureau of Public Roads approved the establishment of U.S. Route 66. For much of its path, Avery's brainchild ran parallel to old rail lines. Although the route began largely as a combination of dirt or gravel roads, by 1938 it had been transformed into America's first fully paved highway from Chicago to Los Angeles. Route 66 connected small towns and rural communities by way of a diagonal path, a trait that distinguished it from the near straight east-west line of its predecessor, the Lincoln Highway.

The Dust Bowl and the Okies

During the 1930s, waves of migrants from Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas, who had been devastated by the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, took Route 66 west, mostly to California, where they sought economic opportunity. Collectively, they were known as Okies. The name began as a term of origin and soon became a slur. The Okies' Depression-era migration was first dramatized in John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath, then in John Ford's film adaptation.

Steinbeck Names the Mother Road

Though they were abjectly poor, the Okies' modest expenditures actually increased revenue for diners and gas stations along Route 66. Steinbeck called 66 the "mother road," its principal nickname to this day.

World War II on Route 66

During World War II, soldiers, officers' families, civilian workers, and convoy drivers of military freight provided Route 66 motels with a steady business. Patriotic Americans took the Mother Road to the West Coast where they served in defense plants.

"Get Your Kicks on Route 66"

In 1946, jazz pianist Bobby Troup wrote a song in which he encouraged his audience to "Get Your Kicks on Route 66." Over the years, the tune has won the affection of many cover artists, including Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Chuck Berry, John Mayer and the Rolling Stones. In the 1950s, parents hopped onto Route 66 and drove their kids to the newly created Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

Eisenhower's Interstates Replace 66

In 1956, President Eisenhower created the interstate highway system. Interstate 40 and other roads replaced old Route 66. They also skipped the small towns that the historic highway had entered. In some cases, 66 was paved over to make way for the newer and faster interstates. In 2006, Disney/Pixar director John Lasseter used real sites along Route 66 to create the look of his film Cars, a wistful movie about the bypassing of the beloved highway.

The Eastern Terminus in Chicago

Historically, the official eastern terminus for the route was the intersection of Jackson Boulevard and Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, along Lake Michigan. Because of street changes in the Windy City, travelers now enter 66 at the intersection of Adams Street and Michigan Avenue. In honor of the Route 66 centennial, however, Chicago designated Navy Pier as a symbolic origin point.

Illinois and Missouri

From Chicago, the road heads southwest through Illinois to Joliet, where the Illinois State Penitentiary once held notorious criminals such as Baby Face Nelson and Leopold and Loeb. Then on down to Springfield, the hometown of Abraham Lincoln, and the site of Lincoln's house and gravesite. As Illinois gives way to Missouri, 66 runs through St. Louis, where it finds the highway's biggest church. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis boasts the largest collection of mosaic art in the Western hemisphere. Then on to Stanton, Missouri, home of the Meramec Caverns, where stalagmites, stalactites, and prehistoric rock structures haunt the underground.

Kansas, Oklahoma, and Will Rogers

Route 66 briefly cuts into Kansas before dipping south to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and farther west to Oklahoma City. There stands the Will Rogers Theater, a movie house founded in 1946 and named for the beloved humorist. In The Grapes of Wrath, a road sign depicts how one nickname for Route 66 was in fact the "Will Rogers Highway."

The Texas Panhandle

As it makes a straight course across the Texas panhandle, Route 66 delivers hungry pilgrims to the Big Texan Steak Ranch. Brave guests attempt to conquer the restaurant's famous challenge: consume a 72 oz. steak plus sides, in one hour. Successful contestants eat for free.

New Mexico and Arizona

Halfway into New Mexico, Route 66 runs through Albuquerque. At night, iconic neon signs bring the city to life. Soon after crossing the Arizona border, road trippers encounter the mysteries offered by the Petrified Forest. Westward in Winslow, rock and roll fans have their picture taken at the street corner immortalized by the song "Take It Easy." The 70s classic was co-authored by American troubadours Jackson Browne and Glenn Frey, and made popular by Frey's band, the Eagles.

The Centennial and America's 250th

Technically, Route 66 concludes at the junction of Lincoln and Olympic in Santa Monica, California. The city's pier, however, has become the highway's symbolic end. Thus, Route 66 connects two of America's greatest bodies of water: Lake Michigan and the Pacific Ocean. Remarkably, the highway's one hundredth birthday corresponded to America's 250th. In 1985, Route 66 was formally removed from the U.S. numbered highway system. Still, undisputedly, it remains America's most beloved highway, the Mother Road for Americans with their love of cars, and Main Street in the land they call home.