Historic Route 66 - The Mother Road is a photograph by Alexandra Till which was uploaded on August 5th, 2013.
Title
Historic Route 66 - The Mother Road
Artist
Alexandra Till
Medium
Photograph - Photographs - Prints - Digital Images - Cards - Posters - Photo-calendars - Photo Art
Description
© Christine Till
The charm, the history, and the atmosphere that make up "The Mother Road" bring travelers from all over the world to experience America the way it should be experienced - down a stretch of highway where "anything goes" is literal.
Route 66 is 2448 miles long. (about 4000 km)
Route 66 starts in Chicago, and ends in L.A. (Santa Monica).
Some people think driving it in the opposite direction is historically wrong, but it's mainly a lot harder as all available documentation goes the "right" way.
Route 66 crosses 8 states and 3 time zones.
Route 66 was commissioned in 1926, picking up as many as possible bits and pieces of existing road.
In 1926 only 800 miles of Route 66 were paved. Only in 1937 Route 66 got paved end-to-end.
Route 66 is also know as "The Mother Road", "The Main Street of America" and "The Will Rogers Highway".
During all of its life, Route 66 continued to evolve, leaving many abandoned stretches of concrete, still waiting to be found by the more adventurous traveler.
In 1985 Route 66 was officially decommissioned, but for daily use it was replaced far earlier by the Interstates.
You can only drive parts of Route 66 these days... it has been replaced by the interstate highways I-55, I-44, I-40, I-15 and I-10, but still a surprisingly high amount of old road is waiting to be found by the more adventurous traveler.
As old Route 66 doesn't appear on modern maps anymore, one needs a good description before heading out on the old 2-lane highway.
Route 66 is one of the essential icons of America. It represents a different things to different people, but Freedom and the Loneliness of the American heartland are always a common theme.
Uploaded
August 5th, 2013
