We wandered a few blocks south on Michigan Avenue after leaving the Travel Blogger Exchange conference late last month and found something of special interest to travelers a few blocks away from our conference venue at the Chicago Cultural Center.
The intersection of Adams and Michigan in downtown Chicago may look like an ordinary city streetscape to many folks, but look a little more closely.
Yes, this is marked as the official starting point of one of this country’s most storied highways—and one that captured the imaginations of travelers over the years yearning to head west to wend their way to California.
Bobby Troup gave voice to the optimism and the urge to live their dreams many travelers felt during the highway’s heyday with his song, “(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66”. Nat King Cole first recorded Troup’s song in 1946. An eclectic collection of musicians throughout the years that included the Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Buckwheat Zydeco and Natalie Cole covered the song as well.
My own fascination with Route 66 began when my mom became a regular viewer of the 1960s show of the same name, which starred Martin Milner and George Maharis as two drifters traveling the road in a sporty Corvette. The show filmed in 40 different states during its 1960-64 run and portrayed its starring duo as socially conscious and exploring the quickly changing times as they searched for their place in the world (it was the 1960s, remember?).
I was too young to really grasp the social issues raised in the show, but I certainly remember that spiffy car and catchy theme song!
The highway became roadkill as high-speed expressways bypassed and supplanted highways like Route 66, which originated in the 1920s and ran for 2,400 miles between Chicago and Los Angeles.
The route originally began at Michigan Ave. on Jackson Blvd., the now eastbound street just south of Adams. The 1933 world’s fair in Chicago forced the highway’s starting point to move a bit east to Jackson and Lake Shore Dr. Route 66 never officially started on Adams, but today the westbound street bears the designation as official starting point to Historic Route 66.
Details, details! I just enjoyed reliving a bit of the sense of romance for the road and great memories that the sign evoked for me.
Thanks to Debbie Dubrow of Delicious Baby for creating and coordinating Photo Friday to link travel photos and blog posts across the Web.
© Dominique King 2009 All rights reserved
How neat to be at the beginning! For the younger generation, I think Disney movie 'Cars' did make route 66 more into the mainstream and captivate their sense of adventure as well. :) My kids are all for this road trip.
Posted by: Amy @ The Q Family | August 07, 2009 at 07:10 AM
Very cool! Route 66 is experiencing a resurgence, so fun to catch a glimpse of its roots.
Posted by: Bridget Smith | August 07, 2009 at 09:43 PM
Wonderful trip. Our son moved to Chicago last year, and now lives in the historic Brewster Building. We've truly enjoyed exploring this great city and seeing it through a young person's eyes. Thanks for the new tips here!
Posted by: Cindy L | August 08, 2009 at 06:49 AM
I did a portion of Route 66 years ago on my cross country trip. It was more off the beaten track but still kept it's old flavor.
we sang the song 'on route 66' all the way!
Posted by: marina villatoro | August 08, 2009 at 07:43 AM
Nice place to dream about road trips still to be taken
Posted by: Heather on her travels | August 08, 2009 at 08:31 AM
A Route 66 road trip is on my bucket list, it's something I've always wanted to do.
I lived in Chicago for 7 years and never noticed that sign, I didn't even know it was there! I also lived, for a time, in the Brewster Building that Cindy mentioned.
Posted by: Becks Davis | August 08, 2009 at 08:10 PM
Amy-I need to keep an eye out for "Cars" on cable!
Bridget-Interest in Route 66 always seemed to remain fairly high, although it's nice to hear people are taking even more interest in it these days.
Cindy-I loved all of the old historic buildings in Chicago. Great place for an architecture fan, isn't it? One of our favorite things that we did this trip was the Chicago Architectural Foundation river cruise.
Marina-I've always wanted to do a cross-country trip. I've got that Route 66 song running through my head now!
Heather-Always dreaming of road trips still to be taken :)
Becks-I've always been fascinated with Route 66...like you, I'd love to do the entire trip.
Some guy on the street mentioned the sign to Tim when he was wandering around with his camera while I was at the conference. He didn't think it was much of a photo aesthetic wise, but he knew it was one of those goofy things I'd want to take a photo of because it would have a story to it (he and I think a little differently about our photos...I'm more worried about taking photos to advance a story, and don't always worry so much about the technical aspects of a shot...a sign in an of itself isn't as interesting to him to photograph).
Posted by: Dominique | August 08, 2009 at 08:47 PM
When I read your line about 66 being bypassed for faster expressways I was reminded of the scene in Cars where she is showing McQueen the area that is no longer.
Posted by: Jen@TwoKidsandaMap | August 09, 2009 at 07:33 AM
Jen-Oh yeah, it sounds like I need to see "Cars" :)
Posted by: Dominique | August 09, 2009 at 09:28 AM