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On this day, April 30, 1926, the number "66" was assigned to a Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway.
Hat tip, Google doodles, back in 2022, but Wikipedia says that they jumped the gun.
Celebrating Route 66
2,780,214 views Apr 29, 2022
GoogleDoodles
2.09M subscribers
Today’s video Doodle takes you on the ultimate American road trip, a journey along the historic Route 66. The iconic highway—known for its retro diners, quirky motels, eclectic art installations and extraordinary landscapes—connects Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. On this day in 1926, the name “U.S. 66” was first proposed for the cross-country route.
Learn more: https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-route-66
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To follow Google Doodles on YouTube, subscribe to: @GoogleDoodles
Follow Google Doodles on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/GoogleDoodles
2,780,214 views Apr 29, 2022
GoogleDoodles
2.09M subscribers
Today’s video Doodle takes you on the ultimate American road trip, a journey along the historic Route 66. The iconic highway—known for its retro diners, quirky motels, eclectic art installations and extraordinary landscapes—connects Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. On this day in 1926, the name “U.S. 66” was first proposed for the cross-country route.
Learn more: https://www.google.com/doodles/celebrating-route-66
-------
To follow Google Doodles on YouTube, subscribe to: @GoogleDoodles
Follow Google Doodles on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/GoogleDoodles
Wikipedia says that April 30, 1926 was the big day.
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66
Route information
Length: 2,448 mi (3,940 km)
Existed: November 26, 1926–June 26, 1985
Tourist routes: Historic Route 66
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66), also known as the Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway System. US 66 was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km). It was recognized in popular culture by both the 1946 hit song " (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 " and the Route 66 television series, which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964. In John Steinbeck's classic American novel, The Grapes of Wrath (1939), the road "Highway 66" symbolized escape and loss.
US 66 served as a primary route for those who migrated west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and the road supported the economies of the communities through which it passed. People doing business along the route became prosperous due to the growing popularity of the highway, and those same people later fought to keep the highway alive in the face of the growing threat of being bypassed by the new Interstate Highway System.
US 66 underwent many improvements and realignments over its lifetime, but was officially removed from the United States Highway System in 1985 after it had been replaced in its entirety by segments of the Interstate Highway System. Portions of the road that passed through Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and Arizona have been communally designated a National Scenic Byway by the name "Historic Route 66", returning the name to some maps. Several states have adopted significant bypassed sections of the former US 66 into their state road networks as State Route 66. The corridor is also being redeveloped into U.S. Bicycle Route 66, a part of the United States Bicycle Route System that was developed in the 2010s.
{snip}
Birthplace and rise of US 66
The route sign from 1926 to 1948
Modern 'historic' signage in Chicago
The numerical designation 66 was assigned to the Chicago-to-Los Angeles route on April 30, 1926, in Springfield, Missouri. A placard in Park Central Square was dedicated to the city by the Route 66 Association of Missouri, and traces of the "Mother Road" are still visible in downtown Springfield along Kearney Street, Glenstone Avenue, College, and St. Louis streets and on Route 266 to Halltown, Missouri.
{snip}
U.S. Route 66
Route information
Length: 2,448 mi (3,940 km)
Existed: November 26, 1926–June 26, 1985
Tourist routes: Historic Route 66
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66), also known as the Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway System. US 66 was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km). It was recognized in popular culture by both the 1946 hit song " (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 " and the Route 66 television series, which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964. In John Steinbeck's classic American novel, The Grapes of Wrath (1939), the road "Highway 66" symbolized escape and loss.
US 66 served as a primary route for those who migrated west, especially during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, and the road supported the economies of the communities through which it passed. People doing business along the route became prosperous due to the growing popularity of the highway, and those same people later fought to keep the highway alive in the face of the growing threat of being bypassed by the new Interstate Highway System.
US 66 underwent many improvements and realignments over its lifetime, but was officially removed from the United States Highway System in 1985 after it had been replaced in its entirety by segments of the Interstate Highway System. Portions of the road that passed through Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, and Arizona have been communally designated a National Scenic Byway by the name "Historic Route 66", returning the name to some maps. Several states have adopted significant bypassed sections of the former US 66 into their state road networks as State Route 66. The corridor is also being redeveloped into U.S. Bicycle Route 66, a part of the United States Bicycle Route System that was developed in the 2010s.
{snip}
Birthplace and rise of US 66
The route sign from 1926 to 1948
Modern 'historic' signage in Chicago
The numerical designation 66 was assigned to the Chicago-to-Los Angeles route on April 30, 1926, in Springfield, Missouri. A placard in Park Central Square was dedicated to the city by the Route 66 Association of Missouri, and traces of the "Mother Road" are still visible in downtown Springfield along Kearney Street, Glenstone Avenue, College, and St. Louis streets and on Route 266 to Halltown, Missouri.
{snip}
Sun Apr 30, 2023: On this day, April 30, 1926, the number 66 was assigned to a Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway.
Sat Apr 30, 2022: On this day, April 30, 1926, the number 66 was assigned to a Chicago-to-Los Angeles highway.