From a number on a map to the Mother Road
How U.S. 66 was designated, what it was called, and how long it ran.
- U.S. Highway 66 was created in 1926. [source]
- On 11 November 1926 the Chicago-to-Los Angeles route was officially designated U.S. Highway 66. [source]
- The National Park Service describes it as a 2,400-mile ribbon of pavement from Chicago to Santa Monica. [source]
- The Bureau of Land Management gives the often-cited figure of 2,448 miles across eight states, beginning in Chicago, Illinois, and ending in Santa Monica, California. [source]
- A Federal Highway Administration fact sheet describes the same highway as stretching from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California — the city used in the 1920s publicity. [source]
- The U.S. 66 Highway Association advertised it as the shortest, best and most scenic route from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles. [source]
- The Federal Highway Administration says that, due to the efforts of that association, Route 66 became the first highway to be completely paved in 1938. [source]
- It became known as the “Mother Road” and the “Main Street of America.” [source]
Mileage changed as the road was realigned, which is why a rounded 2,400 miles and a precise 2,448 miles both appear in official writing. What did not change is the idea: a single numbered highway linking the main streets of rural towns to urban centres, from the Great Lakes toward the Pacific. [source]
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