The Pop Culturist's Guide to Route 66

This vintage gas station is no longer in service, but it once offered the promise of “tasty treats” and “cabins.” The station was heavily damaged in a fire in the mid-1960s and stayed that way until a movie scout found it in the ‘90s. 

The Old Trails Bridge, also known as the Topock Bridge, was an artful and innovative piece of engineering that played a significant role helping people and supplies head West by allowing heavier vehicles to cross the Colorado River and enter the land of opportunity.

Travelers heading westward who survive the trek to California are welcomed with a long, hot stretch across the Mojave, where things can get a little weird as the temperatures climb up to 100F.

You’ll likely recognize this stunning example of roadside Googie Midcentury Modern architecture, even if you don’t know where you might know if from. Roy’s opened as a gas station in 1938, and the owner’s son-in-law added on a cafe, auto repair shop, and motel in the 1940s.

This classic trucker stop has been serving meals to hungry travelers since 1947. Richard Gentry drove his truck on Route 66 for 31 years and ate at this restaurant (then called the Holland Burger Cafe) from the time it opened.

Formerly the Red Rooster Cafe, the California Route 66 Museum in Victorville, California, is now home to a massive collection of Route 66 memorabilia, all loaned by local 66 enthusiasts. 

If you know nothing else about the Mother Road, you’ll likely recognize the Wigwam Motels, of which only three of the original seven are currently left standing. Two of these are on Route 66 and one is located in Rialto/San Bernardino, right on track to Los Angeles.

Clifford Clinton built his restaurant, then Clifton’s Brookdale, around a singular idea: Everyone should be able to eat, regardless of what they looked like, who they were, or their ability to pay. 

Though Route 66 originally ended over by Clifton’s at 7th and Broadway—and later at the intersection of Lincoln and Olympic in Santa Monica—it was decided that a route leading straight to the dramatic beauty of the Pacific Ocean would make for a better Hollywood ending.