Key Spots Along Route 66 in Los Angeles County

20th Century Motor Lodge (Glendora, CA): It would be very easy to drive up here and think it was still 1950, just a few years after the 20th Century Motor Lodge opened. In fact, the 1947, cottage-style motel is extremely well-maintained and a great value for excursions around the San Gabriel Valley's suburban communities!

Attractions in Azusa, CA: The 1961 Azusa Foothill Drive-in Theatre got designated as a state landmark, but despite preservationists' efforts, the drive-in was demolished for development. Still, the activism resulted in its marquee’s restoration and relighting; owner Azusa Pacific University uses it to promote events. Further west is the 1928 Azusa Civic Center, a Spanish Colonial Revival / Mission Revival style, city-services complex. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Duarte Historical Museum (Duarte, CA): The San Gabriel Valley suburb of Duarte has long cherished its role as a Route 66 ambassador. Just off Route 66, the Duarte Historical Society's museum operates inside a moved, 1920 house (originally occupied by L.A. County District Attorney Buron Fitts). The museum's 2024 addition of the Claudia and Alan Heller Route 66 Room showcases local heritage and honors an author / photographer couple who helped put Duarte on the map for Route 66 heritage tourism.

Attractions in Monrovia, CA: The Aztec Hotel opened in 1925. This National Register of Historic Places landmark once provided a grand, celebrity getaway from Hollywood. Despite its Aztec name, architect Robert Stacy-Judd designed it in the rare Mayan Revival style. The ornate building (including guestrooms, a restaurant / bar, and several storefronts) is mostly vacant. Elsewhere in town is the 1920s Flying A Gas Station, which received a 2025 National Trust for Historic Preservation grant.

Other Pasadena attractions:  At the 1959 Saga Motor Hotel, everything is coming up roses, as this modernist motel offers direct access to the Tournament of Roses Parade! Elsewhere, is that a headstone along the Mother Road? No, it's mile marker 11! Noting the mileage along the former Foothill Blvd. (now Colorado Blvd.), this c. 1906 concrete milestone showed  the postal mileage to downtown Los Angeles. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Attractions in South Pasadena: A true throwback - a restored, 1915 pharmacy with a lunch counter - still operates in the heart of town! The nostalgic Fair Oaks Pharmacy and Soda Fountain serves traditional treats like ice cream sodas and malts. Down the street, the ornate Rialto Theatre showed films for decades and has appeared in pop culture (such as La La Land and Michael Jackson's Thriller). The Moorish style, 1925 picture palace received a 2021 exterior restoration; it now holds a church.

More Highland Park attractions: Chicken Boy, a fiberglass Muffler Man, stands as the "Statue of Liberty of Los Angeles." Originally on a 1960s chicken restaurant’s roof along Broadway (Route 66) in downtown, the statue was saved by Amy Inouye; she placed him above her art gallery in 2007. Nearby, the 1925 Highland Theatre showed films for almost 100 years. In 2011, its rooftop sign was relit. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, a major decline in moviegoing caused the showplace's closure in 2024.

Heritage Square Museum (Northeast Los Angeles): Perched alongside the historic Arroyo Seco Parkway (a National Scenic Byway), the Heritage Square Museum is home to eight restored, Victorian-era buildings. The collection includes homes, a church, and a streetcar depot. Over the years, they were moved here from throughout Los Angeles to be preserved. One highlight for visitors is the 1887 Hale House (shown above), seen in countless TV shows and films.

Chinatown and Phoenix Bakery (Los Angeles, CA): On Broadway, what is now the New Chinatown Historic District was founded in 1937. A year later, Phoenix Bakery opened in New Chinatown’s Central Plaza – moving to its current location on Broadway in 1977. It still bakes popular Chinese and American pastries and cakes.

Jensen's Recreation Center (Los Angeles - Echo Park): In L.A.'s Echo Park neighborhood sits this 1924 multi-use structure. With apartments upstairs as well as a bowling alley, billiard parlor, and stores, it served as a center of the community. A city Historic Cultural Monument since 1998, the building's rooftop sign was relit in 2017; its animated neon depicts a bowler throwing a strike. Bowlers and pool players no longer frequent Jensen's, but otherwise, the building remains as it was.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery (Hollywood): Come see all the stars' homes - well, their everlasting ones, anyway! The beautiful memorial park, which opened in 1899, hosts famous names ranging from Judy Garland and Rudolph Valentino to Cecil B. DeMille. It also serves as a cultural events center. Its 1927 Masonic Lodge holds frequent concerts, lectures, etc. Plus, its outdoor film series each summer makes the cemetery a popular spot to watch a classic movie under (and next to) the stars!

The end of the road (Santa Monica, CA): As signage indicates, this is the actual western terminus of Route 66! From 1936-1964, Route 66 (Olympic Blvd.) ended here at Pacific Coast Highway (Lincoln Blvd.). The intersection was home to the 1959 Penguin coffee shop and its Penguin sign. The eye-catching building later served for years as a dentist’s office. The Weiss family then leased it, restored its gorgeous Googie-ness inside and out, and in 2018 opened another Mel’s Drive-in restaurant here!

Santa Monica past the end of the road: Placed during a promotional tour for the 1952 biographic film The Story of Will Rogers, a plaque in Palisades Park marks the western end of Santa Monica Boulevard. In true Hollywood fashion, however, this was not the western terminus of Route 66! Still, the spot provides a great view for those ending their westward journey. The same is true for the iconic, 1909 Santa Monica Pier; what Route 66 traveler would not want to finish their trip there?