Historical Route 66 Increasingly Threatened By Development

DAGGETT, CA - JUNE 16: Damage is seen in the old California Inspection Station mentioned in John Steinbeck's 1930 book The Grapes of Wrath and used from 1930 to 1953, on June 16, 2007 east of Daggett, California. Route 66 opened in 1926 to become an icon of American motoring freedom. It stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles and became a western migration route for people looking for work during the great depression of the 1930s or to escape the Dust Bowl disaster. Later it offered vacation getaways and driving adventures until 1985 when it was decommissioned as a federal highway. Today the motels, gas stations, and roadside attractions along the "Mother Road" are disappearing at an alarming rate. Route 66 aficionados try to preserve some reminders of the by-gone era ? restoring some buildings, collecting memorabilia, and erecting thousands of new signs that read "Route 66" - but most of the old landmarks are already in a state of decay or destroyed by vandals and neglect. Freeways, modern hotel chains, developer's projects, and even tourist attractions are blotting out the original reminders of the highway that inspired countless movies, books, and songs about life on the Western highway. Last week the National Trust for Historic Preservation included the old motels of Route 66 on its list of the 11 most endangered historic places. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)