Route 66, the ‘Main Street of America,’ Turns 100

Route 66, known as the “Main Street of America,” celebrates its 100th birthday on Wednesday. The highway, which begins in Chicago and ends at the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, is famous as an early route of westward migration, and as a quintessential road-trip highway. In the 1980s, however, the interstate highway system bypassed Route 66, and today road-trippers must string together countless two-lane roads to follow its entire length. Immortalized by Nat King Cole’s “Get Your Kicks on Route 66,” John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” and Pixar’s “Cars,” we’ll talk about the enduring power of the “Mother Road.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices