Route 66 Revisited

Some news of the Mother Road:

1. SPRINGFIELD, IL- I got some of this story as I didn't want to pay to get the whole thing- A Springfield railroad enthusiast has made a very detailed scale model of the newly remodeled and reopened Union Station. This cost $12.5 million and is located right across from the Lincoln Museum and Library and will serve as Springfield's tourist center. There is still a lot of controversy as some still think it was money ill-spent. I have seen it and it is ONE impressive structure.

2. Ron Warnick's ROUTE 66 NEWS on the death of Ladybird Johnson, said that hers was a mixed legacy to Route 66. Her 1965 Highway Beautification Act, while it did make America's roads more scenic without the clutter of billboards, really hurt struggling Route 66 businesses as billboards along the interstates were the only way to get customers off the interstates.

3. There was some discussion on a website about the WESTERN TERMINUS of Route 66. Actually, it is at the corner of Lincoln and Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica. However, Swa Franzen of www.historic66.com said its spiritual endpoint at Palisades Park at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Drive because of the Will Rogers historical plaque.

Keep on Down that Two Lane Highway. --RoadDog