Route 66: A History
Preservation
"It was real easy to fall in love with [Route 66]. A lot of people that
I talk to, that come into the shop, have fallen in love, too--even though
they’re from other countries and other states across the world."
-Mauricio Perez, son-in-law of Angel & Vilma Delgadillo and
employee of 66 Gift Shop & Visitor’s Center in Seligman, Arizona
(Perez)
Today, both the physical remnants of Route 66 and the historic structures associated with it are in danger of disappearing. Without federal protection, abandoned Route 66 businesses are demolished and replaced by more economically feasible commercial buildings. In an attempt to make the existing portions of the road safer, highway departments frequently erase the very qualities that make it historic. Peter Dedek, author of Hip to the Trip: A Cultural History of Route 66, notes that "widespread enthusiasm for Route 66 has not yet translated into widespread preservation" (Dedek 104); although there are countless national and international Route 66 fan groups, few of them have managed to protect remaining portions of the road.
In 1999, Congress passed the Route 66 Corridor Act and encouraged the National Park Service, state preservation offices, and individual road enthusiasts to partner in their efforts to protect remnants of Route 66, and provided funds for cost-share and other grants (Dedek 119). To date, the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona and the Frontier Motel and Restaurant in Truxton, Arizona have benefited from the cost-share grants, although some business owners find the red tape surrounding the grants to be problematical.
In 2002, a cost-share grant funded the restoration of the Frontier Motel and Restaurant's neon sign
Road in Decline