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Five communities have been designated Official Satellite City status for the Route 66 Centennial Kick-Off on April 30, 2026. The five satellite cities will join the live, online media event combined with Route 66 Centennial Kick-Off celebrations in Springfield, Missouri, the Official Host City. The five Official Satellite Cities include Joliet, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; Amarillo, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Santa Monica, California. The five Official Satellite Cities were selected through an RFP process to promote themselves and attract visitors to their Route 66 Centennial Kick-Off events and activities. Joliet, Illinois Joliet will host its satellite city celebration at the historic 1858 Old Joliet Prison Site. Joliet Area Historical Museum chief executive officer Greg Peerbolte said, "The 'Joliet' in Joliet Jake, was made famous in The Blues Brothers and Prison Break movies and was known for many years as 'America's Toughest Prison.’ The property is now an economic development engine and community gathering space, welcoming nearly 100,000 visitors since the project's inception.” St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis will celebrate a century of the Mother Road with concerts, car displays, a 6.6-mile bike ride, documentary screenings, presentations, and family activities. Amarillo, Texas Amarillo's iconic 6th Street will feature archived photos, recordings, and Route 66 memorabilia during its kick-off event by day. At night, festivities will explore the evolution of Route 66 and Amarillo's role in shaping American travel. The city is also planning the installation of a commemorative monument in Amarillo's Historic Route 66 District. Amarillo, Texas, executive director Kashion Smith said the city is classic Texas: cowboy boots, wide-open skies, and friendly, down-to-earth people. "But there's more beneath the surface. Discover the awe-inspiring beauty of Palo Duro Canyon, the retro charm and local flavor along Amarillo's Historic Route 66 District, and a community proud to preserve and promote its Route 66 heritage." Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque's celebrations will feature music events downtown at the historic KiMo theatre, incorporating the nearby crossroads at 4th and Central, where the original and then final Route 66 crossed. The city will also feature an art-fueled road trip, which will have four stops within a two-block radius of the KiMo. Santa Monica, California Santa Monica will host its kick-off ceremony at Mel's Diner on Lincoln Boulevard, featuring live performances by California musicians. Santa Monica travel and tourism president and chief executive officer Misti Kerns said Route 66 holds a significant place in Santa Monica's history. "As the 'End of the Trail' for Route 66, Santa Monica became emblematic of the American Dream and the promise of the open road. The highway officially concluded at the intersection of Olympic Boulevard and Lincoln Boulevard, near the Pacific Ocean. This final stretch of Route 66 represented the culmination of countless journeys across the United States, embodying the spirit of adventure and exploration that defined an era." The virtual Route 66 Centennial Kick-Off will feature a Centennial Kick-Off concert with a-list entertainment in Springfield, Missouri, a two-hour simulcast of the live-streamed event worldwide, and cut-ins during the simulcast from each Official Satellite City. Satellite Cities will also benefit from recognition on the Route 66 Centennial website and in all publicity for the Route 66 Centennial Kick-Off event. Bill Thomas, chairman of Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership, said, "We are so excited for our Official Satellite Cities to join Springfield, Missouri, the Official Host City, in kicking off our year-long celebration."  The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership is a national nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing and sustaining Route 66 as a national icon and international destination. It is responsible for the Route 66 Centennial website, a key component of the Route 66 Centennial Communications Plan recommended by the Route 66 Centennial Commission. The website focuses on Route 66 preservation success stories and spotlights future needs.
Donatella Davanzo is an Italian American cultural anthropologist and documentary photographer whose body of work focuses on the connection between communities and their landscapes. Photography is the key vehicle and tool in Donatella Davanzo's visual ethnographic research and documentation of the unique cultural practices and spatial organizations of diverse human communities in the Southwestern United States and abroad. Donatella is widely recognized for her in-depth exploration and lectures centering on the acequias—centuries-old, communally managed crop irrigation systems in New Mexico. She is also known for her visual ethnographic studies and document analyses of the stretch of Route 66 that runs through New Mexico. Based on visual documentation contained in her doctoral dissertation, Donatella’s grant-funded Route 66 Centennial project, Route 66 Connected, comprises an innovative interactive exposition of original commercial properties developed between 1937 and 1970 along Route 66 in New Mexico that are still in operation today.   Most recently, Donatella participated in the 2025 New Mexico Route 66 Association Motor Tour, taking photos and preparing the tour guide with her numerous photographs and detailed descriptions and history. The guide is an invaluable resource for the motor tour participants, and for the New Mexico Route 66 Association that hosted the event. To date, Donatella has authored two books. Tango in Venice: Expression of a Rite views tango dancers from an anthropological perspective, concentrating on their use of movement and space, and their use of dance as a ritual. Through International CultoMusica: An Ethno-Photographic Account by Donatella Davanzo, she documents eleven different religious cults still present in Trieste during eleven different musical concerts. To learn more or to connect with Donatella about her photography, visit her Route 66 Connected website at: https://donatellaabq.wixsite.com/route-66-connected    By Jonathan Bullington and E. Jason Wambsgans Source: Chicago Tribune It was created to connect us, a fused chain of existing roadways many unpaved that stretched 2,448 miles across eight states and three time zones, starting steps from Lake Michigan in downtown Chicago and ending near the Pacific Ocean and Santa Monica’s famed fishing pier. Route 66, “The Main Street of America.” There is perhaps no better-known highway anywhere in the world. In its 100-year history, it has offered safe passage to Dust Bowl refugees, World War II transports and vacationing families. John Steinbeck called it “the mother road, the road of flight.” Nat King Cole crooned about its kicks in a 1946 hit song. Disney and Pixar took inspiration from it for a 2006 blockbuster. The famed highway conjured images of quirky roadside attractions, mom-and-pop diners, neon-signed motels and art deco service stations. Each mile promised freedom, escape, adventure, exploration. It introduced countless Americans to their country, to vast lands that previously existed only in the collective imagination. Despite being decommissioned in 1985 in favor of a faster and wider interstate highway system, Route 66 continues to capture our imaginations in the remnants of its past glory that remain today. Now, Route 66 boosters in all eight states (Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California) are gearing up to celebrate the iconic route on its centennial in 2026. Ahead of next year’s anniversary, the Chicago Tribune will set out across Route 66 to introduce readers to the people and places it was designed to connect the entertaining characters and roadside oddities, the business owners trying to revitalize their pieces of history and the voices that had been previously obscured in the roadway’s lore. In pursuit of the unknown, we're starting our journey at the farthest point from home, in Santa Monica, and working our way back to Chicago. Along the way, we’ll explore whether the highway still has the power to unite a deeply divided country and learn what it has to tell us about the current state of our nation. Read full story and learn about each of their stops along the way: https://www.chicagotribune.com/route-66-turns-100/  By Fallon Fischer, Junko Featherston Source: KRQE (Copyright Nexstar Media Inc.) A 1950s-era motel on historic Route 66 in Albuquerque is set to get a new lease on life. El Don Motel is now owned by Albuquerque native Randy Bowen, who plans to completely renovate the 24-unit property into a boutique motel. "So the plan for it right now is to have 20 high-end, kind of like chic boutique hotel rooms. And then the two-story section that’s behind us here with the deck is hopefully going to be a cocktail lounge," Bowen said. Bowen purchased the property in October and plans to bring an operating partner on board. He is currently working with an architect on the design and the city to get everything up to code. "So currently, right now, it’s being used as an apartment. The initial pitch when it was brought to me was to try to keep it as an apartment. But unfortunately, with the amount of money that has to go in to get it to being safe and functional, it doesn’t pencil out with making it affordable housing,” Bowen explained. The U-shaped motel needs a lot of work, according to Bowen. The 1950s-era plumbing will need to be updated along with the electrical wiring; the building also needs a new roof, HVAC system, windows, stucco, flooring, and more. The property’s iconic neon sign, which features a cowboy lassoing the motel's name, will be redone too. Despite the extensive repairs and new additions planned for the motel, Bowen said he is eager to work on what he calls a passion project. "I just, I like the idea of the history of this. I like the idea of preserving this rather than just scraping it and starting over with something new," he said. Bowen hopes to get started on the project in about two months. He previously has worked on residential projects, including multi-family developments. Read full story: https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/1950s-era-route-66-motel-in-albuquerque-to-undergo-major-renovation/  El Don Motel on Route 66 in Albuquerque. Photo courtesy Tadson Bussey.
By Larry Baker Source: KRQE News (Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media Inc. ) ‘Build it and they will come.’ It’s not just a memorable line from a movie. Consider a weed-choked vacant lot on Albuquerque’s West Mesa. Beginning in 2021, construction crews transformed barren acreage into a multi-million-dollar, two-story architectural masterpiece. And then, a year later, a parade of community leaders and politicians celebrated with a marathon ribbon cutting ceremony complete with music, food, specially designed t-shirts, and a host of political and community leaders. Among the 36 guest speakers, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller. “This is a celebration bigger than the West Side, bigger than Albuquerque. This is about the Land of Enchantment and about the story of America,” Mayor Keller proclaimed. And, State Senator Michael Padilla. “You’re going to be able to tell your children, your babies, your grandbabies, your great grandbabies, ‘I was there the day that they opened the Route 66 Visitor Center’. I’m so excited,” Senator Padilla said. Welcome to Albuquerque’s newest government attraction, the Route 66 Visitor Center. But don’t be deceived by the enthusiastic ribbon-cutting crowd. Once the hoopla died down and the politicians headed home, reality set in. It has been three years since that ribbon-cutting celebration. However, as a tourist destination, the project has been a bust. Today, the parking lot is empty, the gates are locked, and the building is closed. Over the last decade, city, county, and state politicians have poured more than $13,000,000 into a facility plagued by mismanagement, financial improprieties, and procurement violations. In fact, from the very beginning, the Route 66 Visitor Center had all the tell-tale signs of a pricey government venture gone wrong. “This was probably not the best use of public funds, but officials pushed forward with it anyway,” said Bernalillo County Commissioner Eric Olivas. Read full story at: https://www.krqe.com/news/larry-barker/politicians-sink-13m-in-closed-new-mexico-tourist-attraction/ See article from Route 66 New Mexico magazine, Spring/Summer issue regarding this subject: Association Meets with West Central Community Development Group in Albuquerque to Discuss Proposed Route 66 Visitors Center  Left to right: Rendering of Route 66 Visitor Center; locked gate at the Route 66 Visitor Center; Route 66 Visitor Center
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