End of Route 66 isn’t an easy spot to find
END OF THE ROAD Santa Monica Pier or the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue? Just where does historic Route 66 end? Neither, according to David Knudson, executive director of the National Historic Route 66 Federation.
Contrary to what many believe, the cross country route that has meandered its way into American folklore ends inauspiciously at the intersection of Olympic and Lincoln boulevards, where there is nary a marker or signpost to designate the end of the fabled route.
Designated as a highway on Nov. 11, 1926, the historic Route 66 starts in Chicago and spans eight states — Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
A 2003 book called “Finding the End of the Mother Road,” written by Scott R. Piotrowski, also states that “Here, at the intersection of Lincoln and Olympic boulevards, Route 66 came to an abrupt end, leaving the Route 66 traveler just a few blocks short of that big body of water.”
There are actually two endings for Route 66 — one emotional and one technical, according to Knudson. The “emotional”end of the route is at Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, where the Will Rogers plaque was placed to coincide with the release of the 1952 feature film, “The Story of Will Rogers.”
The famous humorist was a Santa Monica resident.
Many believe that the movie production company that created the Will Rogers biography was responsible for the creation of the plaque.
“It stayed that way and stuck, and most people think it actually ends there,” Knudson said.“It didn’t really end there in reality.”
The National Historic Route 66 Federation is currently trying to get approval to place a Route 66 sign at the intersection of Lincoln and Olympic boulevards.
But longtime Santa Monica resident Kent Cullom, who works in domestic travel for AAA, which placed most of the Route 66 signs from Chicago to Los Angeles, believes that Olympic and Lincoln boulevards is just one of a few official endings, including Santa Monica Boulevard and Ocean Avenue.
As for the pier, Route 66 never even touched that area, Knudson said.
“People just say in generality it ends at the pier, meaning Santa Monica Boulevard,” Knudson said. “You could walk into Palisades Park and look at the left and there is the pier.
“It specifically didn’t end at the pier ever, emotionally or otherwise.”
The precise location of Route 66 has caused debate across the states in which it spanned because the route was realigned numerous times, primarily for political purposes.
Along with Route 66 came increased traffic and tourists and many business owners whose operations were located along the highway saw it as a gold mine.
In the 1930s, a New Mexico governor actually moved Route 66 from Albuquerque to Santa Fe — about 63 miles away — where he had a business and political allies, Knudson said.
“Route 66 in those days meant that thousands of cars every day would drive by whatever alignment was in effect at that point,” Knudson said.
Route 66 can be credited with helping the city of Santa Monica grow into the vibrant community that it is today, along with the electric rail that brought tourists from Los Angeles into Santa Monica in the early 1900s.
Even today, Route 66 still attracts adventurous travelers who will ride the entire historic highway from Illinois to Santa Monica, said Ho Nguyen, director of operations at the Santa Monica Historical Society Museum.
From time to time, Route 66 travelers will stop by the museum, seeking postcards and books pertaining to the historic route.
A geographer by trade, Cullom traveled the entire route a few years ago, including several of the different alignments in Illinois. He didn’t bother driving to the end of the route.
“My ending was my home,” he said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 24, 2007. Read the original PDF.