Google has unveiled an interactive digital hub that uses artificial intelligence to preserve and showcase the history of Route 66, offering users a virtual journey along America's Mother Road as the iconic highway approaches its 100th anniversary in 2026.
The Route 66 Rewind project, developed in collaboration with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, features 33 roadside attractions across all eight states along the historic route from Chicago to Los Angeles. The digital archive combines AI-generated video, contemporary street views and archival materials to transport users between past and present.
"It can be hard to visualize what Route 66 must have felt like in its heyday, so we saw a natural fit here to help make the past feel a little closer using Google's AI tools," the Google Arts & Culture Team said.
The centerpiece of the project is an interactive "rewind" feature that allows users to toggle between Google Street View imagery and historically inspired video footage. The vintage-style videos are generated using Veo, Google's AI filmmaking tool, and Flow technology to recreate the atmosphere of traveling the route in decades past.
For 11 of the featured locations, Google worked directly with the National Trust for Historic Preservation to source archival photographs that informed the AI-generated videos, ensuring historical accuracy in the recreations.
The virtual road trip experience places users inside a classic car as they visit legendary motels, service stations and restaurants along the route. An AI radio feature adds depth to the experience, offering commentary generated by Gemini, Google's AI assistant, along with era-inspired music created using Lyria, an AI music generation tool.
Users can switch between radio stations to hear insights about each location or ask questions about specific sites to receive live responses from Gemini. The hub also includes maps, videos, photos and written histories of the route.
The project took several years to develop, beginning with a suggestion from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in anticipation of Route 66's centennial. A key challenge involved onboarding 15 partner organizations, 10 of which were new to the collaboration, and supporting them in sharing their expertise on the platform.
"Their knowledge of the Route and its history is unparallelled, and supporting them in sharing their cultural expertise means that the small business, diverse communities, quirky road signs and Americana, and so much more will have a digital home even if the physical location changes," the Google Arts & Culture Team said.
The digital hub places special emphasis on California's role as the final, dramatic segment of Route 66, with dedicated coverage of the route's endpoint in Santa Monica. Google collaborated closely with the California Historic Route 66 Association to highlight key locations along the state's stretch of the highway.
The preservation effort comes as many physical Route 66 landmarks face an uncertain future. The project aims to create a lasting digital record of sites that may be disappearing from the physical landscape.
"Using tools like Veo and Gemini can help animate historical locations and images in a way that makes them still feel real and relevant, even if that atmosphere has disappeared in the physical world," the team explained.
Google launched the project with a celebration event at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, focusing on the Oklahoma City chapter, which includes eight partners, four of them new to the collaboration.
The tech company hopes the project will demonstrate that Route 66 remains more than a static piece of history. Partner organizations have contributed stories ranging from unique architecture to pop culture impact to profiles of people living along the route today.
"We hope they enjoy the ways that AI can be used to enhance this experience of history in a thoughtful and fun way," the Google Arts & Culture Team said.
The Route 66 digital hub is accessible at goo.gle/route66 and is designed to appeal to both American and international audiences interested in exploring the legendary highway's history and cultural significance.