United States Route 66, also known as "The Mother Road," "The Main Street of America" and "The Will Rogers Highway," still plays a prominent role in American popular culture. Although officially no longer in existence since 1985, and no longer marked on most U.S. road maps, there are plans to renovate some of the original roadway and the small-town areas through which it passed. Following are a few background facts on Route 66.

• Route 66 is 2448 miles long. (about 4000 km), crossing 8 states and 3 time zones.
• It was commissioned in 1926, incorporating many bits and pieces of existing road.
• In 1926 only 800 miles were paved, only in 1937 was Route 66 paved end-to-end.
• Route 66 starts in Chicago, and ends in L.A. (Santa Monica). Driving the Route in the opposite direction is historically 'wrong', and a lot harder, as most available documentation goes the "right" way.
• Since 1985 the old Route 66 has been replaced by interstate highways I-55, I-44, I-40, I-15 and I-10.
• Route 66 was also the title of a highly popular TV series playing from 1960 till 1964.
• Cyrus Stevens Avery from Tulsa, Oklahoma is known as "the father of Route 66."
• About 80 percent of the original road is still drivable, but finding the old sections is not always easy. One of the best guides to discovering old Route 66 and some of its treasures is The Route 66 Traveler's Guide by Tom Snyder (St. Martin's Press, New York; $9.95). Michael Wallis' book Route 66: The Mother Road (St. Martin's Press; $17.95) is also useful.
• See the very useful National Park Service Route 66 website for much additional information. There is a complete history of Route 66 in Route 66 by Quinta Scott (University of Oklahoma; $18.95).