U.S. Highway 66 Association

Background and purpose

U.S. Route 66, established in the mid‑1920s, ran between the Chicago area and Los Angeles, crossing a string of Midwestern and Southwestern states. The road linked rural towns and growing cities and quickly became important for long‑distance travel. The association sought to ensure that travelers could expect a paved, signed route and that towns along the way would benefit from increased tourist traffic.

Activities and programs

• Lobbying state highway departments and public officials for paving and maintenance.
• Publishing maps, travel guides and promotional literature to attract motorists.
• Coordinating conventions, roadside advertising and community events to boost local economies.
• Working with local chambers of commerce and business associations to standardize services for travelers.

The association also helped create a recognizable identity for the highway, encouraging consistent signage and marketing that made Route 66 a dependable choice for cross‑country motorists.

Impact, decline and legacy

By promoting continuous paving and traveler services, the association contributed to a boom in roadside commerce: service stations, motels, diners and tourist attractions grew along the corridor. After the federal interstate program of the 1950s led to many bypasses and the eventual decommissioning of U.S. Route 66, the original association lost much of its purpose and activity. In subsequent decades, however, new local and state groups, historical societies and preservationists built on that early work to recognize, restore and interpret surviving stretches of the historic highway.

Today the association is remembered as an early model of coordinated highway promotion, whose efforts helped shape the cultural and economic landscape of the regions Route 66 traversed and inspired later efforts to preserve the road's heritage.