Route 66 is a beloved and much studied symbol of twentieth-century America. But until now, no book has focused on the bridges that spanned the rivers, creeks, arroyos, and railroads between Chicago and Santa Monica. In this handsome volume, Route 66 authority and veteran writer and photographer Jim Ross examines the origins and history of the bridges of America’s most famous highway, structures designed to overcome obstacles to travel, many of them engineered with architectural aesthetics now lost to time. Featuring hundreds of Ross's own photographs, Route 66 Crossings showcases bridges ranging in design from timber to steel and concrete, and provides schematics, maps, and global coordinates to help readers identify and locate them. Ross’s comprehensive accounting of structures along the Mother Road’s various alignments includes bridges still in use, those that have vanished or have been abandoned, and the few consciously preserved as monuments. He also recognizes ancillary structures that enhanced safety and helped facilitate traffic, such as railway grade separations, tunnels, and pedestrian underpasses. Ross seeks to encourage ongoing preservation of the structures that remain. In brilliant color and precise detail, Route 66 Crossings expands our knowledge of the bridges that linked America’s first all-weather national highway.

Fully revised and expanded New stories-more details -Nearly 30 feet of strip maps -350 towns and attractions -More highway memorabilia -Mini-tours-rentals-discounts -Chicago-L.A. mileage table

It started in the heartland and originally ended in Los Angeles (not, contrary to myth, at the ocean). It carried truckers crossing the country, Okies fleeing the Dust Bowl, vacationers seeking the sun. It was Americas Main Street, the Mother Road, the Will Rogers Highway, and, at its dangerous curves, Bloody 66. Get your kicks on Route 66 with this wonderfully illustrated tribute to the best-loved highway in this car-loving nation. Michael Witzel shares his expertise and wealth of personal, archive, collector, and contributing photographer images in these pages, offering a nostalgic tour of the charms and oddities of this road through American cultural history. Starting in Chicago and running to Santa Monica, this book highlights the sights along the highway with historic and current photos in then-and-now pairings, and includes Route 66 postcards, road signs, trinkets, maps, brochures, and advertisements. Here we see Route 66 as it was in its heyday and as it is now, the neon glamour of yesterday versus the ghost towns of today. Witzel and his wife, Gyvel Young-Witzel, recount the highways history, its role in popular culture, and its demise, as well as the individual stories of famous sights. Several profiles of those with close ties to the Mother Road, including the woman who played Ruthie Joad in the The Grapes of Wrath film, are included.

Through the stories of one of Canada's most enthusiastic travellers explore the famous American highway that inspired the likes of Al Capone, Salvador Dali, Mickey Mantle, and the countless fans of this iconic American landmark.

Tells the story of the legendary road, Route 66, begun in the early 1920s that covered 2400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles.

"A look at 500 of Route 66's most significant past and present sites in seven categories, illustrated with hundreds of photographs and specially commissioned maps"--

This guide to road-tripping along Route 66 presents the highway's very best stops--and it's the only guidebook with a fully integrated app.