Route 66 in California, and: Route 66: Iconography of the American Highway (review)

Auto Club of Southern California Directional Signs Along Route 66, Los Angeles, 1931.

Photo Courtesy of Automobile Club of Southern Caifornia Archives

The authors of Route 66 in California identify the book as a "photo-documentary" that aims to give readers "a look at the special history of U.S. Highway 66 across Southern California, how it came to be, why people came out here, what they came to see, and what still endures" (9). By offering this perspective, the book also seeks to convey a pictorial impression of "the history, culture, and economic importance of Route 66 in California" (6). Duncan and the preservation foundation give readers a fine look at what those traveling California via Route 66 would have seen, nearly town by town, at various times in the existence of the highway. The book has not met its other avowed aims quite as well as it has this aspect of what travelers would have seen and still may see.

Following helpful introductory matter, Route 66 in California begins with five early images of features and places along the future Route 66 and then proceeds chapter by chapter along the highway, photographically traveling east to west, from the Colorado River and Needles through to Santa Monica and the Pacific. The second chapter covers more than half of the approximately 350 mile distance of Route 66 across California (Needles to Barstow). The next three chapters lead us from Barstow through to Los Angeles, the last three from Los Angeles through Hollywood, Beverly Hills and on to Santa Monica and the ocean.

The authors have compiled an interesting collection of California Route 66-related photographs from across the twentieth century. The cumulative effect of this work is to give the reader a visual experience of different periods in the California stretch of Route 66. Buildings understandably receive special attention. What one comes away with is the impression of Route 66 in California as a tribute to "the commerce and communities that have sprung up along the corridor" (8). The book nicely presents what those traveling the route would have seen, some of the standard sights they would likely have come to see as tourists, and the buildings that have remained as landmarks along the route. While a balance is struck between images from before and after World War II, the impressions left are predominantly of the highway as a postwar phenomenon. The authors write that "Route 66, for many Americans and travelers from abroad, has simply become a signpost for a longing to return to that earlier, simpler pace and time" (8), by which, presumably, is meant the era evoked by the Route 66 of the Bobby Troup song. The Dust Bowl exodus along The Mother Road plays a comparatively small part in this collection of images. Physical changes to the actual roadway receive some attention, but it is the physical culture along the way that is the major interest and focus. The mystique of Route 66 ("how it came to be" symbolically and "why people came") can be extrapolated from the images.

Route 66 in California will be of interest to students of the popular culture and history of Route 66, those interested in US highway history, California history, history of the pop culture of the road, and to those with an interest in urban commercial architecture, among others. The captions are informative, though the reader may occasionally hunger for more information. The captions provide "seeds" for further exploration of the stories behind the photos: the places and people. The book does not presume to be more than it is: a photo collection illustrating features, history, and personalities along Route 66 in California. While...