Route 66, the Mother Road, became an American icon of romance, freedom, migration, and travel after its creation in 1926 as one of the first numbered U.S. highways, running 2,500 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles through Illinois to Missouri and beyond. It carried Dust Bowl migrants in the 1930s and families bound for the Southwest and California in the 1950s and 1960s, while diners, cafes, service stations, motels, roadside attractions, and small towns shaped the journey. In Illinois, the route began in downtown Chicago, crossed suburbs and prairie farmland, and reached the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi River, which carried traffic from 1936 to 1955. Springfield stood at the heart of this travel culture as a long-standing tourist destination where neon signs, motels, and restaurants welcomed motorists drawn both to Route 66 experiences and to Abraham Lincoln’s legacy. The city became known for motor courts with themed designs and modern amenities, and for local food traditions including the Horseshoe Sandwich, Cozy Dogs, and Mel-O-Cream donuts. Although U.S. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985 after losing out to faster freeways, nostalgia sustained its legacy, and historic stretches, businesses, structures, and attractions in the Springfield region continued to preserve and reflect the road’s culture.
