My intent was to post these in the morning but thought it might be nice to share them today. This first photo is of a Route 66 icon. Care to guess which one?
This is Mr. D’z Route 66 Diner in Kingman, Arizona. My best guess as to date would bee somewhere between 1940 and 1946 or 1947. This is based on the car, a 1940 Plymouth, and the house in the background.
That house was torn down in late 1946 to make way for the Dunton dealership. That building is now Dream Machines.
The second photo is of the Old Trails Garage which is just west of the Brunswick Hotel. The garage still stands and plans are rapidly moving along for its restoration.
Before becoming a center for the repair of GM manufactured products this was the Packard garage. The restoration plans call for recreating that period as the center piece will be the restored neon Packard sales and service sign that hung over the garage door.
This photo is from the collection of the Mohave Museum of History & Arts. The Kimo photo is from the Dunton family collection.
I recently received a copy of Route 66 – Images of America’s Main Street by William Kaszyniski for review. At this point I am about half way through the book and the dominant thought is wonder at how this book has been overlooked by fans of Route 66.
It is well researched, detailed, and is filled with great photos. It also provides in depth direction to earlier alignments and in detail lists the reasons to seek them out. http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=A71212&fc1=000000&lc1=C9D924&t=rout66chro-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&m=amazon&f=ifr&asins=0786415533 I have long been a fan of the unique artistry of Jerry McClanahan. His stunning paintings in post card form are as windows into the era when Route 66 was really the Main Street in a string of towns from Chicago to Santa Monica, the Edsel was the latest automotive styling sensation, and “We Like Ike” buttons were a popular fashion accessory.
Well, now I have another reason for giving Jerry kudos. His book, “EZ 66 Route 66 Guide For Travelers” is nothing short of a masterpiece.
In recent months every explorer met along Route 66 has had a copy of this book. I recently purchased a copy to assist in ensuring accuracy for the next book, Ghost Towns of Route 66, and to plan our forthcoming adventure of seeking out forgotten places along the old double six.
If your plans are to explore a portion or the entire length of Route 66 don’t leave home without this guide.
Now, a couple of unrelated Route 66 notes that provide an insight into my odd way of thinking. Last evening I was reviewing old photos in an effort to formulate a direction for the next installment of The Independent Thinker written for Cars & Parts magazine.
For reasons unknown my train of thought began to drift into a comparative study. Which of these automobiles best represented the Bush administration? Which would symbolize the Obama administration?
Granted its a bit early to tell but the initial impression is the Octauto best exemplifies the Obama administration. The concept looks good on paper but it is wholly impractical. There are way to many wheels and even worse the Octauto transformed a practical well designed Overland into an impractical, cumbersome, and perhaps dangerous behemoth. I see a number of parallels between the Edsel and the Bush administration. The production model of the Edsel was not the car originally designed. Unforeseen circumstances resulted in its introduction being ham strung. Even though there were a number of futuristic features on the Edsel these were plagued with glitches. Last but not least the car did not meet the expectations fueled by the hype.
Those are my random thoughts for the day. Last evening as my mind began to drift in that direction I decided that it was time to call it a day. Without realizing it I had somehow managed to make Saturday a fourteen hour work day!
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Granted its a bit early to tell but the initial impression is the Octauto best exemplifies the Obama administration. The concept looks good on paper but it is wholly impractical. There are way to many wheels and even worse the Octauto transformed a practical well designed Overland into an impractical, cumbersome, and perhaps dangerous behemoth.