Historic Route 66 in Illinois: Introduction

Scoop - Aerial Views. Frank Bill, photographer. May 27, 1941. McClean County Museum of History. 

From Illinois, or perhaps most of the country, Route 66 always looks westward—showing the horizon of the spiritual architecture of Americana. When it opened in 1926 as part of the U.S. Highway System, Route 66 began in Chicago and ran diagonally across the state, like a 300-mile asphalt vein through The Prairie State. You can virtually drive the entirety of "Old U.S. Route 66" in about 3 hours on Google Maps street view, but you wouldn't get the full story of Route 66 before it was largely replaced by the speedier and beefier Interstate 55.