Car fans honor a century of Route 66

Route 66 is iconic, legendary, and historic; but it’s the journey, not the destination, that draws people to it.

The cross-country highway route, from Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier, is also synonymous with car culture.

“It just goes right to the classic cars,” said David Dunlap, chairman of Route 66 Inland Empire California, who spends some of his time in Rancho Cucamonga at the Cucamonga Service Station on Foothill Boulevard, which is also Route 66.

Route 66 turns 100 in November. The highway was designated in 1926 when the nation launched the federal highway system. The route became a patchwork of state, local, and city roads connected and those connections brought travels.

Billed as the shortest and most scenic route to the West, Route 66 grew popular, according to the National Park Service. The road has been celebrated through the years as a pop culture icon, bringing the nation together by car and inspiring a lasting legacy of car culture and appreciation.

Now 100 years later, the celebration of “The Mother Road” continues.

Friday night, the two-day 13th annual Route 66 Cruisin’ Reunion kicked off, bringing more than 1,000 classic cars, hot rods and cruisers to downtown Ontario.

“It’s such a good feeling about the cars and everything about the culture with Route 66,” said Marco Santiago, who brought his 1968 Dodge D100, to the show, his first time there. “My car has such good memories in it, and I have always wondered if it was on that road back in the day.”

His car has been in the family for more than 40 years, he bought it from his father, and it’s had many trips to and from Tijuana, Mexico, he said.

The famed 2,448-mile highway road enters California in the San Bernardino County desert town of Needles – 315 of those miles are in Southern California. It crosses through Barstow and Newberry Springs — you just might see tumbleweeds along the way. The road continues through the High Desert and the Cajon Pass and into the Inland Empire. From there the route heads west, along a parallel route with today’s 210 Freeway, into the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County before dipping slightly south toward the coastal community of Santa Monica.

Time capsules sit all along the highway and one Southern California stop, the historic Cucamonga Service Station, managed by the Route 66 Inland Empire California nonprofit, draws visitors from all over.

The preserved service station was originally a Richfield station built in 1915. It served as a rest stop for weary travelers and more-recently a local hangout.

Dunlap says the highway has reached beyond our borders and has developed an international following. Many visitors from all over stop in to the Rancho Cucamonga landmark to talk, he said on a recent Monday afternoon.

“I always ask, ‘What makes you so interested in Route 66?’ And they tell us we want to come to America, and that’s kind of what they think about. It’s iconic. Traveling on Route 66,” Dunlap said. “We get folks from other countries all the time. Yeah wow. 
Nearly 20% a month are from other countries.”

Dunlap said a few of the visitors were from international Route 66 associations who met up at the service station by chance.

“I was working here one day, and I had a couple from France come in. They were from the French Route 66 Association,” he said. “As I’m talking to them, this Japanese guy walks in, and they hugged him; he’s from the Japanese Route 66 Association, and they had both met as they were traveling the route.”

He said the road is linked with car culture and the days gone by.

The draw to California was born from necessity as much as leisure, Dunlap said.

“California has agriculture, and they used Route 66 to come out here (for work). So that was one of the big things that made Route 66 so popular. California was growing like crazy,” he said. “Then we went into the whole bit about the freeways being built in the ’50s and ’60s. You had a big motoring public. They had cars like you’ve got out front here, and they wanted someplace nice to drive them.”

John Steinbeck’s classic “The Grapes of Wrath” added a layer of interest in the road too, highlighting the struggles of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in the Midwest, affecting farmers as they were in search of new opportunities out West.

The road has undergone major changes, as it was paved, widened, straightened, and generally modernized over the years, history columnist Nick Cataldo wrote in a recent column. Millions of Americans used the route as their path to the West, especially during the Dust Bowl era from about 1930 to 1940.

Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985 after modern interstates and highways bypassed major sections of the route.

Even today, the entire route isn’t fully drivable. The Route 66/National Trails Highway Bridge Replacement Project is underway now in San Bernardino County.

The project spans 130 miles “and involves repairing and replacing dozens of aging wooden bridges …,” Amy Ledbetter, communications officer at the San Bernardino County Public Works Department, told columnist Amy Bentley in June. There are 63 bridge structures of 133 that are “active county projects,” and two had been repaired.

But that hasn’t stopped those coming to visit and drive the nostalgic route.

Southern California car culture often pays homage to the “Mother Road” with shows, like this weekend’s in Ontario. A key part of that is to see and be seen.

Since 2013, the Ontario show has been one of the largest, featuring vehicles from every era.

Danny Tercero brought his cherry red 1947 Chrysler Windsor Highlander on Friday afternoon to downtown Ontario and was admiring other rides as they cruised by.

“Route 66’s 100th birthday for me means smiles,” Tercero said. “It’s having fun and relaxing, enjoying the ride as you cruise.”

Next to Tercero was Mark Gomez, who brought his black convertible 1941 Chevy, he bought from his late father.

“It is a good feeling to have this car I got from my dad during the Route 66 anniversary,” Gomez said. “During the pandemic, I actually drove the entire Route 66 with my daughter. It’s such a great memory.”

The big shows aren’t the only way local car enthusiasts still meet up. Smaller events and even monthly meetups are still very popular.

“Car culture, man, it’s just about family,” said “Lace,” a member of the Viejitos San Bernardino Car Club, who was at a recent Fontana meetup. “Hanging out with your kids and good people hanging out, talking about cars,” he said in an interview. “No trouble, just having a good time. That’s all it is.”

Another Viejiitos car club member Robert Delgado said he is proud of his ride he revived from the dead into his Frankenstein masterpiece.

“When I go down Route 66, I get all thumbs up, and a lot of people really like it when I am cruising down the road,” he said in an interview. “It’s an attention-getter. People pull up beside me, and I know they are looking at the car.”

Eating along Route 66

• Desert spots keep traces of diner culture alive

• Enchiladas, prime rib and pastrami in the San Gabriel Valley

• Burgers and breakfast in Eagle Rock and Silver Lake

• Chow mein, chili and rock stars in West Hollywood