Route 66 remains beloved in the popular imagination in part for the commercial enterprises, sometimes charming or hokey, that lined the road from Illinois to California.
At the Los Angeles County Fair through May 31, an area in Expo Hall 9 is devoted to Route 66. Made up of items from the collection of John Atwater, the display attempts to give a flavor of the road’s heyday via license plates, maps, postcards, ashtrays, matchbooks and other memorabilia.
A banner along the picket fence around the area calls it Johnny’s Trading Post.
I ask Atwater, who does not normally go by “Johnny,” about the whimsical name.
“I made that up,” Atwater says. “I saw an old postcard that said ‘Trading Post and Curiosity Shop.’ Hey, I’ll call it ‘Johnny’s Trading Post’!”
He adds: “Even though nothing is for sale and I’m not trading anything.”
Doesn’t matter. The name evokes the spirit of a Route 66 roadside attraction.
As you’ve probably heard, and will continue to hear for months, 2026 is the centennial of Route 66. The first paved highway in America, Route 66 has assumed significance far beyond its real-world use as a way to get from here to there.
It’s symbolic of 20th century America, the freedom of the open road and a time before interstate freeways and corporate chains made one town seem to blur into the next.
Atwater is not a Route 66 expert. The road is a comparatively recent interest of his. He just likes collecting things, especially pop culture ephemera. He was able to fill the space, which he says is the size of a four-car garage, with an assortment of items that seemed to fit the theme.
“That’s what happens when you’re a pack rat all your life,” Atwater admits.
Among the eclectic items are vintage automobile tools. A hand crank would be used to start a car’s engine. A fuel stick was the way to measure how much gas was left in the tank before dashboards had fuel gauges.
An auto boot, akin to a bicycle lock, was a way to prevent anyone with a hand crank — see above — from driving off with your car.
Old license plates from the route’s eight states are here. Each state has a small display of objects, like a map, tourist brochure, souvenir drinking glass and postcard.
A wooden display stand is stocked with empty soda bottles. My favorite is from an obscure brand named Spike It. Rhyming motto: “You’ll Like It.”
A reproduction of a 1959 Negro Motorist Green Book represents the more troubled side of Americana. It’s a guidebook of businesses — service stations, restaurants, motels and others — that were welcoming to Black people, in an era when traveling as a person of color could be dangerous.
“It had to be here,” Atwater says quietly. “It’s an important part of the story.”
The 1960-64 “Route 66” TV series is represented by two tie-in pieces of merchandise. A miniature Corvette convertible is like the one driven by Martin Milner and George Maharis on the show. And a board game allowed players “drive” their pieces around a winding track representing the road.
Other items are more personal, like a set of skeleton keys that belonged to his grandfather and a partly filled book of S&H Green Stamps that was his mother’s.
Atwater is retired from the Upland Planning Department. That’s where we met in 1997, when Upland was my beat as a reporter. He was always friendly and helpful.
Also, we discovered we had a shared love of comic books on the day when, visiting his City Hall cubicle, I noticed his computer screensaver and instantly exclaimed, “The Silver Surfer!” (That’s a Marvel Comics character.)
Besides comics, license plates and soda bottles, Atwater, 68, collects postcards, ashtrays and items from casinos and World’s Fairs.
“It was ‘The Addams Family’ theme song that got me hooked: ‘Their house is a museum, people come to see ’em,’” Atwater sings softly. “My house is a museum.”
He likes sharing his collections in public settings. He regularly puts together themed display cases at the Pomona and San Bernardino public libraries.
At the L.A. County Fair, he has contributed to shows at the Millard Sheets Art Center several times. For a more recent “Fall in the Farm” event, he brought old kitchenware like hand-operated mixers and can openers, stuff that children found fascinating.
The Route 66 exhibit came about at the fair’s invitation. Atwater had had the centennial in mind the past five years and was hoping to mount a display somewhere. “I was hoping it would be here,” he says.
The fair is as delighted by his presence as he is to be there.
“He’s just the nicest guy,” says Kristy Dahlstrom, the fair’s event programming director. “His text messages always begin, ‘Good morning, friend!’ with a bunch of emoji.”
The boyish Atwater may be the least-jaded person of my acquaintance, aside from small children. Dahlstrom knows what I mean.
“He still has that sense of wonder,” Dahlstrom says. “He always seems like he’s thrilled by everything.”
As I visit with Atwater a week ago, Tom and Juline McGarry of Claremont enter the exhibit to look around. The couple has proud possession of an original 1970s restaurant sign from Lord Charley’s, as reported here in 2020.
“This is one of the things we wanted to see,” Tom enthuses to Atwater about the exhibit. He tells us he drove from Chicago to California on Route 66 in 1971 and that he and Juline are driving local segments of the route to visit sights.
Atwater lives on Route 66 in Rancho Cucamonga and volunteers with the California Route 66 Association. “I like the nostalgia and I like history. Route 66 has it all. This is as Americana as you can get,” he says.
“Our guard for today is from Russia,” Atwater continues concerning Expo Hall 9. “He loves Route 66. I’ve lost track of how many times he’s been in here taking pictures of stuff.”
Even Russians can get their kicks on Route 66.
Route 66 (more)
In the L.A. County Fair’s sprawling model train layout known as the Fairplex Garden Railroad, Route 66 is highlighted this year. Visitors can see tiny replicas of Cadillac Ranch from Texas, the Wigwam Motel from Arizona and San Bernardino, Roy’s Cafe in Amboy, a Main Street with moving cars and a 66 emblem on the “pavement,” and, in its version of Santa Monica, an “End of the Road” sign.
David Allen writes Sunday, Wednesday and Friday until the end of the road. Email dallen@scng.com, phone 909-483-9339, and follow davidallencolumnist on Facebook or Instagram, @davidallen909 on X or @davidallen909.bsky.social on Bluesky.