Historic Route 66: Springfield Illinois to Springfield Missouri

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Springfield Illinois

   Abraham Lincoln lived in Springfield for seventeen years before he went to Washington, and the town still revolves around him. His home, a modest two-storey frame house, is kept as a national historic site on its original street, and the Old State Capitol, where he gave his 'House Divided' speech, stands on the main square. His tomb lies in Oak Ridge Cemetery on the north side of town, a granite obelisk and a bronze head whose nose is rubbed shiny by visitors for luck. The city has a quiet, civic air that suits its role as the state capital.

   Read the complete Springfield Illinois write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Springfield Illinois is where the day begins. Next is St Louis.

2. 2. St Louis

   St. Louis is a river city with a very large arch in it. The Gateway Arch, designed by Eero Saarinen and finished in 1965, rises 630 feet on the west bank of the Mississippi, a catenary curve of stainless steel that is the tallest monument in the United States and one of the most recognisable. It marks the city's historic role as the gateway to the West, the starting point for settlers, trappers and explorers, including Lewis and Clark, who set out up the Missouri in 1804 from a camp not far north. At its feet, a museum tells the story of westward expansion, and a tram carries visitors to the top.

   Read the complete St Louis write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   St Louis comes up about 340 km into the recorded legs. Next is Cuba Missouri.

3. 3. Cuba Missouri

   Cuba, Missouri, is a small town of about three and a half thousand people in the Ozark foothills, and it has turned itself into the Mural City of Route 66. More than a dozen big paintings cover the walls of old buildings, showing the history of the town, the railroad, the highway and the people, and the effect is cheerful and slightly surreal, like a gallery laid out along a main street. The town is said to take its name from the island of Cuba.

   Read the complete Cuba Missouri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 643 km into the recorded legs you reach Cuba Missouri. Next is Springfield Missouri.

4. 4. Springfield Missouri

   Springfield, Missouri, calls itself the birthplace of Route 66, and the claim has a document behind it. On 30 April 1926 officials from Springfield sent a telegram proposing that the new highway from Chicago to Los Angeles be numbered 66, and the idea was accepted. The city of about a hundred and sixty-seven thousand grew up around the railroads and the highway, and many of the old motels and diners from the golden age still stand along St. Louis Street and College Street, with their neon signs and mid-century lines.

   Read the complete Springfield Missouri write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Springfield Missouri closes the day.