27-04-2025
Summit promotes interstate collaboration for Route 66 Centennial
Apr. 27—Representatives of Route 66-related organizations from all eight states along the route came together in Albuquerque on Friday to foster collaboration in advance of the Route 66 Centennial in 2026.
The U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission hosted its first Mother Road Consortium Summit at the Clyde Hotel in Downtown for a day of panel discussions and networking.
Rhys Martin, manager of the Preserve Route 66 Initiative for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, as well as the president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, said he was pleasantly surprised to see how aligned the various groups appeared to be in terms of their vision.
"You have tourism organizations and historic associations and elected officials in each of the eight states, and we all appear to be swimming in the same direction," he said. "We all want to get to the same place, and that really helps, because otherwise it would be something where people are competing for travel tourism, sales tax, and that sort of thing. But from what we've heard today, everybody is of the same mind, and we're all just looking forward to collaborating as much as possible."
New Mexico's Route 66 Centennial Commission Chairman Bill Lee said he's excited about cross-state collaborations.
"When we first started talking about this (the Route 66 Centennial), we were like, 'How do we make New Mexico shine? How do we make it the shining example of all the states along the route?' We wanted to win, to be the biggest and brightest star," Lee said. "And while I think that's still an admirable goal, it's nice to look out across the other eight states and realize that together we're stronger, and a rising tide raises all ships."
Several presenters acknowledged the current uncertainty in the global economy, but Lee said he was optimistic that international travel will remain robust for Route 66's centennial year.
"There has been a lot of talk recently about international travelers canceling trips or not being likely to come due to the political climate, tariffs and all that," Lee said. "But I can tell you, in our community (Gallup), that's not what we're seeing. In fact, our international travel is up. And I'm attributing that to Route 66."
Acting Secretary for the New Mexico Tourism Department Lancing Adams said he was heartened by the level of support from politicians across all eight states.
"It was really great to have the lieutenant governor of Oklahoma here, along with Mayor Tim Keller and Lt. Gov. Howie Morales this morning, speaking on their support. This was a big deal," Adams said. "No other state has done this, in terms of bringing everybody together."
Like many participants, Adams said Friday's summit was an excellent way to connect with potential partners for future interstate projects.
"We've worked with Texas on a Texas — New Mexico itinerary, and we're looking to do that with Arizona and our other sister states," he said.
Brian Brown traveled from Oklahoma City for the summit.
Brown directs the Route 66 Centennial Monument Project, which hopes to place 16-foot-tall steel sculptures, modeled on the old shield-shaped Route 66 highway signs, at various locations across the route. The sculptures were designed by VOX Industries in collaboration with public artist Stan Carroll.
The goal of the Monument Project is to create a repeatable wayfinding landmark "that is consistent across the route," Brown said.
Madison Garay, Visit Albuquerque Route 66 marketing specialist, said she was "excited about the historic preservation initiatives across all eight states."
At the same time, she said she hoped the attention being paid to preserving iconic architecture and signage along Route 66 would not come at the expense of more prosaic but equally important buildings.
"Certain community centers and gathering places that have historic significance to all sorts of diverse communities tend to get overlooked if they're not considered artistically dynamic enough," Garay said. "Of course, here, we're really focusing on keeping the heritage corridor preserved — which means mid-century modern architecture, primarily — but there are many more buildings that are maybe not as flamboyant and 'Googie' and fun, which are still just as important to the story of the highway."
Route 66 is more than just milkshakes and Cadillacs, Martin said.
"Every small town has its own story," he said.
