Coined the “Mother Road” by John Steinbeck in his 1939 “The Grapes of Wrath” novel, the U.S. Route 66 has been a beloved part of New Mexico’s history since its opening in 1926 as an official highway.
Route 66 is a landmark of American development and urbanization of the West, connecting Michigan Avenue in Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier in Los Angeles, California — a total of 2,238 miles in its final form, according to The Route 66 website.
Though travel on Route 66 lessened as the larger U.S. highway system was built, the magic of the “Mother Road” can still be seen in the cities and towns along its original route and through the oral histories of locals.
Of the original road, 265 miles are still open for public travel in New Mexico through Gallup, Grants, Santa Rosa, Albuquerque and Tucumcari, according to New Mexico True.
To celebrate the centennial anniversary of the highway’s certification, the City of Albuquerque hosted its first Route 66 Centennial Speaker Series on Jan. 24 at locations throughout the city, to give interested listeners a chance to learn about the history and cultural impacts of the route.
Richard Ruddy, a local photographer, led the “Route 66 in Downtown Albuquerque” event at the Gutierrez-Hubbell House in the South Valley. Originally from Chicago, Ruddy moved to Albuquerque with his family in 1949, experiencing the liveliness of Route 66 at its height, he said.
“I loved going into the shoe stores, where you could put your feet in a machine and look at your toes through your shoes in an X-ray,” Ruddy said.
The “Route 66 in Downtown Albuquerque” event surveyed the development of Albuquerque from the arrival of the railroad in 1880 to the brightly colored signs, family-friendly storefronts and lively music of the 1940s and 1950s that brought downtown alive.
Ruddy spoke alongside a slideshow collection of personal photos taken during his time living in downtown Albuquerque, depicting the original streetview and skyline of Central Avenue in the mid-twentieth century — one image included a sign advertising an Elvis Presley concert in 1956.
The idea for the series was developed by Debbie Post and Diane Schaller to celebrate Route 66’s centennial anniversary in 2026.
“We were looking forward to sharing our unique cultural heritage and history with Route 66 out-of-state and international travelers as well as the local community,” Post, president of the East Mountain Historical Society and a member of the committee for the NM Route 66 Centennial Speaker Series, wrote.
The speakers covered a wide range of topics, including automotive racing, the contribution of Italian and Chinese immigrants to Route 66’s founding and iconic spots along the road, Post wrote.
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“Route 66 has played an important role in New Mexico history, with an impact to the prosperity of Santa Fe, Albuquerque, and cities and towns along the Route. In turn, the unique culture of New Mexico has an impact on travelers and how they understand the American Southwest. As we had hoped, each of our speakers explores a different viewpoint into New Mexico history, relating it to Route 66,” Post wrote.
Route 66 stretches for 18 miles through Albuquerque — the longest urban stretch of the original Route 66 in the U.S., according to Visit Albuquerque.
“It’s easy for some people to stereotype Route 66 as just a moment of neon or tail-finned cars. Those are incredibly significant things, but they aren’t all of the story,” Troy Lovata, a professor in the University of New Mexico Honors College, wrote.
Lovata co-teaches a course on Route 66’s history and impact, highlighting how paths across New Mexico have been affected by the state’s topography, he wrote.
“The impact of Route 66 is also culturally much larger than a half century of highway because its path overlayed, paralleled and crossed earlier travel routes — from paths carved out over thousands of years by the feet of Native peoples to journeys like Edward Beale’s Camel Corps that set up a wagon road to California to the railroads and dirt roads charted before New Mexico gained statehood,” Lovata wrote.
The last decade of scholarship focused on Route 66 has revealed how many stories from that era remain to be told and understood, Lovata wrote.
“It’s so great we have so many events that include, but aren’t just about looking back or for a limited group of people. They’re also about looking at where we are now and about looking forward. They’re about what it means to live in Albuquerque and New Mexico,” Lovata wrote.
The Route 66 Centennial Series will be recurring through 2026, with the 18 volunteer speakers rotating between 12 locations on the fourth Saturday of each month, Post wrote.
Maria Fernandez is the copy editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at copy@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
