Creating Route 66:
Road, Legend, Community
2026
November 13 – June 2027
This exhibition explores how the iconic highway took shape in the built landscape, the cultural imagination, and local communities—and how it continues to evolve.
Creating Route 66: Road, Legend, Community examines the diverse experiences of people who traveled Route 66 through historic photographs and artifacts. Visitors explore the early trails that shaped its path, its role in migration and tourism, and its enduring presence in film, literature, and music.
Highlights of the exhibition include historic photographs of Route 66, a first edition of The Grapes of Wrath, loans from the California Historic Route 66 Association, and images of iconic roadside signage. An interactive feature that invites visitors to mark their own journeys along the route, adding their experiences to its continuing story.
The exhibition traces the road’s development across several thematic sections:
- Building the Road: Route 66’s origins, including the early Indigenous trails that shaped the highway’s path.
- People of the Road: The experiences of Dust Bowl migrants, African American travelers navigating segregation with the help of Green Books, and women whose lives and work shaped Route 66.
- Imagining the Road: The reinvention of the Road’s lore through literature, film, and music, from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath to Disney and Pixar’s Cars.
- Visualizing the Road: The bold, eccentric, and kitsch imagery of roadside advertising and landmarks
- The End of the Road: Route 66’s particular resonance in California and Santa Monica, the “End of the Trail”
- Sharing the Road: The communities connected by the highway and contemporary efforts to revitalize it for local businesses and travelers.
“Route 66 holds a powerful place in the American imagination, but its history is also deeply personal,” said Anne Wallentine, Executive Director of the Santa Monica History Museum. “By bringing together stories of migration, creativity, travel, and community, we invite visitors to consider who shaped the road, how various communities and individuals experienced it, and what continues to make it meaningful today.”
Sponsorship Opportunities
Partner with the museum to bring these stories to life and share your brand’s affiliation with Route 66.
Exhibition Opening
Join us at the opening of our latest exhibition, Creating Route 66: Road, Legend, Community. The evening provides a first look at the exhibition and the opportunity to mingle with our Board Members, staff, museum and community members.
Enjoy food and drink from local Santa Monica restaurants!
DATE: November 12
TIME: 5pm – 7pm
Santa Monica History Museum Collection (36.2.228)
This exhibition made possible through the generous support of our sponsors
PUBLIC PROGRAMS SPONSORS
EDUCATIONAL SPONSORS
Chuck Kearsley
SUPPORTING SPONSORS
