Street Art of Rt 66
“In the early 1920s and immigration to California start it from the Midwest.Families packed up and headed west on national old trails Highway and proceeded ride along Barstow’s main street the depression and dust storms of the 1930s since families to California seeking work.In 1926 the road travel became route 66, the “Mother Road.”
In 2007 on a trip from San Diego to San Antonio, I decided to take a northernly route via Route 66 instead of the normal I-8 & I-10 route. Heading north on I-15, I intersected Route 66 near Victorville, CA and stayed on Rt 66 as much as possible. But over the years I-40 has gobbled up much of the road. There still are places one can drive the actual Mother Road as it has been called. Route 66 is for those who wish to travel and not be a tourist.
Route 66 winds its way from Chicago to Santa Monica. However the original Mother Road for me is the Lincoln Highway which traverses the United States from New York City (Times Square) to San Fransisco (Golden Gate Bridge.)
I had photographed an amazing piece of mural art in San Diego. It had been the first piece of building art that really caught my “eye.” At the time I began to realize that street art can have a very influential impact on the psyche of the community. Not only do they convey the history of the community, they also convey its culture.
As my drive began to cruise the “mother road” I began to spot not only cultural artifacts of this road, but also the art painted on buildings that not only celebrated the history of the road, but also its quirkiness. The first building art I photographed along the trip was in the town of Barstow.
In the late 1800s, the Barstow area became a mining center. The town of Dagget, five miles down the river founded in the 1860s was originally named Calico Junction. But was re-named after Lieut. Gov. Daggett when silver was found in 1882 in the Calico Mts. The famous 20 mule team hauled or from Daggett to Calico. Calico is now a tourist ghost town complete in the street gunfights, exploration of the silver mine, and an active pioneer cemetery. Without getting into more about this trip. This link will illustrate some of the street and building art seen between Barstow, CA and Gallup, NM.