Happy 90th Anniversary Route 66!

Route 66 brought development to Cuba, Missouri. It continues to bring travelers from all over the world.

You have enriched and aided the development of Cuba, MO since your beginnings. At first, you brought workers and jobs to our small town. Then you brought streams of traffic and travelers. You created the need for hotels, roadside tourist courts like the Wagon Wheel Motel & Cafe, the small gas stations, and stores to serve their needs. You brought the famous, the infamous, and every day travelers.

Cuba, Missouri The Wagon Wheel Motel on Route 66 cover

The cover of the Wagon Wheel Motel’s history features of photo of the cafe and gas station.

For a town that grew up around the railroad and its commerce, you sometimes created the need for the backdoors to become the front doors (The Southern Hotel and Hotel Cuba). The city had to build an underground tunnel under Route 66 on Washington and Smith Street so that pedestrians could move safely across the nation’s highway. Mary & Sam Vitali moved their small general store across the tracks to front Route 66. There they raised their family and became a hub of the small community of Fanning, four miles west of Cuba.

Fanning, Missouri General Store Route 66

Two general stores have their place in history.

Route 66 created our history and filled our memories. We appreciate its legacy and the national and international travelers that it still brings, searching for the nostalgia of an earlier time.

Happy 90th Anniversary Route 66.

A few past blogs with some Route 66 Tales and History

Feel free to share your own stories of Route in the comments.