Route 66: 100 years of motoring
2026 marks 100 years of the historic Route 66. The celebration to kick off on April 30th at Missouri State University’s Great Southern Bank Arena.
Springfield, Mo., the city where Route 66 originated, is set to kick off a year-long national celebration of the 100th anniversary of the most-recognized highway in the United States, maybe the world.
On April 30, the city is hosting commemorative ceremonies and a kickoff concert at Great Southern Bank Arena on the Missouri State University campus. Little Big Town will headline the show with other big names in country, rock and Americana music.
The April 30 kick off is exactly 100 years from the day in 1926 that a telegram was sent from Springfield to Washington, D.C., requesting that a new transcontinental highway be named Route 66. The U.S. National Route 66 Centennial Commission designated Springfield to initiate the year-long recognition that will be observed in many ways in many cities and sites along the 2,448 miles the highway covered from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif.
Additional April 30 kick-off events are planned in five Route 66 Centennial Satellite Cities: Joliet, Ill.; St. Louis, Mo.; Amarillo, Texas; Albuquerque; and Santa Monica.
The commission and the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership are working cooperatively to revitalize and sustain Route 66 as a national icon and international destination. Thousands of tourists are expected to “take to the road” this year to soak up and add to the lore of this historic byway.
Springfield expects hundreds of cars and trucks of all kinds to fill downtown streets to observe the anniversary again on Aug. 7-8 during the city’s annual Birthplace of Route 66 Festival.
Plan a trip!
Online Route 66 resources:
www.route66centennial.org
www.route66-centennial.com
www.okhistory.org/about/commission
www.route66roadtrip.com/route-66-centennial-2026.htm
https://dceo.illinois.gov/events/route66centennial.html
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