As Route 66 approaches its 100th anniversary in 2026, the  National Trust for Historic Preservation  created ROUTE 66 REMAP, a StoryMap series that explores the evolving and nuanced story of Route 66 through maps and place-based data. This is one of  many ways  the National Trust for Historic Preservation is supporting the people and places on Route 66 to ensure it remains a thriving and prosperous landscape for future generations.

Project Details

For Route 66's 100th Anniversary in 2026, the National Trust for Historic Preservation created ROUTE 66 REMAP, a collection of StoryMaps designed to celebrate the Centennial with a project that explores the evolution of Route 66 through maps and place-based data.
While Route 66 still captures the imagination of people around the world, its historic places—and their stories—continue to be lost every year. The National Trust for Historic Preservation believes mapping and documenting cultural assets is essential to preserving the route’s stories, identity, and legacy. This public resource is designed to inspire and inform additional preservation and policy efforts along Route 66, serving as a map-centered digital space to crowdsource and document historic & cultural places along the Mother Road.

These data-informed and interactive StoryMaps will be released to the public throughout 2025 and 2026, and include the following:

  • Route 66 Postcard Road Trip. Thousands of places along Route 66 had their own custom postcards, and over the years, they’ve been collected and compiled by individuals and organizations around the world. This StoryMap leverages a postcard collection from the Newberry Library as historical record to illuminate the route's rich and complex history. Mapping these postcards for the first time, the StoryMap includes an interactive map of 3,000+ historic Route 66 postcards and a virtual in-depth road trip of 12 postcards capturing a piece of the evolving and nuanced history of the route and the United States as a whole. By highlighting the places represented in these postcards and comparing them with their current status via street-level imagery, we aim to draw attention to the rapidly changing landscape of Route 66 and highlight preservation needs and priorities.
  • Historic Maps of Route 66: The cartography behind the nation’s most iconic highway. With a nod to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this StoryMap includes a collection of historic maps to discuss how the USA as a whole and the Mother Road share a rich history, with Route 66 serving as an icon through the nation's many eras of the past century. Using the power of GIS, we have not only georeferenced historic maps, but also annotated them with different layers of data that enhance our understanding of the stories they tell..
  • Route 66 Roadside Resilience: The legacy businesses of the Mother Road. From diners and motels that have fed and sheltered generations of travelers to local establishments serving the everyday needs of residents, these businesses have been – and continue to be – the lifeblood of Route 66.  This StoryMap discusses the research conducted by the National Trust to identify “legacy businesses” across the Mother Road, identifies some key examples of threats and loss to legacy businesses, spotlights 8 legacy businesses, and provides an interactive map to encourage the public to find and support these important businesses across Route 66..