On the Move should be on your bookshelf

If you removed all the text from On the Move, the photos and illustrations could stand alone to make this an excellent book. The book is a cooperation of National Geographic and the Smithsonian Institution and it shows. The book is filled with clear jump-off-the-page pictures dating back to the late 1800’s. I’m so used to thinking of the past in monochrome black and white or at the best brownish sepia. This makes the color from the past so bright with new photos of old transportation equipment from the Smithsonian’s collection. I never imagined the color of the past in the rich red gas pump, the glorious green locomotive, or the 40’s golden yellow Dodge school bus.

On the Move gives a great overview of not only facts and figures of transportation, but societal changes that were part of it. Thankfully, it’s getting harder to imagine a time when there was a need for “The Negro Motorist Green-Book” to find a place where they could buy gasoline or get a meal or warm bed for the night. Suburbia grew first from mass transit and then from speedy travel on high speed non-stop freeways. A new culture was built around the car, while other urban cultures were split in two by Interstate highways.

For the lover of all roads or the Road Geek like me, the photos of road building, old roads, gas stations and even advertising to take me back to a time. This was a time before I was born, when modern transportation and travel was like an infant with so much to grow and so much to create.

This book is partly based on the Smithsonian’s exhibit “America on the Move” which just reopened in Washington, DC. The History Channel also produced a DVD also called On the Move 1876-2000.







Copyright 2008 All the World Travel and oldroutes.com

My Driveway was US 99

As part of the Smithsonian’s America on the Move exhibition, they brought an original 1932 piece of Route 66 from Oklahoma to the Smithsonian in Washington DC. I was able to enjoy several hours of the wandering around the history. Among all the people rushing through, I stood there for a moment and thought of the people that traveled this road. What kind of car were they in? Were they a family enjoying a trip, or maybe looking for a new life out west? How many times had the kids impatiently asked, “Are we there yet?” Was Dad trying to put just a few more miles behind him tonight? Was the tired driver worried about that funny sound or whether that temperature gauge will ever go down?
You can get a virtual tour of the museum here and buy the official book here. The Museum has been closed for major architectural renovations. It’s scheduled to reopen November 21, 2008.

While old US 99 doesn’t have the “curb appeal” of Route 66, some folks in Kelso Washington have a leftover stub of old US 99 or Old Pacific Highway as part of their driveway.
I suppose they aren’t a road geek and just think it’s a big old piece of concrete, but there could be some interesting decorating. Some Burma Shave Signs… a nice 99 shield on the mailbox… a sign proclaiming the end of 99 ahead… No Passing?

There are many unimproved miles of the original 99 in Southwest Washington. Some even have the original killer concrete posts. If you would like to drive it, check out this article from the Columbia River Reader newspaper, but be careful out there.

Have you found any interesting pieces of old routes around? Let me know at oldroutes@gmail.com.