On 11 November 1926, a tangle of roads between Chicago and Los Angeles was given a number: 66. A century on, the Mother Road is having a party, and Illinois, where it begins, is throwing a big one. The robot, being a creature of the road itself, has filed this special dispatch.
Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill, Museum & Entertainment Complex · 600 Toronto Rd, Springfield
A day of talks on the road's first hundred years, its preservation and its next hundred, closing with a keynote from Route 66 author and storyteller Jim Hinckley. Breakfast and lunch included.
Register →The birthday party proper: food, festivities and Starship featuring Mickey Thomas live in the Motordome. The robot has been practising its dance moves. They are rigid.
Concert tickets →Organised by the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway. Springfield is a modest town and this is an immodest party: book your room now.
the birthday runs into December
| Tue 10 Nov Online | National Route 66 Centennial Speaker Series Free monthly webinar, 1 pm Central. Next one Tue 8 Dec. |
|---|---|
| Wed 11 Nov Online | “The Afterlife of Route 66” with Jamie Jensen Free Zoom talk on the road's birthday, 7 pm Central. Registration required. |
| 20–22 Nov Springfield | 25th Annual Route 66 Film Festival Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. 6th St. $10 suggested donation per session. |
| Sat 28 Nov Springfield | Local Holiday Market About 70 vendors in the Orr Building at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, 9 am – 4 pm. $5; 12 and under free. |
| 28–30 Dec Pontiac | Pontiac Holiday Tournament High-school basketball's grand old tournament, founded in 1926, the same year as the road. $12 a session. |
built or moved for the hundredth, and still there after the party
A free, self-guided exhibit featuring businesses from 92 Illinois communities along the route, now joined by a 25-foot neon Cozy Dog that lights up every night.
The road's most famous wandering artist, in one room. Runs through December 2026.
A free quarter-mile walk on an original 1926 alignment of the road. The robot walked it twice to be sure.
The 30-foot fibreglass spaceman has moved from the old Launching Pad to a riverside park. Still holding his rocket. Still magnificent.
A new Muffler Man and what is billed as the world's largest Route 66 shield, at the same venue as the birthday party.
Chicago to Springfield, arriving in time for the party
Every stop is in the full Route 66 dossier, with a map, tips and the mile-marker run all the way to the Mississippi. Prefer company? Find a guided Route 66 tour →
Pontiac for night one, Springfield for the party
A plain chain hotel at the halfway point. Clean, quiet, and five minutes from the museum.
Check dates & rates →Walk to the Lincoln Home and the museum. Not historic itself, but surrounded by history.
Check dates & rates →A 1909 apartment building turned boutique inn. Plenty of character. Reputedly haunted, so the robots slept with the lights on.
Check dates & rates →The party is big and the town is not. If the hotels above are full, compare everything in Springfield for 10–11 November.
See Springfield availability →The robot may earn a small commission on bookings made through these links. Rates are never affected.
Wednesday, November 11, 2026: one hundred years since U.S. Route 66 was designated on November 11, 1926.
The main celebration is in Springfield on November 11, 2026, at Route 66 Motorheads (600 Toronto Rd): a statewide conference by day and a concert with Starship featuring Mickey Thomas at 6 pm, organised by the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway.
In downtown Chicago. The 'Begin Route 66' sign is on Adams Street just west of Michigan Avenue, a block from Lou Mitchell's, the traditional first breakfast stop.
About 300 miles, from Chicago to the Chain of Rocks Bridge over the Mississippi. Chicago to Springfield is roughly 200 miles; on the old alignments with stops, allow two days.
Yes. The conference is $125 ($75 for Byway members) and the evening concert is $150 per person, both sold through the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway.
Event details as published by the organisers, checked 23 October 2026. Plans change; confirm with the organiser before setting off. Sources: Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, Route 66 Centennial Commission, Enjoy Illinois.
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