Project

Route 66 was listed on the 2008 World Monuments Watch to draw attention to the complex challenges of preserving not only an iconic cultural landscape, but a historic American experience. Protecting the many sites along the route depends on generating new tourism and economic opportunities for the eight states and countless communities through which it passes. (...)

Route 66 was listed on the 2008 World Monuments Watch to draw attention to the complex challenges of preserving not only an iconic cultural landscape, but a historic American experience. Protecting the many sites along the route depends on generating new tourism and economic opportunities for the eight states and countless communities through which it passes. Toward this end, World Monuments Fund has partnered with American Express through the Sustainable Tourism Initiative to provide funding to support Route 66 projects.

The first of these is an online travel itinerary, Discover Our Shared Heritage, launched by the National Park Service in September 2009 and available at www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/route66. The itinerary highlights destinations listed in the National Register of Historic Places that bring the history and charm of Route 66 to life.

Still underway is an economic impact study of heritage tourism along Route 66. Working with the National Park Service, researchers from Rutgers University, and local stakeholders, WMF is exploring the benefits of preservation in an effort to galvanize public and private investment in the long-term stewardship of the “Mother Road.”