Google marked Route 66’s 100th anniversary with a new interactive map, putting Albuquerque’s stretch of the road in the spotlight.
ALBUQUERQUE , N.M. – Google’s new interactive Route 66 map puts Albuquerque at the center of the Mother Road as local businesses look ahead to the road’s 100th year.
Google highlighted Route 66 with a new interactive map that lets people explore the highway from California to Illinois. The update comes as Albuquerque businesses along Central prepare for the Route 66 Centennial.
“You don’t call it searching, you call it Googling, you know? So that’s huge to see that Google was able to commemorate that as well,” a local business owner said.
Sharmin Dharas, CEO of Hotel Zaza, said growing up in Albuquerque changed how she saw Route 66 over time.
“I never saw anything cool about it when I was younger. I didn’t really care for it much, but as I got older,I started to see the beauty because I would travel and people would say like, ‘Oh, that’s where the Mother Road is,’” Dharas said.
Dharas said the approaching centennial feels personal for her family and business.
“So when I was 8 years old, I was told, ‘Hey, we’re moving.’ So I’m thinking we’re moving to a house. I’ll get like a front yard, a backyard, and nope, it was this place. My parents bought this when I was 8 years old,” Dharas said.
Why does it matter?
Groups like the New Mexico Route 66 Association are working to preserve the road’s history while also trying to boost tourism as the milestone gets closer.
“I never really anticipated that we would hit 100 years or that maybe I would live as long to see 100 years and it’s great. This year has kind of started, believe it or not, a year early,” a representative said.
At 66 Diner, co-owner Summer Willis said her family turned an old Phillips 66 service station into a restaurant in 1987 and kept its connection to the road’s past.
“The original building was built in 1945.It was originally a Phillips 66 service station.We have a lot of Phillips 66 memorabilia, kind of as a nod to that. It was many things in its lifetime,” Willis said.
“We’re just trying to keep trucking. Like we’re just here for you. We want you to be here and we’re excited about the centennial,” Willis said.
Local message
Business owners said they want both visitors and New Mexicans to spend time along Route 66 in Albuquerque.
“Even if you’re from New Mexico and you’ve always known about Route 66, I challenge you to come and still enjoy and patronize a lot of these businesses along Route 66,” a representative said.
“I would say if you’re local and you don’t really realize how close you are to Route 66 and the fact that we have the longest suburban stretch through Albuquerque of the highway, you just kind of drive up and down Central or avoid Central because it’s Central, but it really is historic Route 66, Highway 333,” Dharas said.
Route 66 was first named on Friday and later formally joined the U.S. highway system in November 1926.
