Products

The California Dream made Route 66 the most famous road in the world. Flappers dreamed of stardom under the bright lights of Hollywood. A wave of families fleeing the Dust Bowl transformed the state during the Great Depression. During World War II, another wave followed Route 66 seeking opportunity in the massive wartime industrial plants. Thousands of soldiers trained in the Mojave Desert and then returned amid the postwar prosperity to blossoming housing developments that replaced the vast orange groves. While Nat King Cole sang "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66," the newly prosperous middle class hit the road headed for the dream land constructed by Walt Disney. Inspired by the Beat poets, the hippies, and the adventures of Buz and Tod on the CBS television show Route 66, a new generation took to the open road. Those who savor the journey as much as the destination still seek it out on Route 66 today.

By the time the final links in the Oregon Coast Highway were made in 1936, the highway stretched 394 miles from Astoria to the border of California. It had taken 12 years to complete the construction over stretches of rugged headlands and thick forests. Early travel along the coast was difficult; what roads existed were generally unimproved and often completely impassable during the rainy winter months. In many cases, the beaches themselves served as the only means of transporting freight and passengers. When Maj. Henry Bowlby, the first Oregon State Highway engineer, outlined a proposed system of state highways in 1914, he presented the vision of a coastal highway to the Oregon State Highway Commission. The eventual construction of this highway opened access to the Willamette Valley and beyond for many formerly isolated coastal communities. It also signaled an economic shift that included the promotion of tourism and the accommodation of the flood of visitors anxious to take advantage of the spectacular vistas along the Oregon coast.

The Road to Rainier Scenic Byway has grown from a Native American forest trail, hundreds of years old, to a modern forest highway carrying 1.5 million travelers a year. In 1833, a European tourist first reached a glacier, and soon others followed, seeking the wonders of Mount Rainier. In 1903, the railroad reached Eatonville; and national park visitors, who started as a few thousand, became tens of thousands. With a market for timber, hundreds rushed to claim the lands. Forestry and tourism both thrived off the rich natural resources, and as the region developed, purely commercial ventures were supplemented with educational outreach. Charles L. Pack Experimental Forest, established in 1926, conducts scientific research into forest management and sustainability. Historical interpretation has become a function of the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad and Logging Museum. The Road to Rainier Scenic Byway continues to serve all as it heads to scenic Mount Rainier.

America's Main Street, US Highway 1, Baltimore Avenue, Washington Boulevard--there are many names for the link between Baltimore City and Washington, DC. Connecting residential communities and commercial crossroads clustered along both sides of this historically important artery of transportation, this road has spanned three centuries of transportation, communication, and community development. From the earliest ships in Elkridge and Bladensburg to modern communities supporting the Washington/Baltimore region, Route 1 has been a vital part of this history.