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U.S. Route 66 occupies a particular niche in classic Americana. From 1926 to the late 1950s and early 1960s, the highway was the lifeblood of several western states and, for many, came to represent the freedom to travel as America's "Mother Road."

But with the advent of the 1956 Federal Highway Act, paving the way for the creation of interstate bypasses, Route 66 has long teetered on the brink of obscurity. This fact entered into public consciousness with increased urgency in June, when the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed the roadway on its list of 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in the nation.

The designation forced acknowledgement of not only infrastructural issues � including crumbling bridges and cracks in stretches of road � but also commercial and cultural ones, in the form of businesses and local economies that have historically owed their profits to the thoroughfare.

PRESERVATION LEGISLATION

Now, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and other organizations are seeking to remedy this on both legislative and community levels. As part of that effort, the DC-based nonprofit is conducting a Preserve Route 66 Tour to garner support for House Bill 801, which would designate the highway a National Historic Trail. Covering all 2,451 miles of Route 66, its road trip began on July 2 at Grants Park in Chicago and will culminate on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles.

“A key component of our road trip and campaign is to raise awareness of Route 66 and to demonstrate to Congress that Americans think it should be a national trail,� said Amy Webb, the Senior Field Director for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Shifting Route 66 into the National Historic Trails Office would place it under the purview of the National Park Service, which currently runs the Historic Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. But this program, which gives cost-share grants to businesses along Route 66, is set to expire in 2019. Flagstaff’s L Motel was a direct beneficiary of one of its grants, as was the Route 66 Interpretive Rest Stop project.

If designated a National Trail by Congress, Route 66 would join others like Trail of Tears, the Lewis and Clark Trail, and the Selma to Montgomery March in Alabama, becoming the 20th designated national trail. The category offers the benefit of funding through the NPS, which would provide technical assistance to business owners and those restoring properties along the road.

While the City of Flagstaff does not have hard numbers, Route 66 remains a substantial draw for tourists, according to city spokesperson Jessica Drum � especially for international visitors. The same was determined by a 2011 Rutgers University economic impact study in partnership with NPS and the World Monuments Fund, which found that heritage tourism and historic preservation along Route 66 was a positive contributor to local, state and national economies.

In Winslow, the preservation of the road has been central, said Bob Hall, executive director of the Winslow Chamber of Commerce.

“It has been great for business, especially the Standin� On a Corner park,� Hall said, referencing a patch of land made famous by lyrics of the 1972 Eagles' song "Take It Easy."

Flagstaff City Council wrote a letter in support of HR 801 and, according to a ProPublica report, Rep. Tom O'Halleran is a co-sponsor of the bill.

ROUTE 66 AND THE EL PUEBLO MOTEL

Places such as the Grand Canyon Cafe, The Western Hills Motel (1951), The Museum Club (purchased in 1931), Galaxy Diner (built in 1958 and formerly known as Bob’s Big Boy) and the 1937 El Pueblo Motel are evidence of the roadway’s longevity.

The El Pueblo Motel came close to becoming a casualty of the aging of Route 66. However, as the oldest motel in Flagstaff outside of the downtown area, El Pueblo has had a far larger impact on history than its humble exterior might suggest.

Built by Philip Johnston with contractor R.E. Goble in 1937, it was from this motel that Johnston recruited Navajos to serve in the Marines as Code Talkers.

Thomas Begay was one such Code Talker. Having been denied employment at the Navajo Ordnance Depot because he was too young, Begay decided to join the Marines instead. In the Marines, he was recruited by Johnston to become a Code Talker and spent some time at the El Pueblo Motel before shipping out to the Pacific theater.

Several hundred Navajos worked as Code Talkers during WWII, using their native language to transmit coded messages that the Japanese couldn’t understand.

At first, Begay said, he didn't want to be a Code Talker, and thought it was strange that they just wanted him to speak in the language he spoke at home, the only language he had spoken until he was 13 years old. Eventually, he relented and would go on to fight in the battle of Iwo Jima as one of the 400 Code Talkers in World War II.

During the battle for Iwo Jima, Begay said he lost two of his friends, one to a mortar round and another to sniper fire, and today he is the only one left from his unit.

In April of this year, local West USA Realty agent, Jacquie Kellogg, was approached by El Pueblo’s current owner shortly after Kellogg had facilitated sale of the Wonderland motel on the corner of Route 66 and Arrowhead Avenue.

After the sale, the Wonderland ended up being demolished, and Kellogg said she was determined to make sure the El Pueblo avoided the same fate. Instead, Kellogg is working to turn the motel into a museum and monument to the Code Talkers.

“I had no idea of the historical significance of our Route 66 hotels, � Kellogg said. “Once I found out [the El Pueblo] was the original place of the Code Talkers, well, that stepped it up to a whole new level.�

Kellogg is listing the motel at $2 million, which covers only the cost of the building itself. Her goal is to crowdfund enough money to buy the structure and then donate it to a foundation who can run it as a museum.

The El Pueblo has been approved to be added to the registry of historic buildings, but Kellogg is reticent to finish that process until after she can sell the property, as it could make the motel’s sale more difficult, she said.

And although she never saw herself in this role, she is all in, Kellogg said, contacting public representatives and even Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, asking them to support HB 801.

Prior to her involvement, the National Trust for Historic Preservation road trip had planned to simply pass by Flagstaff. Kellogg contacted the Trust and convinced them not only to stop in Flagstaff, but to visit the El Pueblo Motel.

“I’m not saying that I’m the one that’s going to [make the motel into a museum], but I’m sure as hell going to give it a shot,� Kellogg said.

Kellogg’s is not the first initiative to build a Code Talker Museum. In 2009, Chevron Mining Inc. donated 208 acres of land on the New Mexico/Arizona border to the then Navajo Code Talker Association for a museum and veterans� center, according to a 2009 report by the Associated Press. The cost for that project was expected to be between $20 million and $30 million for just the first phase.

Peter McDonald, the current president of the Navajo Code Talker Foundation, took over the responsibility of building a museum in 2012.

365betÌåÓýÔÚÏßÊÀ½ç±­, there are less than a dozen Code Talkers still living.

PRESERVATION OVER THE YEARS

The El Pueblo preservation effort enters the frame alongside a long legacy of nonprofits and individuals who have worked to boost the relevance of Route 66.

In Seligman, brothers Angel and the late Juan Delgadillo established the Arizona Route 66 Association, which in turn led to several international organizations ranging from Japan to Germany.

In 2005, ADOT, who is responsible for maintaining the Flagstaff portion of the road, created a Historic Route 66 Corridor Management plan. The document was an integral part of the application process to achieve National Scenic Byway and All-American Road designations, which Route 66 received in 2006. 365betÌåÓýÔÚÏßÊÀ½ç±­, ADOT works with the Route 66 Association, selling license plates that help ensure funds for preservation efforts.

“The plate was first made available in 2017. The plate raised nearly $78,000 toward preservation efforts in FY 2017. In FY 2018, the plate raised just over $192,000. Proceeds go to the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona,� said ADOT Public Information Officer Ryan Harding.

With about 1,372 miles of Route 66 crossing tribal lands, including the Navajo Nation and Hualapai Reservation in Arizona, the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association (AIANTA) established the American Indians and Route 66 project in partnership with the Park Service. The initiative seeks to foster an understanding and preservation of various indigenous narratives associated with the road.

And Route 66: The Road Ahead Initiative, which also started under the Park Service and the World Monuments Fund focuses on economic prospects of those living along Route 66 -- as well as on the ground community work and education.

Still, Sean Evans, an archivist and NAU’s at Cline Library Special Collections, feels as though it is slowly being forgotten.

“Mike’s Pike for example, was part of the original alignment,� Evans said. “I don’t think a lot of people know that.�

In Flagstaff, Route 66 once wound its way through town, forcing people to stop and stay; it followed what is now 89A past the mall on Townsend Winona Road, a part that was realigned after the war, making its way to Mike’s Pike, where the road crossed Phoenix Avenue and went up Beaver toward San Francisco Street.

Arizona has the longest continuous stretch of Route 66 at 157 miles, according to ADOT. And, Evans noted, the city of Williams was the final portion of Route 66 to be bypassed in 1984.

HR 801 passed the House on June 6 and is currently awaiting Senate approval.