U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 (US 66 or Route 66), also known as the Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway System. US 66 was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before ending in Santa Monica, California, near Los Angeles, covering a total of . It was recognized in popular
History of Los Angeles History of Los Angeles The written history of Los Angeles city and county began with a Spanish colony town that was populated by 11 descendants of Spanish families which were known as "Los Pobladores" that established a settlement in Southern California that changed little in the three decades after 1848, when California became part of the United States. Much greater changes came from the completion of the Santa Fe railroad line from Chicago to Los Angeles in 1885. “Overlanders” flooded in, namely white Protestants from the Lower Midwest and South. Los Angeles had a strong economic base in farming, oil,