ADOT’s director helps dedicate Route 66 postage stamps

The Route 66 centennial is a big deal here at the Arizona Department of Transportation. That’s why our director, Jennifer Toth, gave opening remarks at today’s U.S. Postal Service ceremony in Phoenix dedicating stamps honoring the historic route’s 100 years.

“Without a doubt, Route 66 represents both that sense of possibility and the magic of connection,” Director Toth said. “Above that, it stands as a link to community, memories and our shared history.”

The Route 66 centennial collection showcases the photography of David J. Schwartz, the artist behind the decades-long project Pics on Route 66. The eight images, each featured twice on the pane of 16, include a surviving sign for the Whiting Bros. Motel that once graced Route 66 in Yucca, Arizona. It’s one of three signs, worn by age but still standing tall in the desert, that you can see just east of Interstate 40.

The stamps harken to a time when Route 66 stretched more than 2,400 miles between Chicago and Santa Monica, California, and earned the nicknames Main Street of America and Mother Road. Its history and continuing tourist appeal include more than 300 miles across Northern Arizona. 

Schwartz, who has traveled the length of Route 66 more than 40 times, said he hopes the stamps will inspire people to check out Route 66 for themselves.

Director Toth agreed: “Route 66 is special, and I hope it continues to inspire journeys and imaginations for other generations to come.”