What’s New in 3.1 • New “Getting There” guide. Learn how to steer Apple Maps or Google Maps onto Historic Route 66 instead of the interstate, with a real-world example. • Refreshed intro screens. Tighter, clearer, and easier to read. • Simplified ⓘ menu. Our other travel apps, the “Tap That Road” video, and the road-trip blogs behind this app are now together in one place: More from PDR Heritage Roads. • Wording improvements throughout. Enjoy the Mother Road — and thanks for riding along!

Version 3.0: Fresh from the road We drove Illinois Route 66 in October and updated the guide with what we found: - Nite Spot Cafe is still standing, despite reports it was demolished. - Five new giants at Atlanta's American Giants Museum. - Refreshed stories for Memory Lane, Gardner's Two-Cell Jail, and Art's Motel. - Updated hours, visit tips, and more accurate GPS for several Illinois stops. - New audio narration for updated sites. See you on the road!

Illinois, Rebuilt from Chicago to the Mississippi River. We went back through all 55 Illinois sites, one by one, to make your drive better from the first mile. More Accurate Navigation ------------------------------ Rechecked every Illinois location against multiple sources Corrected map pins, including Rossi's Service Station in Braidwood, which now takes you to the building instead of an empty field Fixed fifteen street addresses so directions open cleanly in Maps Every Illinois Story, Rewritten ------------------------------ Every Illinois site has a fully rewritten history, checked against published sources New details, corrected dates, and fuller stories of the families and characters behind each stop Stories now follow your westbound drive, pointing you to the next stop down the road Fresh audio narration for every Illinois site Up-to-Date Visitor Tips ------------------------------ Updated notes, phone numbers, and visiting advice so you know what to expect before you pull in Current details on sites that have changed, closed, or found new life Get your kicks. The Mother Road starts here.

Oklahoma overhaul. Fixed GPS coordinates at four sites, including Route 66 Rising in Tulsa, which had been routing travelers three miles short, plus 14 address corrections. All 48 Oklahoma site histories were rebuilt from primary sources and brought current for 2026: the rebuilt Ribbon Road, the reopened Pony Bridge, the Blue Whale's new visitor center, and newly relit neon in Bristow, Canute, and Sayre. Also updated admission prices, hours, and directions.

2.7 Places to Eat & Drink — Corrections This update fixes the Places to Eat & Drink screen. As new stops were added to the guide in recent updates, some listings drifted out of alignment, and a few descriptions ended up attached to the wrong establishment. All 44 entries have been rechecked and corrected, and three sites that were never meant to appear on this screen have been removed. The screen now stays accurate on its own as the guide grows, so this won't recur in future updates. Thanks for the reports, and safe travels on the Mother Road.

What's New — Version 2.6 Site totals were adjusted in "How This App Works". ———————————————————— From v 2.5 in August: Five new Illinois sites, from Chicago to the Mississippi River: • Castle Car Wash (John J. Murphy Filling Station), Chicago — The little limestone castle on Ogden Avenue, built as a Standard Oil filling station in 1927 and a Route 66 landmark ever since. • Dixie Truckers Home, McLean — The truck stop that fed the Mother Road from 1928 and became the original home of the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame. • Route 66 Sign Museum at Ace Sign Co., Springfield — A working sign shop's collection of rescued neon and painted signage from Illinois roadsides. • Rt 66 Skyview Drive-In, Litchfield — The last original drive-in theater still operating on Illinois Route 66, screening films since 1950. • Nite Spot Cafe, Fairmont City — A 24-hour truckers' café from 1947 whose mid-century neon survived a demolition order and now stands as one of the road's rarest sign artifacts.

What's New — Version 2.5 Five new Illinois sites, from Chicago to the Mississippi River: • Castle Car Wash (John J. Murphy Filling Station), Chicago — The little limestone castle on Ogden Avenue, built as a Standard Oil filling station in 1927 and a Route 66 landmark ever since. • Dixie Truckers Home, McLean — The truck stop that fed the Mother Road from 1928 and became the original home of the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame. • Route 66 Sign Museum at Ace Sign Co., Springfield — A working sign shop's collection of rescued neon and painted signage from Illinois roadsides. • Rt 66 Skyview Drive-In, Litchfield — The last original drive-in theater still operating on Illinois Route 66, screening films since 1950. • Nite Spot Cafe, Fairmont City — A 24-hour truckers' café from 1947 whose mid-century neon survived a demolition order and now stands as one of the road's rarest sign artifacts.

What's New — Version 2.4 Arizona field research update. This release reflects on-the-ground verification across Kingman, Seligman, and Peach Springs: • White Rock Court (Kingman) — Major location correction. The 1935 Green Book–listed stone auto court is EAST of downtown, not west. Corrected address, new GPS coordinates, and expanded history covering Conrad Minka, the 1956 Green Book listing, and how to spot the surviving stone arches from the road. • Kingman corridor resequenced — Kingman-area sites now run in true east-to-west driving order, so westbound travelers are no longer routed back on themselves. • Kingman Army Airfield — Rebuilt around the Mohave Museum of History and Arts, where the airfield collection moved after the airport museum closed in 2023. New location, corrected GPS, and expanded coverage of the gunnery school and the 7,000-plane postwar boneyard. • Andy Devine Avenue's Historic Block (Kingman) — Renamed and updated. Covers the 1915 Old Trails Garage and its Packard neon, the Brunswick, Mr D'z, the Beale Hotel restoration, and Dunton Motors' shift to a gift shop and auto museum. • Kingman's Powerhouse District — Renamed for clarity, covering the Powerhouse, Arizona Route 66 Museum, Locomotive Park, and the Beale Street arch. • Cool Springs Station — Added the Route 66 centennial mural painted by Sarah Leuchtner, daughter of the man who rebuilt the station from rubble. • Grand Canyon Caverns (Peach Springs) — Updated current operations: the motel and RV park remain open, the underground suite and on-site weddings have been discontinued, underground dining can be pre-arranged, and caverns access directions are clarified. • Peach Springs & the John Osterman Gas Station — Added the Hualapai Tribe's Culture & Route 66 Welcome Center design plans for the historic station, plus a current status update on nearby Truxton. • Seligman Sundries (Highway Hot Dog) — Added the neighboring 1934 Studebaker Garage, now home to Octane Art and its rooftop mural. All updated sites have been verified in person with corrected GPS coordinates and refreshed visitor guidance.

What's New in Version 2.3 Eight new Arizona sites added to the Route 66 Centennial Guide, bringing us to 48 total sites in Arizona and 285 sites overall! • Chief Yellowhorse Trading Post (Lupton) — Navajo family trading post on the AZ/NM state line • Whiting Brothers Deluxe Motel (Holbrook) — Flagship motor court of the Whiting Brothers chain • Geronimo Trading Post (Joseph City) — Home of the "World's Largest Petrified Log" • Seligman Sundries / Highway Hot Dog (Seligman) — Historic 1904 building, now a hot dog and gelato shop • Supai Motel (Seligman) — Operating motor court since the 1950s • El Trovatore Motel (Kingman) — 1939 motor court with a 100-foot neon sign • Hilltop Motel (Kingman) — Best view in Kingman since 1954 • Ed's Camp (Golden Valley) — 1920s trading post ruins in the Black Mountains All sites include full history write-ups, GPS-verified locations, and period-correct vehicle imagery.

Version 2.2 – Missouri Field Update This update is the result of a July 2026 research trip along Missouri's stretch of Route 66 — visiting 46 of the 47 sites in person, talking with owners and staff, and correcting the record wherever real life had moved on from what was in the app. Corrected & Updated: • Refined GPS coordinates at several Missouri sites for more reliable turn-by-turn navigation • Diamonds Restaurant (Villa Ridge) — corrected after confirming the building actually survived the 2025 tornado • Sunset Motel (Villa Ridge) — updated to reflect fire damage discovered on-site • Munger Moss Motel, Wagon Wheel Motel, and Shamrock Court — refreshed with current ownership and operating status • Red's Giant Hamburg (Springfield) — corrected to point to the true historic location • Route 66 State Park / Meramec Bridge — updated with the latest on bridge restoration plans • Route 66 Neon Park — now reflects newly installed historical placards New to Places to Eat & Drink: • Rise & Grind Coffee, serving drive-thru coffee out of the original 1945 Miller's Station building • Rich's Famous Burgers, now occupying the historic Carr Phillips 66 Station in Cuba Plus a range of smaller wording and detail refinements across other stops, all aimed at keeping your road trip companion as accurate as the road itself.

Had to fix about 6 geolocations, including site #51, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge and Park. The address link now takes you to the park and not the center of the old bridge!

Inspired by Jim Hinckley's Route 66 Encyclopedia and my July road trip to personally survey all sites in Missouri, I just added NINE new curated sites, all in Missouri. This brings the total number of curated, historic sites in the app to 277 and increases the number of Missouri sites from 38 to 47. The new sites are: • Spencer's Grill – Kirkwood, MO • Big Chief Cabin Hotel (Big Chief Roadhouse) – Wildwood, MO • Benson's Tourist City – Stanton, MO • Meramec Caverns – Stanton, MO • Bourbon Lodge – Bourbon, MO • Johnnie's Bar (Rose/Mary's Café) – St. James, MO • Uranus Fudge Factory & General Store – St. Robert, MO • Abbylee Court – Niangua, MO • Log City Camp – Avilla, MO Four of those sites are active beverage-dining establishments and have been added to the "Places to Eat & Drink" feature under the (i) information menu.

What's New in Version 1.9: This update adds a brand-new stop and tightens up accuracy across the board: • New Site Added -- The Imperial (Albuquerque, NM) — a beautifully restored 1964 Route 66 motor court on Central Avenue, famous for its distinctive butterfly-roof design and lit-up neon sign, now reopened with retro-modern rooms, a cafe, and the Imperial Dive bar/food hall. • GPS & Address Accuracy Pass -- Completed a full audit of GPS coordinates and addresses across all 267 sites to ensure pinpoint accuracy for navigation. Corrected a number of sites where map pins or addresses had drifted from their true locations. Thanks for traveling the Mother Road with us — keep the corrections and site suggestions coming!

Version 1.8 -- This update focuses on navigation accuracy across all 267 sites: • Corrected GPS coordinates (via Google Places) for numerous sites to improve pinpoint accuracy when tapping the address link. • Fixed address data at multiple locations along the route. • Improved map navigation to route directly from coordinates for faster, more reliable directions. • Added app version info to the About Me screen for easier reference. As always, thanks for traveling the Mother Road with us. Keep the feedback coming —PDR Heritage Roads

Version 1.7 has some pretty significant updates and fixes: 1. We did a full audit of all 267 sites, got the GPS locations tightened up, and then realized that a lot of the site sequence numbers were out-of-order. We *think* we have the sites in the proper order now. 2. We added five new sites: • Neon Museum of St. Louis. St. Louis, MO • Tulsa's Route 66 historical village. Tulsa, OK • Dotch Windsor's Painted Desert, Trading Post. Holbrook, AZ • Meteor City. Meteor City, AZ • Doghouse Drive-In. Albuquerque, NM This brings the total number of sites to 267! 3. We updated a lot of the "special notes" on the main page because some of the sites were under construction or modification, and they have now become active and open for business. Just in time for the Route 66 Centennial, of course. 4. We added our new PDR Heritage Roads theme song, “Tap That Road”, a music video. You'll find it in the information menu. Check it out. It's number five on the country charts. Okay, I'm just kidding about that. But it is an AI-generated song that’s quite fun and catchy. 5. We added a link to PDR Heritage Roads' new app: Natchez Trace: An Ancient Road 6. Finally, we fixed the audio narration on two Oklahoma sites that weren't using the Eleven Labs narrations.

Managing your favorites just got easier. You can now clear all of your saved sites in one tap directly from the My Favorites screen — no more visiting each site individually to remove it. A simple "Clear all favorites" link appears beneath the trip time card whenever you have sites saved. A confirmation prompt protects against accidental deletions.

What's New in Version 1.5 Hungry on the Mother Road? This update adds Places to Eat & Drink — a curated list of still-operating restaurants, diners, bars, and roadside institutions found among the app's 262 historic sites. With over 50 entries spanning Chicago to Santa Monica, these are the authentic Route 66 establishments that have survived, been restored, or been lovingly brought back to life. Access it anytime from the ⓘ button in the top right corner, tap any entry to jump directly to its full site detail, and get directions with a single tap.

Version 1.4 now adds four NEW sites, bringing the curated total to 262: Lou Mitchell's Restaurant & Bakery (Site 1) has stood at the eastern terminus of Route 66 in Chicago since 1923, three years before the highway was even certified. It was the first restaurant in Chicago to serve breakfast all day, and it remains open at the same Jackson Boulevard address today. Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket (Site 3) opened along the Illinois alignment in Willowbrook in the 1940s after a secret family fried chicken recipe turned a roadside gas station into a regional institution. The original brick building with its famous neon sign is essentially unchanged from 1946. The Museum of Neon Art in Glendale (Site 254) preserves the glowing roadside art form that defined Route 66 after dark for half a century. It is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to neon, kinetic, and electric art. The Route 66 Western Terminus in Santa Monica (Site 261) marks the end of 2,400 miles of American road at Lincoln and Olympic Boulevards. The highway was formally decommissioned in 1985, and the historic brown signs on the signal poles today are a heritage designation honoring the Mother Road's final miles. Also, navigation fixes in the greater Los Angeles area, and a new menu option under the (i) information link: More PDR Heritage Road apps. Available right now on the App Store: The PCH Complete Historical Guide.

Three technical enhancements: 1. Tightened up the GPS coordinates and addresses for over 170 sites using Google Places as the reference tool. (Some were really off) 2. Fixed nine Illinois sites where the audio narrative was tied to the wrong sites. 3. Fix an anomaly where the audio narration wouldn't stop playing if you went to the next site. It just kept playing. With this fix, when you are playing audio and move to the next site, the audio narration stops.

Updated primary category to Navigation so travelers can find the app more easily. Refined App Store description and Onboarding page #1 to highlight built‑in directions between Route 66 stops. After 25-50-75 site page views, app will prompt the user for an App Store Review.