Get off the Interstate and you might find Americana

Americana…what is that and why do we care? Well…some people care and others have left it all in the rear-view mirror.

In my early childhood, my parents had limited funds, but they always managed to take us on an annual summer vacation. I can still recall every detail of those trips, sitting in the backseat of my parents’ 1965 Ford Fairlane 500. I think that car is a part of Americana itself.

There always seemed to be a fun and exciting place within a day’s drive from our home in New York City…at least from a child’s perspective. There were places like Santa’s Workshop in the North Pole, New York (outside of Lake Placid), and Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. And, to be honest, if the roadside motel we were staying at had a pool, that was all my brother, my sister, and I needed. Regardless of what the town was called, we thought it was Utopia.

I have recently visited some of those very same places that I visited in my childhood. And, I have to say, a lot of those theme parks, the ones that are still operating, are a lot smaller than I remembered and are hanging for dear life, seemingly on life support. And the motels and motor lodges nearby, are deteriorating if not completely abandoned.

So what happened? It can all be attributed to two aspects of modern transportation – the easy access to airline travel and, more importantly, the emergence of the super highway.

Businesses throughout history have sprung up along the main roads. Why? Obviously, because they were well-traveled, the business could be easily found, and it made it possible to draw drive-by travelers who just happened to be on that route on the way to another destination. When the United States Department of Transportation decided to upgrade the United States Numbered Highway System to accommodate the increasing number of vehicles on the road, the powers that be seemed to forget something important – the local businesses.

All you have to do is travel down three of the most famous stretches of roadways in the US and you will see how much has changed over the years.

US Highway 1 is one of the oldest main roads in the history of the United States

Route 1 runs along the East Coast from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border, all the way to Key West, Florida. At 2,370 miles, it is the longest north-south roadway in the United States.

I decided to make a journey to traverse the entire length of US 1 and go through every town along the way. The plan was to go from my home in Central New Jersey south to Key West in the summer, and then do the opposite route from home to Maine and catch the beautiful colors up through New England in the Fall.

It was a huge disappointment. HUGE. Such a disappointment that I never made it to the second part of the journey. There were small towns that were very quaint and some very big and popular universities on the way. But, for the most part, there were towns and communities that were clearly suffering, businesses boarded up, buildings abandoned, and left in decay. There was a lot of that.

What happened? Well, running parallel to US 1 is I-95. With everyone in such a rush to get where they are going, why in the world would anyone crawl at 25 miles per hour through every small town when they can fly at 65+ miles per hour and get to their destination hours sooner? I love to take the back roads and see the unexpected. Most people just want to get there.

US 30 is one of the longest east-west highways in the United States

US 30, also known as Lincoln Highway, goes from Atlantic City, New Jersey to Astoria, Oregon, and is actually the third longest highway stretching 3,072 miles across the continental United States. There is a major highway, actually multiple major highways, that pretty much runs parallel to it. I-76 which also serves as the Pennsylvania Turnpike goes side by side with US 30 most of the way through Pennsylvania. Eventually, 1-80 and I-90 also make a similar path on your map.

Unlike US 1, though, which is still in its original place for the most part, US 30 was moved in a number of places along the way. The US Department of Transportation decided at some point to improve the driving experience and created a wider and faster roadway. And that’s fine. But they forgot about all of the local businesses along the route. It’s like moving a cemetery by moving the headstones and leaving the bodies buried behind.

If you are driving through Lancaster County and looking to enjoy the Pennsylvania Dutch Country, the drive along US 30 is quite different from what it used to be. There is a small stretch that goes through Ronks and is still that two-lane black-top that bisects farmlands and small businesses on either side. But, for the most part, what actually remains of the original US 30 through the area has been greatly expanded and there are more outlet malls and industry than the small mom and pop businesses that the area was known for.

The aforementioned Dutch Wonderland remains on the roadway, but it is surrounded, rather suffocated, by the modern growth of businesses on adjacent properties.

US 1 has become desolate and US 30 has become unrecognizable. At least they are still on the map. The most famous highway in the United States – Route 66 – is not even on the map any longer. It has been decommissioned.

Route 66 stretched from Illinois to California and is of the most famous roads in the United States

Route 66 is one of what is considered the original highways in the US. It stretched from Chicago, Illinois through the states of Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, all the way to Santa Monica California, spanning a total of 2,448 miles. It became so popular that it has been a feature of songs, television, film, books, everything you could imagine.

Route 66 became a part of pop culture, Americana, and kind of exhibited what was so wonderful about Small Town, USA. How could the most famous highway just be wiped off the map? It’s simply just not needed any longer. At least that is what the U.S. Department of Transportation thought. And now it is relegated to nothing more than landmark status and a few scattered picture opportunities along the way…with signs that say “Historic Route 66.”

I had an opportunity recently to see what’s actually left of Route 66…what’s a part of Historic Route 66 anyway, in San Bernardino, California. I had reservations to stay in a motel in the vicinity, but it was so bad that we checked out within minutes of checking in. Seriously…there was no way I was going to stay in such a decaying environment.

It’s sad but true. Progress can sometimes erase the past. We know that. But I guarantee that there are still those hidden treasures of yesteryear along those old highways and through the back roads. So the next time you are hitting the road, consider getting off that Interstate and experience an old-fashioned road trip. Maybe you’ll see an old working neon sign, a mom-and-pop diner or greasy spoon, or even a vintage soda shop. Grab a piece of Americana while it still exists.