U.S. Route 66 in California
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| Will Rogers Highway | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Length: | 315 mi (507 km) | |||
| Existed: | November 11, 1926 – June 25, 1979 | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end: |
  US 101 Alt. in Santa Monica
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| East end: |
 US 66 at Arizona state line |
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U.S. Route 66 (US 66, Route 66) is a part of a former United States Numbered Highway in the state of California that ran from the west in Santa Monica on the Pacific Ocean through Los Angeles and San Bernardino to Needles at the Arizona state line. It was truncated during the 1964 renumbering and its signage removed in 1974. The highway is now mostly replaced with several streets in Los Angeles, State Route 66 (SR 66), Interstate 15 (I-15) and I-40.
US 66 was assigned by the American Association of State Highway Officials in November 1926 and signed in 1928 by the Automobile Club of Southern California; however historic US 66 shields and even present day US 66 shields remain. US 66 continued to be signed east of Pasadena until 1974, when it was removed, and the remaining separate section became SR 66.
In 1977, "Hotel California" alluded to Route 66 in its opening lines, "On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair, Warm smell of colitas rising up through the air, Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light, My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim, I had to stop for the night". According to Eagles guitarist Don Felder, "Everybody had driven into Los Angeles on what used to be Route 66. And as you drive in through the desert at night, you can see the glow of Los Angeles from a hundred miles away. The closer and closer you get, you start seeing all of these images, and these things pounded into our heads: the stars on Hollywood Boulevard, movie stars, palm trees, beaches and girls in bikinis."
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