Route 66 marks 100: Centennial celebrations sweep Amarillo

It was exactly a century ago, on April 30, 1926, that a telegram from Springfield, Missouri, officially birthed Route 66. Today, as the "Mother Road" hits its 100th anniversary, the city of Amarillo is serving as a major hub for the nationwide centennial celebrations that are expected to draw millions of travelers back to the historic pavement. While some small-town stretches of the route have faded into "ghost towns," Amarillo’s Route 66 Historic District is seeing a massive resurgence. Local businesses along the iconic Sixth Avenue are bracing for a record-breaking summer tourism season, anchored by the ten-day Texas Route 66 Festival beginning in June.