Historical Route 66 Increasingly Threatened By Development

DAGGETT, CA - JUNE 16: The old Daggett Garage is seen on June 16, 2007 in Daggett, California. The building was an auto repair shop until when it became a mess hall for U.S. Army troops guarding railroad bridges during World War II. After the war it was a garage and machine shop until the mid-1980's. It was built in the 1880's in the borax-mining town of Marion, California as a locomotive repair roundhouse. In 1896 it was moved by 20-mule team to the Waterloo Mine south of Calico and finally to Daggett in 1912. Route 66 opened in 1926 stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles and became a western migration route for people looking for work during the great depression of the 1930's or to escape the Dust Bowl disaster. Later it offered vacation getaways and driving adventures until 1985 when it was decommissioned as a federal highway. Due to neglect and commercial development Route 66, the first highway to connect the Midwest with the West Coast, has recently been added to the biennially compiled list of the world's most endangered landmarks by the World Monuments Fund and the National Trust for Historic Preservation's yearly list of the 11 most endangered historic places in America. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)