WESTSIDE : ‘Route 66’ Dedication Set for Saturday

A two-mile stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard will be designated “Historic Route 66” with the unveiling of three Route 66 signs Saturday.

The dedication, organized by the California Historic Route 66 Assn., the city of West Hollywood and the Great Autos of Yesteryear Car Club, will start at 2 p.m. on Santa Monica Boulevard, near San Vicente Boulevard.

“We want to honor the historic aspects of Santa Monica Boulevard and to convey that West Hollywood was an important part of Route 66,” said James Litz, a planning commissioner with the city.

The last leg of the “Mother Road,” which connected Chicago to the Pacific Ocean, ran along Santa Monica Boulevard from Sunset Boulevard in Silver Lake through West Hollywood all the way to the bluffs in Santa Monica.

Saturday’s ceremony will feature a vintage automobile display--hosted by the automobile club, from noon until 3 p.m. It will include cars from the 1930s through the 1950s.

“With our cars, we hope to evoke the nostalgia of when Route 66 was the main drag for migrants coming to California,” said Augustus Higginson, a club board member. “Seeing these cars will take people right down each decade when Route 66 was in its heyday.”

The antique car display will be a preview of the Concours ’94 charity car show Sunday benefiting the Aid for AIDS group. Sunday’s show will feature more than 150 antique and classic cars, as well as Route 66 signs and photographs. It will be at Pacific Design Center, 8687 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $7.

Aid for AIDS is the oldest nonprofit agency in the Greater Los Angeles area that provides direct financial support for people living with HIV.