Parade Will Celebrate Route 66

Celebrating an American icon in asphalt, Duarte on Saturday will host a mile-long parade marking the 70th birthday of Route 66.

Classic cars will begin to roll down Huntington Drive at 9 a.m. from Cotter Street to Mount Olive Drive. Composer Bobby Troup, who wrote “Route 66,” the song that invited people to “get your kicks on Route 66,” will serve as grand marshal.

Spanning 2,248 miles and linking Chicago to Los Angeles, Route 66 wound through many towns and earned the name “America’s Main Street.”

The interstate system, completed in 1983, rendered Route 66 nearly obsolete, but the highway left an indelible mark on the American psyche and remains a symbol of opportunity, said Tim Lowry, parade committee chairman.

Several shrines to the road will be on display at Royal Oaks Park at the end of the parade route, Lowry said.