<P> In the 1950s, US 66 became the main highway for vacationers heading to Los Angeles . The road passed through the Painted Desert and near the Grand Canyon . Meteor Crater in Arizona was another popular stop . This sharp increase in tourism in turn gave rise to a burgeoning trade in all manner of roadside attractions, including teepee - shaped motels, frozen custard stands, Indian curio shops, and reptile farms . Meramec Caverns near St. Louis, began advertising on barns, billing itself as the "Jesse James hideout ." The Big Texan advertised a free 72 - ounce (2.0 kg) steak dinner to anyone who could consume the entire meal in one hour . It also marked the birth of the fast - food industry: Red's Giant Hamburg in Springfield, Missouri, site of the first drive - through restaurant, and the first McDonald's in San Bernardino, California . Changes like these to the landscape further cemented 66's reputation as a near - perfect microcosm of the culture of America, now linked by the automobile . </P> <P> Many sections of US 66 underwent major realignments . </P> <P> In 1930, between the Illinois cities of Springfield and East St. Louis, US 66 was shifted farther east to what is now roughly Interstate 55 (I - 55). The original alignment followed the current Illinois Route 4 (IL 4). </P> <P> From downtown St. Louis to Gray Summit, Missouri, US 66 originally went down Market Street and Manchester Road, which is largely Route 100 . In 1932, this route was changed and the original alignment never viewed as anything more than temporary . The planned route was down Watson Road, which is now Route 366 but Watson Road had not been completed yet . </P>

Where does route 66 begin and end map