(photo by Edwin Folven)

Get your kicks on West Hollywood’s stretch of Route 66 along Santa Monica Boulevard, which also serves as the city’s Main Street.

From La Brea Avenue to Doheny Drive, the road features an eclectic collection of family-owned shops, historic restaurants, nightlife establishments and unique landmarks that can’t be found anywhere else. The roadside attractions include The Lot at Formosa, a movie studio dating to 1912; the Emser Tile Building, an Art Deco gem built in 1926; the Formosa Café, which opened in 1939; Plummer Park, serving the community since 1938; Tail o’ the Pup, a roadside hot dog stand dating to 1946; The Troubadour, hosting top musical acts since 1957; and Dan Tana’s, the famed restaurant known for its celebrity clientele since 1964.

West Hollywood’s segment of Route 66 was also formerly designated as State Route 2 in 1964. In the late 1990s, the city was granted permission by the state to take control of its segment of the highway and embarked on a major $34-million renovation of the roadway. The project was completed in 2001 and on its tenth anniversary, the American Planning Association named Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood as one of 10 Great Streets in the United States.

“Route 66 or, as we know it, Santa Monica Boulevard, is Main Street, but for many years it served as a gateway to the West Coast,” West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman said. “It was the route that many people took in search of the California dream.”

West Hollywood is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Route 66 this year with art and special events. Special West Hollywood Route 66 signs were unveiled in August and Luciana Abait’s “Road Trip,” a temporary vinyl mural, is displayed at 8315 Santa Monica Blvd. Artist Sylke Meyer’s “Past Tense/Future Perfect” temporary sculpture is scheduled for a fall installation at Plummer Park, capturing the motion, mythology and memory of the Mother Road through a curved fiberglass camera obscura. With so much to see and do along the famous highway, fans of classic Americana and those looking to travel through history should look no further than Santa Monica Boulevard – West Hollywood’s stretch of the Mother Road.

Families would load up the station wagon, like this 1957 Dodge,
and head West on Route 66, ending up on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood. (photo by Edwin Folven)