Route 66 premiered on CBS in October 1960 and ran until March 1964, for a total of 116 episodes. 

The show followed two young men traversing the United States in a Chevrolet Corvette convertible and the events surrounding their journeys. 

Route 66 spans over 2,400 miles and crosses 8 states, starting in Chicago, Illinois and terminating at the Pacific Coast in Santa Monica, California.

In the Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck referred to Route 66 as “the mother road, the road of flight” for those trying to escape the Dust Bowl and ravages of the Great Depression in the 1930’s.

Later with countless vacationing families using the route to visit attractions such as the Grand Canyon or Disneyland, a roadside culture developed with motels, diners, gas stations and tourist attractions.

Source: Wikipedia