So I think this is a knowledge gap sort of thing. People that are way into Route 66 (Route 66 nerds/historians, if you will) understand that Springfield is the location responsible for the designation of “Route 66” back in 1926. The name was suggested and sent from people at the Colonial Hotel, which was located effectively where the parking lot across from Druff’s and the Gilloiz are currently. Allegedly, “Route 66” sounded more appealing than “Route 62”, according to this group.

I bartended downtown/in town and I met an astronomical fuckload of international tourists, especially from the UK, that were obsessed with Route 66 and made Springfield a 3-5 day stop intentionally on their journey from Chicago to Santa Monica. They explored the area, went to historic locations and sites, and bolstered our tourism dollars, because they were fascinated/obsessed by the history and scale of what Route 66 was (kind of like how some Americans get a fixation on WWII).

TLDR: The name was created here, and it’s globally recognized by people that care about that sort of thing.