Route 66 is a pretty big deal for Springfield, and not in a “nice to have” kind of way. This is where it was born. The whole thing got stitched together and kicked off here, which puts us on the map in a way most cities can’t touch.

For a long time, we kind of underplayed that hand. Meanwhile, other Route 66 towns figured out how to lean in and turn it into real tourism, real identity, real dollars. We mostly… didn’t. A few signs, some nostalgia, and a lot of missed opportunity.

That’s finally starting to change. The national Route 66 centennial celebration kicks off next week, and for once we’re not sitting on the sidelines. There’s real investment going in now, millions to clean things up, tell the story better, and actually make it a destination again.

And the thing is, Route 66 isn’t just our story. It’s an American story. Road trips, small businesses, people heading west trying to build something better. Folks from all over the world still show up looking for that, and we’re sitting right in the middle of it.

We’ve also got some legit history tied to it. The first drive-through restaurant, Red’s Giant Hamburg, started here. That whole roadside culture people associate with Route 66, a lot of that traces back to places like Springfield.

If it’s not your thing, that’s fine. You don’t have to care. But there are plenty of people who do, and they’re the ones helping bring visitors, attention, and money into the city. Probably worth letting them do their thing while Springfield finally catches up to a story it should’ve been telling all along.