Road Trip, 1919 Style!

[Perknose]

Cool archival film (mho).

The Lincoln Highway was the "spiritual" precursor to our Interstate Highway system. As a soldier in 1919, Eisenhower participated in this US Army coast to coast trip chronicled above.

As a kid, I remember seeing the still extant marker stones along Route 30 in Pa, which starts as Lancaster Ave in Philly and then becomes Rt. 30 as it goes through the suburbs of the Main Line and on out to, well, Lancaster County and Amish country. My Dad then told me the history of it.

From the Wiki linked above:

The Lincoln Highway was gradually replaced with numbered designations after the establishment of the U.S. Numbered Highway System in 1926, with most of the route becoming part of U.S. Route 30 from Pennsylvania to Wyoming.

It's said ol' Dwight got the seeds of his idea for the Interstate Highway System from his 1919 trip. Did you know the funding for it in the 1950s was sold as primarily, a military necessity, for the rapid transport of troops?

To this day, I LOVE the feeling of encountering tangible history. It feels like . . . connection . . . with a different place and time.

 

[lxskllr]

I'll definitely check it out later when I get on some unmetered internet. I love driving the old roads, and picking out where the general stores were, the old motels hidden around houses, and the disguised diners. I also like seeing the old road alignments. Some time, I want to make a small road trip of US 1 or some other old road, and take the old alignment as much as possible. There's some interesting treasures if you keep your eyes open :^)

 

[CrackRabbit]

I agree completely with both of you. Driving old roads and seeing how things were a half century to century ago is completely amazing to me.
I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to drive good chunks of Rt 66 through Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. There’s a section of what is now signed as Arizona 66, west of Seligman where the current alignment cuts through a hill and the original alignment that skirted around the hill was left in place, but inaccessible.
I’ll see if I can post some of the photos I’ve taken a bit later tonight.

 

[corkyg]

I vividly recall driving my brand new 1954 Chevy Bel Air from New York to Los Angeles in June, 1954. I did the old Rt. 66. Every time I hear that song, the memory is real. And, this gives rise to the long standing myth that the interstate system requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections would be usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

 

[local]

I have an old '52 Chevy 4 door that I want to get running some day and go on a Rt. 66 trip. I love going on the old roads from well before my time, it is just a completely different experience.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Any of you guys see that petrolicious video from the other day?

Essentially, a 77 year old woman sold her business and retired, to driving around the world in a 1930 Hudson. Across 5 continents she drove, alone. Wonderful story.

 

[corkyg]

Wow! What a wonderful story indeed! Thanks for that!