As Route 66 turns 100, visit the end of the road in sunny Santa Monica

A century after Route 66 officially opened in 1926, the road’s final stretch through Los Angeles County, from Pasadena to Santa Monica’s golden sands, remains wonderfully in tact.

Long before John Steinbeck dubbed Route 66 "The Mother Road" in his 1930s dustbowl novel The Grapes of Wrath, the Indigenous Tongva and Chumash people forged trade routes along the paths Route 66 takes through California’s Mojave Desert and into the still genteel urban landscape of Pasadena, where it becomes Colorado Boulevard.

By the late 1920s, to accommodate growing traffic, storefronts were shaved off to widen parts of Colorado, and were then rebuilt in popular styles of the day, including art deco, Spanish Revival, and Beaux-Arts.

Julia Long of Pasadena Walking Tours points out that in 1930 an alternative route over the Colorado Street Bridge augmented the original route south on Fair Oaks Avenue and onto Los Angeles' first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway. This took Route 66 past the historic El Pueblo de Los Angeles State Historic Park and on to downtown's Theater District, ending at Broadway and Seventh Avenue. 

“It had many different route changes through Pasadena alone,” says Long. “That’s why it’s impossible to say definitively where 66 ran.” 

Winding westward

The biggest change came in 1936, with a 13-mile route extension going west from downtown LA to Santa Monica, winding into Hollywood via Sunset Boulevard and then onto Santa Monica Boulevard. The route moves past the peaceful lawns of Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the final resting place for legends like Rudolph Valentino, who died in the summer of 1926, and later, Judy Garland. 

West Hollywood was incorporated as a city just one year before Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985. Previously, the unincorporated expanse had a lawless reputation. The renowned Formosa Café saw stars like Lana Turner, James Dean, and Humphrey Bogart. Frank Sinatra parked out back, as his bungalow at the studio was directly across Formosa, once the legendary United Artists Studios and now The Lot at Formosa.

Deeper into WeHo, Route 66 winds through the Rainbow District, a pro-LGBTQ+ stretch where bars and restaurants morph from neighborhood hangouts to outré clubs. The rustic, Western-themed Troubadour is located at Doheny, just before the road enters Beverly Hills. The Troubadour is a legendary live music venue that opened in 1957 and saw Elton John play his first Los Angeles gig. Everyone from Joni Mitchell to Guns N’ Roses have also performed here.

After Route 66 passes through Beverly Hills—past the swanky Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills and storied Beverly Hilton, it enters Century City, where 16 aluminum bas relief sculptures mounted on lampposts commemorate the eight states Route 66 passes through. They’re hard to spot, but look up among the trees for a bust of Lincoln or an armadillo: that’s them.

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The end of the road

Technically, Route 66’s terminus is at Santa Monica’s Lincoln and Olympic boulevards. But its spiritual end is on the Santa Monica Pier, a couple of blocks away.

“The highway couldn’t go out onto the pier, but that’s where people went once they got to Lincoln and saw the ocean,” says Dan Rice, owner of the 66-to-Cali kiosk and co-founder of the pier’s “End of the Trail” sign, which stand central among the 1909-opened pier’s seaside distractions. The pier is also home to an antique carousel, game arcade, and Pacific Park’s Ferris wheel and rollercoaster. Walk up the old wood steps to the observation deck at the end of the pier for breathtaking coastal views.

“People want to see the magnificence of the Pacific Ocean,” says Rice, a 25-time Route 66 veteran. “There is no better ending for Route 66 than the culture of Los Angeles. It’s the city of dreams.”

Where to eat

The preserved or restored diners along Los Angeles' Route 66 stretch offer veritable edible Americana. In Pasadena, the Fair Oaks Pharmacy dates to 1915 and still serves sodas and malts. In WeHo, the Formosa pairs Hollywood noir vibes with Chinese-American food and tiki cocktails.

Barney’s Beanery opened in 1927 at Santa Monica and Holloway and quickly built a reputation for stiff drinks and American comfort food. The relocated Tail O’ the Pup—a giant wiener shaped hotdog stand—opened nearby in 1946 but now stands on Santa Monica where The Doors created their iconic “LA Woman” album.

Next to the Troubadour, the unmissable Dan Tana’s opened in 1964 and still serves Italian American comfort food in a blushing red interior with gingham tablecloths, and waiters in tuxedos and bowties.

In Santa Monica, right at the official Route 66 terminus, Mel’s Drive-In, a California diner chain dating to the 1940s, occupies a fabulous space-age building dating to the late 1950s. 

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Where to stay

Even before Route 66 was born, Pasadena and Santa Monica’s grand Gilded Age hotels had big stakes in Los Angeles’ early tourism. The former Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, now the Langham Huntington, Pasadena, dates to 1914 and displays its history and famous guests in the classic marbled lobby’s photo-filled gallery. The 23-acre resort’s terraced Japanese garden and lanai pool, adjacent to its elegant restaurant, are straddled by the antique covered Picture Bridge.

Shaded by a magnificent giant fig tree dating to the late 19th century, Santa Monica's Fairmont Miramar takes the spot where a hotel has existed since 1921. Its open-plan luxe lobby leads to richly colored lounges.

Coincidentally, Fairmont and Langham hotels bookend Route 66, starting in Chicago and ending in Los Angeles, and plan special “start and finish” centennial celebrations. Anyone driving the whole route—or even part of it—will be in serious need of the Fairmont Miramar or Langham Huntington’s spas to unlock knotted road muscles. Go deep tissue or soothing Swedish before enjoying Los Angeles' Route 66 kicks.

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