Technical RepoRT, Volume i history, characteristics, and economic contributions A study conducted by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in collaboration with the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and World Monuments Fund Study funded by American Express TECHNICAL REPORT, VOLUME I History, Characteristics, and Economic Contributions A study conducted by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in collaboration with the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and World Monuments Fund Study funded by American Express Center for Urban Policy Research Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New Brunswick, New Jersey June 2011 AUTHORS David Listokin and David Stanek Orin Puniello Michael Lahr Kaitlynn Davis Garrett Hincken Jedediah Drolet with Ningyuan Wei Marc Weiner Charles Heydt Calvin Tien Center for Urban Policy Research Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New Brunswick, New Jersey ISBN-10 0-9841732-4-2 ISBN-13 978-0-9841732-4-2 This report in its entirety may be freely circulated; however content may not be reproduced independently without the permission of Rutgers, the National Park Service, and World Monuments Fund. Table of Contents Technical Report, Volume I INTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER ONE The History of Route 66 and Contemporary Efforts to Preserve the Mother Road ....................................................... 11 CHAPTER TWO Who Lives Along the Route? A Reconnaissance GIS-Census Analysis ....................................................................... 57 CHAPTER THREE Who Travels Along the Route? Findings from the First Comprehensive Route 66 Traveler Survey .......................... 128 CHAPTER FOUR Museums and Route 66 .............................................................................................................................................. 245 CHAPTER FIVE Main Street and Route 66 ........................................................................................................................................... 273 CHAPTER SIX Case Studies of Route 66 ........................................................................................................................................... 304 CHAPTER SEVEN Route 66 Economic Summary, Context, and Policy .................................................................................................... 320 BIBLIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................................................................................... 399 _ INTRODUCTION AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Running about 2,400 miles from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California, Route 66 is an extremely rich and diverse historic and cultural corridor that attracts significant tourism, includ- ing many international travelers. This study by Rutgers University analyzes the “Mother Road” with a focus on its historic preservation, economic landscape, and heritage tourism. The Rutgers investigation was funded by American Express with research oversight provided by the National Park Service and the World Monuments Fund. Highlights of the study include the following: Mapping of the primary alignment of the Route 66 Corridor utilizing Geographic Infor- mation Systems (GIS) and using the GIS resource to develop the first-ever census-based profile of who lives along the Mother Road. Among other findings, this analysis reveals that 5.5 million racially and ethnically diverse persons (e.g., 25 percent Hispanic) live on or close (within one mile) to Route 66, their aggregate household income is about $112 billion, and their household consumption is about $80 billion. (Heightened capture of this spending by Route businesses would enhance the Mother Road’s economic prospects.) Yet, the population along Route 66 confronts unemployment and other economic issues, such as about 15 percent under the poverty level, and there are yet other looming chal- lenges (e.g., almost 200,000 vacant housing units). Map of Route 66 Chicago Springfield St. Louis Los Angeles Santa Fe Santa Monica Flagstaff Albuquerque Oklahoma City Amarillo ` Completion of the first-ever national survey of travelers along Route 66—a probe based on 100,000 questionnaires distributed along the highway’s full 2,400 miles over a year’s pe- riod. The approximately 4,200 respondents to this survey (encompassing about 13,000 persons) provide invaluable information on traveler residence (e.g., 85 percent from all 50 states and 15 percent international), traveler socioeconomic profile (e.g. mostly white, with diverse incomes, and many retirees), Route 66 trip characteristics and spending (e.g., median of 5 days and about $1,500 to $2,000 trip outlay), and tourist perspective of the Mother Road (e.g., attracted to historic and “Americana” resources), including recom- mendations to enhance the travel experience (e.g., develop/refine a Route-specific GPS). A first-time-ever survey of museums along Route 66, including those dedicated to the Mother Road itself (e.g., in Barstow, California) and entities focusing on “Americana” (e.g., the Jesse James Museum in Stanton, Missouri). Rutgers surveyed 33 such museums along the Route and found that most were small (median membership of about 100 and median budget of about $62,000) yet attracted a median of almost 10,000 visitors each. While an important resource for Route 66 tourism, these museums faced many challenges, such as relying almost entirely on unpaid volunteers (there was a median of only one paid staff member), and need financial and technical assistance to protect their collections and to expand/improve their infrastructure and marketing. Information assembled on the Main Street Programs along Route 66. Main Street is a pro- gram spearheaded by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to synthesize preserva- tion and economic development, often in smaller communities. Rutgers examines the 25 Main Street efforts along the Mother Road, offering details of each, some dating back a decade or longer. Cumulatively to date, these 25 programs have been responsible for con- siderable investment—over $900 million (in inflation-adjusted 2009 dollars), including $120 million in rehabilitation, $200 million in new construction, and $600 million in pub- lic infrastructure and other improvements. That significant investment underscores the yet greater potential of the Main Street program abetting the revitalization of Route 66 if it could expand beyond the 25 Mother Road-sited efforts to date. Completion of 25 in-depth case studies of iconic Route 66 sites, typically heritage tourism hot-spots, which provide considerable qualitative and quantitative insights into Route 66. The sites include some of the most famous Mother Road locations, such as the Rock Café (Stroud, Oklahoma), and the Blue Swallow Motel (Tucumcari, NM). Besides recounting the compelling “stories” of the sites (e.g., rebuilding the Rock Café after a disastrous fire), the case studies document their economic contribution, which includes direct in- vestment (typically for rehabilitation), business employment, and site-generated taxes. These contributions are driven by a dynamo of heritage travel, with the case study sites drawing from four-figure to over six-figure annual visitors/patrons each—with many (67 percent) coming “from afar” (from a state other than where the resource is located [47 percent] or from abroad [20 percent]). From an economic development perspective, visi- tors coming “from afar” have the biggest economic stimulus because new spending is be- ing “imported.” Further, in numerous case studies, the tourism draw and attendant in- a vestment enhanced community self-image and thus had a positive “place-making” effect as well. Summary of the economic contribution of Route 66 and consideration of policies to enhance this contribution and to preserve the Mother Road. The total annual, direct (without mul- tiplier impacts) economic activity related to Route 66 from various sources (traveler spending, Main Street-documented investment, and museum budgets) amounts conserva- tively (a lower rather than higher estimate) to about $132 million annually. Rutgers ap- plies an input-output (I-O) model to this direct spending and finds millions of additional dollars in multiplier benefits. These include $262 million in overall (direct and multiplier) economic output, $126 million in wealth creation (or gross domestic product), and $37 million in public tax revenues. While these sums are clearly important in their own right, the yet more significant contribution of Route 66 is at a local contextual level. As docu- mented in the case studies, in many smaller communities along Route 66, tourism related to the Mother Road is one of the most significant, if not the only, “economic game in town.” The restored Route 66-themed motel, restaurant and gift shop may not have a high-dollar business volume (especially relative to the much larger regional and state economies), yet they anchor the downtown in many small communities and change the perceived image of a place from a dowager town abandoned by the interstate to a com- munity with a Route 66-linked past and future. Discussion of the benefits of heritage tourism as well