The Route 66 Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary was produced by the National Park Service's Heritage Education Services and the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, in partnership with the American Express and World Monuments Fund Sustainable Tourism Initiative and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers. The Route 66 travel itinerary is based primarily on registration information on historic places in the National Park's Service National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks collections. These archives are kept 1201 Eye Street NW, Washington, DC and are open to the public. The essays are repackaged and edited exerpts from the Route 66 Special Resource Study and the Route 66 Corridor National Historic Context Study.

The itinerary was funded in part through a generous contribution from the American Express and World Monuments Fund Sustainable Tourism Initiative. This initiative rewards and encourages the responsible stewardship of historic sites by supporting projects that address the issue of sustainable tourism.

The itinerary was conceptualized by Kaisa Barthuli, Program Manager, National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, who oversaw the development of most of the content. Melissa Allen, Larry Flockerzie, Meghan Bayer, Doug Duncan, Jason Stuart, Amy Lynch and Kristen Luetkemeier of Thomason and Associates made invaluable contributions by authoring individual narratives for the itinerary. John Murphey, Cultural Resource Specialist, Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, Kristen Luetkemeier of Thomason and Associates, and Jason Stuart and Nicole Possert, provided editing assistance and help with obtaining photographs. The photographs are from a variety of sources, many from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. Others providing photos include the Baxter Springs Heritage Center and Museum; City of Pasadena; Gillioz Theatre; Historic 6th on Route 66 Association; Hualapai Tribe, Department of Cultural Resources; Library of Congress; National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution; Thomason and Associates; Kathy Anderson; Michael Cassity; Bill Eltzholtz; John Murphey; Terri Ryburn; and Joe Sonderman. A number of photographers graciously gave the National Park Service permission to use their photos from the Flickr website. The Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma Historical Society; Missouri State Historic Preservation Office; and the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division, Department of Cultural Affairs were especially helpful in providing a number of photos. State Historic Preservation Officers and their staffs in each of the States along the route have been helpful: In Illinois, William Wheeler and Anne Haaker; in Missouri Mark Templeton and Mark A. Miles; in Kansas, Jennie Chinn, Patrick Zollner and Katrina Ringler; in Oklahoma, Bob L. Blackburn and Melvena Thurman Heisch; in Texas, F. Lawerence Oaks, Mark S. Wolfe and Greg Smith; in New Mexico, Jan Biella, Katherine Slick and John Murphey; in Arizona, James W. Garrison and William Collins; and in California, Wilford Wayne Donaldson.

Carol Shull, Chief, Heritage Education Services, National Park Service managed production, edited the itinerary, and wrote some of the content. Philip Thomason,Thomason and Associates; Don Fink, Route 66 State Park; David K. Dunaway, Route 66 Oral History Office; Kathleen Ryan and Nissa Vandre, students at Ohio State University's John Glenn School of Public Affairs Washington Academic Internship Program; Tamara Wolf, Katherine Orr, Jennifer Jablonsky, and James Nelson, graduate students in the Department of History at American University; Kristine Chase, recent M.A. recipient from the Savannah College of Arts and Design; Zasha Guzman-Torres, graduate student in historic preservation at the University of Maryland; Laura Cryan, student at George Mason University School of Recreation, Health, and Tourism; Tyson Reeder, graduate student in George Mason University's Department of History; Paula Traylor, student at Northern Virginia Community College in historic preservation; Tomas Ramirez, graduate student in George Washington University's School of Business, Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management; and Amber Dumler of the National Park Service Park Museum Management Program also assisted in the preparation of the itinerary. Hyejung Kwon designed the original computer template for the itineraries as the practicum for her Masters of Tourism Administration (MTA) at George Washington University's School of Business, Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management. Kathryn Warnes, contractor with the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers and Jaclyn Jecha, contractor with the National Park Service's Heritage Education Services, adjusted the template, assisted in finishing, and completed programming the itinerary into the template.

The itinerary was produced with the support of the National Park Service's Jon Smith, Assistant Director for Heritage Preservation Services; Ronald C. Wilson, Chief Curator and Manager, Park Museum Management Program; Bryan Mitchell, Chief, Heritage Preservation Services; Paul Loether, Chief, National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks; and Richard O'Connor, Chief, Historical Documentation Programs. Jeff Joeckel of the National Register of Historic Places and National Historic Landmarks staff provided very valuable advice and assistance in the development of the itinerary, as did John Byrne, the National Register Database Manager. Deidre McCarthy, James Stein, and Matthew Stutts of NPS's Cultural Resources Geographic Information Systems, Historical Documentation Programs under John Knoerl provided assistance concerning Geographic Information System (GIS) maps used in the itinerary.

All photos are courtesy of the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program unless otherwise noted.
Homepage Photo Captions: Arizona road segment, courtesy of Creative Commons public domain; Maisel's Indian Trading Post Historic postcard, New Mexico; Coleman Theatre, Oklahoma, courtesy of Jim Ross; Arcadia Round Barn, courtesy of Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma Historical Society; Auburn Brick Road, Illinois road segment; Ariston Café, Illinois; Aztec Hotel, New Mexico, courtesy of New Mexico Historic Preservation Division; Brannigan Park, Arizona; Brush Creek Bridge, Kansas; El Vado Auto Court Motel, New Mexico, courtesy of Andy House.

Banner Photo Captions: Soulsby Service Station, Illinois; Blue Swallow Motel, New Mexico, courtesy of Jim Ross; Milk Bottle Grocery, Oklahoma, courtesy of Shellee Graham; Aztec Motel, California; Arizona road segment, courtesy of Creative Commons public domain; Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park, Oklahoma; Wigwam Village Motel #6, Arizona; Park Lake Historic District, New Mexico; Ambler's Texaco Station, Illinois; Rock Café, Oklahoma; 11th Street Arkansas River Bridge, Oklahoma, courtesy of Jim Ross; Maisel's Indian Trading Post, New Mexico, courtesy of John Murphey.

List of Sites Page Side Panel Photo Captions: Standard Oil Gas Station, Illinois; Downey Building, Illinois; Rock Fountain Court, Missouri; Pulaski County Courthouse, Missouri, courtesy of Seth Gaines; interior of William's Store, Kansas, courtesy of Kansas Travel and Tourism; Milk Bottle Grocery, Oklahoma; Fort Reno Chapel door, Oklahoma, courtesy of Ron Savage; , Y Service Station and Café, Oklahoma; 6th Street Historic District sign pillar, Texas; Luna Lodge sign, New Mexico; El Vado Auto Court, New Mexico; Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico, courtesy of Seth Goldstein; Wigwam Village Motel #6, Arizona; Painted Desert Inn, Arizona, courtesy of Dr. David Tulloch; Harvey House Railroad Depot, California, courtesy of Steve Diffenbacher; Colorado Street Bridge, California, courtesy of Karol Franks.