Online Event
Members & Partners
Non-Members
FREE
FREE
Date:
Mar 17, 2026
Time:
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
All registration fees help support our 501c3 nonprofit organization. You can call (415) 495-0349 or write us to register or get more information.
Upcoming Events
- Preservation in Print | Route 66: The First 100 Years
Mar 17, 2026 - Past in Motion: Saving San Francisco’s Historic Streetcars
Mar 05, 2026 - Using Hybrid Repeat Photography to Tell Deeper Stories About Complex Sites
Feb 26, 2026 - From Paper to Practice: Building Effective Historic Preservation Ordinances
Feb 19, 2026 - My Path to Preservation: David Judson, Judson Studios
Feb 17, 2026
Continuing Education
We are an approved provider for AIA and AICP. Paid programs are submitted for CEUs with AIA and AICP. We also qualify for Certified Local Government (CLG) training. Appropriate continuing education categories (if any) are listed below.
Register for this Event
Preservation in Print | Route 66: The First 100 Years
Tuesday, March 17th | 12pm - 1:30pm
Join the California Preservation Foundation for Preservation in Print, a free lunchtime series for anyone interested in historic preservation, architecture, planning, history, and related fields. Each one-hour session features a conversation with the author or a key contributor of a recent preservation-related title. There’s no need to read the book in advance—whether you’ve read every page, browsed the photos, or are simply curious, you’re invited to join.
Route 66: The First 100 Years with authors Jim Ross and Shellee Graham
Few American roads have captured the imagination quite like Route 66. Designated in 1926, the “Mother Road” became a powerful symbol of mobility, opportunity, and reinvention—shaping communities, commerce, and popular culture across eight states.
This program will include a visually rich presentation offering a history of the route from its origins within the federal highway system through its rise, decline, and modern-day renaissance, weaving together key moments, people, places, and events that collectively created the road’s enduring legend. Historic context is paired with striking visuals, including vintage imagery and contemporary documentation, to bring the story of the route to life. A Q&A will follow, allowing attendees to dig deeper into preservation, research, storytelling, or any aspect of the route’s past, present, and future.
Whether you are a preservation professional, planner, Route 66 enthusiast, or simply curious about one of America’s most iconic highways, this program offers a thoughtful and accessible look at why Route 66 still matters—100 years on.
About the Book
Route 66: The First 100 Years chronicles the birth, life, demise, and renaissance of the legendary highway over its first century. Released in May 2025, the book was named to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Summer Reading List and later selected by Smithsonian magazine as one of the year’s 10 Best Travel Books. Read more about the book here.
Don’t forget to pick up your copy! The book is available from the publisher, Reedy Press (https://reedypress.com/shop/route-66-the-first-100-years/); bookstores along Route 66 and nationwide; and online retailers. Readers interested in an autographed copy may contact Jim Ross directly at jimross66@att.net.
About the Authors
Route 66 historian Jim Ross has spent 35 years exploring, researching, and writing about the Mother Road. He is the author or coauthor of 12 books, including Route 66 Crossings and Route 66 Sightings, and he is publisher of the best-selling Route 66 Map Series. He serves regularly as a consultant, and his efforts as a preservationist have earned him multiple awards.
Photographer, artist, and Route 66 ambassador Shellee Graham discovered the route in 1990 while living in St. Louis. Since then, she has authored or coauthored five books, including Tales from the Coral Court and Secret Route 66. Her photographs of the Mother Road have appeared in national and international shows, and she is the recipient of multiple awards for her photography and her work to preserve the route.