Get Your Kicks on Route 66: Now With a New Digital Platform Powered by Google Arts & Culture

Kenna Attaway November 5, 2025 10:58 am

UCentral Anchor Abbi Avers also reported on the new Route 66 project (Video from UCentral Media on YouTube)

On Oct. 29, Google Arts and Culture partnered with the National Trust for Historic Preservation to launch a new themed page dedicated to Route 66 in anticipation of the Route’s centennial next year.

*Caption: Nearly 100 attendees joined Google Arts & Culture’s Route 66 project announcement at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum on Wednesday, Oct. 29.* (PHOTO PROVIDED BY GAC)

(From left to right) Pat Fitzgerald, National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum President & CEO, with Google Arts & Culture Program Manager Surya Tubach, Oklahoma Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell, and Google Arts & Culture Senior Program Manager Chance Coughenour, following Google Arts & Culture’s Route 66 project announcement at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum on Wednesday, Oct. 29. (PHOTO PROVIDED BY GAC)

The launch took place at the Oklahoma National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. In a sea of cowboy hats, boots, and bolo ties sat Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell, and GAC leaders.

The new page not only has a dedicated section on Oklahoma’s portion of Route 66 and its history, but also an immersive “Google Streetview”- style experience that takes you across Route 66, starting in Chicago and ending in Santa Monica.

*Oklahoma’s featured page (PHOTO PROVIDED BY GAC)*

*Route 66 map for the digital drive through (PHOTO PROVIDED BY GAC)*

The digital drive through Route 66 takes the “driver” through present-day Route 66, and it also uses Artificial Intelligence programmed with the Route’s archival imagery to show how the Route has changed through the decades.

Mayor Holt shared that Oklahoma is the largest market on Route 66, which makes people from around the world come to our state.

GAC Senior Program Manager Chance Coughenour said, “This project represents everything from the quirky cafes to the amazing attractions that make the Mother Road a historic space.”

The GAC project is an umbrella where all the Route 66 stories are now held, Coughenor said.

Conghenour continued, “We see this site as a way to promote tourism, for people wanting to plan a trip, it’s a way to drive tourism towards these states.”

The digital drive also uses AI to create video imagery through the decades, as well, allowing users to fully immerse themselves in the historic Route.