By Michelle Edgar
As Pacific Palisades continues rebuilding after the devastating fires, one of America’s most iconic highways is helping bring new life back to one of the community’s most treasured landmarks.
On Friday, preservationists, civic leaders, classic car enthusiasts and members of the Rogers family gathered at Will Rogers State Historic Park for the kickoff of the Route 66 Centennial Caravan, launching a yearlong celebration of the Mother Road’s 100th anniversary while marking one of the first major public events at the historic ranch since its reopening.
The event connected three powerful stories unfolding at once: the centennial of Route 66, the ongoing recovery of Will Rogers State Historic Park following the loss of its historic ranch house and stables in the Palisades Fire, and a renewed effort to introduce the legacy of Will Rogers to a new generation.
Established on November 11, 1926, Route 66 stretched more than 2,400 miles from Chicago to Santa Monica, becoming a symbol of opportunity, mobility and the American dream. Following the death of legendary entertainer, journalist and humanitarian Will Rogers in 1935, the roadway was designated the Will Rogers Memorial Highway, creating a lasting connection between Santa Monica and Rogers’ hometown of Claremore, Oklahoma.
For organizers, there was no more fitting place to begin the centennial celebration. “When the group of us from all eight Route 66 states began planning the centennial, we wanted to find a place that highlighted the road’s history while also reminding people that new stories are still being written,” said Rhys Martin, president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and Route 66 preservation manager for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “Route 66 is known as the Will Rogers Highway, and it felt fitting to come here, especially as the park and this community continue recovering from such a terrible disaster.”
The reception welcomed participants in the Route 66 Centennial Caravan, a once-in-a-lifetime journey traversing all eight states connected by the Mother Road while highlighting preservation successes and future challenges facing the historic corridor.
For Martin, the centennial is not simply about celebrating the past. “Route 66 isn’t something you just look at in a museum and say, ‘That’s interesting,’” he said. “The story is still evolving, and there’s a place in that story for everybody.”
“The Route 66 Centennial Caravan will hopefully serve as a celebration of the road as a cultural corridor something that gives many of its communities an opportunity to recognize they are part of a 2,500-mile-long linear village,” Martin said.
“There have been preservation success stories and amazing stories told on the shoulder of the old road, but there’s still work to do. The next 100 years of Route 66 is just starting.”
The evening also carried special significance for the Rogers family. “On behalf of the Rogers family, we are still deeply saddened by the tragic loss of the ranch house and historic stables in last year’s Palisades fire,” said Jennifer Rogers, Will Rogers’ great-granddaughter, family representative and co-founder of the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation.
“We have been working closely with California State Parks and the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation and are pleased to see the park open to the public and community activity return.”
She added, “Route 66 was rededicated in 1952 as the Will Rogers Memorial Highway traveling from Santa Monica to Chicago. We are proud to be a part of this incredible event and year-long celebration of the Mother Road.”
For Larry Nemecek, president of the Will Rogers Ranch Foundation, the centennial arrives at a pivotal moment for both Route 66 and the historic ranch as stakeholders consider how best to preserve and reinterpret Rogers’ legacy following the fire. “We’re always focused on making sure the world remembers Will Rogers,” Nemecek said. “He’s almost as much a part of today’s world as he was in his own time.”
Nemecek described Rogers as one of the most influential communicators of the 20th century, whose reach extended across journalism, radio, film and public commentary. “He was the king of mass media while mass media was being invented,” Nemecek said. “If he’d lived another 10 years, he probably would have been a television pioneer too.”
He noted that Route 66 and Rogers share remarkably similar stories. “They both represent the best of America,” Nemecek said. “They both came from humble beginnings, and both still have stories to tell.”
While much attention since the fire has focused on rebuilding physical structures, Nemecek said preserving the ranch’s purpose is equally important. “You can go anywhere and find beautiful hiking trails, but this place has to be more than glorified hiking trails with some old guy’s name on them. This is Will Rogers’ home. It’s his polo field, his ranch and his story.”
The park, originally donated to the state by Rogers’ widow Betty Blake Rogers, became California’s first historic state park in 1944. Today, the surviving structures, trails, polo field and open space continue to attract visitors from around the world.
Nemecek believes the renewed attention generated by both the fire recovery and Route 66’s centennial presents an opportunity to introduce Rogers to a new generation. “Sadly, we’ve had a lot more interest since the fires,” he said. “People are rediscovering Will Rogers and realizing how relevant he still is.”
As classic cars prepare to roll onto the Mother Road and communities across eight states launch centennial celebrations, organizers hope the milestone serves not only as a tribute to history but as a call to preserve what comes next. A century after Route 66 first connected communities across America, the road’s story continues, and at the western edge of the Mother Road, in a park rebuilding from tragedy, that next chapter is already being written.