The Ramada
Plaza Hotel on Santa Monica Blvd. recently held a special event marking the
further Western placement of a historic Route 66 sign. The Ramada Plaza is
located at the western end of the historic and romanticized Route 66 which
began in Chicago and traveled through the Midwest, ending at the Pacific Ocean.
The Route 66 logo will also be imprinted on Santa Monica Blvd. adjacent to the
Ramada in the near future, an action only conducted at one other location on
the historic route.
Established in
1926, Route 66 signified the first all- weather highway that linked Chicago to
Los Angeles, making the route popular for motorists who drove west to pursue
better lives, symbolizing unprecedented freedom and mobility for citizens who
owned cars. The road was the first transition from dirt road to superhighway
and liked "small town" USA to major metropolitan cities.
Photo Caption: (l-r) Bill
Karpiak, General Manager, Ramada Plaza Hotel; Brad Burlingame, President &
CEO, West Hollywood Convention & Visitors Bureau; Sal Guariello, Mayor Pro
Tem, City of West Hollywood; Mindy Bradish, President & CEO, West Hollywood
Chamber of Commerce; Katrin Lucas, Director of Sales, West Hollywood Convention
& Visitors Bureau; Gary Oliphant, VP-Branch Manager, Wells Fargo Bank West
Hollywood; Alan Johnson, Managing Director, Ramada Plaza Hotel
