Travel the Short Route Chicago to Kansas City U.S. Highways 66 – 36 – 69

“PAVED ALL THE WAY”

This rare metal print block was used to produce a mid-20th-century promotional map linking Chicago with Kansas City. The ‘Short Route,’ following a combination of U.S. Highways 66, 36, and 69, passes through Springfield, Hannibal, Macon, and Chillicothe before turning south toward the Paris of the Plains. Bold text proclaims that the route is Paved All The Way, reassuring motorists when traveling in inclement weather.

No date, author, or publishing authority is identified, but the map was likely sponsored by a highway association or commercial travel organization. A small black box in the lower corner may have provided space for a participating business to add its own promotional text. The suggested route reflects an important era in American automobile travel, when highway associations and local businesses promoted specific paved corridors as alternatives to longer or less reliable routes between major cities. Interestingly, much of the historic routing can still be followed today, although the original U.S. highways have been superseded or bypassed by the modern Interstate system (mostly 55, 72, and 35).