ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Travelers along historic Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles have no problem finding their fix of fake American Indian jewelry and vintage Elvis posters. But along this path motorists also will discover something once declared dead: the used bookstore.
There's the Chicago bookstore with a cat and a mechanical elevator, and the Albuquerque shop where lawyers and the homeless search together for Jack Kerouac's novels. There's also the iconic California store that once delivered books to Japanese-Americans interned at nearby camps.
All are located on Route 66, or a block away, often attracting regulars from around the corner and visitors from around the world. Owners say their stores are still thriving in the era of e-readers, tablets and online libraries.
Some, like Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena, Calif., have been around for more than 100 years and sell new books, and sometimes refers customers to nearby used bookstores, says Vroman's president Allison Hill.
Others, like Fifth Street Books in Kingman, Ariz., opened recently.
"For whatever reason, there are still some people who want an old-fashioned book in their hands," says Laura Eisner, owner of The Book Case in Albuquerque, which opened when John F. Kennedy was running for president.
Route 66, also called the Mother Road, began in 1926 after the Bureau of Public Roads launched the nation's first federal highway system, bringing together existing local and state roads from Chicago through St. Louis to Los Angeles. Small towns opened shops, motels and gas stations to pump revenue into local economies just as the nation's car culture took off.
Its importance even sparked the song "Route 66" by Nat "King" Cole; later recorded by the 1980s English band Depeche Mode.
The route changed a number of times, and eventually became less of a destination thanks to new interstate highways.
In 2008, the World Monuments Fund listed Route 66 on the "Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites."
Despite its endangered status, Route 66 remains an attraction for tourists who seek out its neon-lighted diners and vintage motels. Along the way, they can hunt through used bookstores for dusty copies of everything from John Steinbeck's Tortilla Flat to Ana Castillo's Peel My Love Like an Onion.
"I specialize in nonfiction," said Mert Glancy, 61, who operates Fifth Street Books in Kingman. Her store is a block away from the storied road and is in a building that once housed a newspaper.
No one knows just how many used bookstores are located along Route 66. The online bookstore, AbeBooks.com, recently listed 66 used bookstores near Route 66.
Keith Peterson, 64, owner of Selected Works Used Books and Sheet Music, which sits a block from the beginning of Route 66 in Chicago, admitted he didn't know Route 66 started at Chicago's Grant Park.
Other owners know exactly where they are because Route 66 memorabilia surrounds them. That's the case for Scott J. Free, 46, who opened Downtown Books in Albuquerque 15 years ago. His store is a block south of the road and near Route 66 locations for scenes from AMC's Breaking Bad. Route 66 travelers are a big customer base, he said.
"I think people love the smell of old books," Eisner said. "If I could bottle it, I'd sell it, too. On Route 66."
Travel on 11/29/2015