Route 66 Begin Sign

The story of the Begin Sign starts with the decline of Route 66 itself. The original Route 66 was commissioned in 1926 as part of the federal numbered highway system, running from Chicago through eight states to Santa Monica, California. For roughly five decades it functioned as one of the most important commercial and cultural arteries in the United States — the road of Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, of Bobby Troup's iconic 1946 song, of Dust Bowl migration, postwar tourism, and the great American road trip mythology that defined mid-20th-century American culture.

Beginning in the 1950s with the Interstate Highway Act, parallel Interstate routes gradually replaced Route 66 segment by segment. By the late 1970s the writing was on the wall: the federal Route 66 designation was being decommissioned in pieces, and by 1985 the highway had been officially removed from the federal numbered system entirely. Across the eight Route 66 states, local preservation groups began organizing in the late 1970s and early 1980s to save what they could of the original alignment, the roadside architecture, and the cultural memory.

The Chicago Begin Sign was one of the earliest and most visible of these preservation efforts. An honorary Route 66 committee — a coalition of Chicago civic leaders, business owners, and Route 66 enthusiasts — successfully lobbied the city to install a permanent commemorative sign at the highway's historic starting point in 1977. The intersection of Adams and Michigan was chosen because the 1926 original alignment used Adams Street as the eastbound starting point (Jackson Boulevard, one block south, served as the westbound starting point until a 1955 realignment).

Visitors are sometimes confused to learn that Route 66 had two starting points in Chicago — one for eastbound traffic, one for westbound — and that the historical signage acknowledged both. The original 1926 alignment used Jackson Boulevard for westbound traffic (the standard direction for Route 66 road-trippers heading toward California) and Adams Street for eastbound traffic returning into the Loop. Both streets terminated at Michigan Avenue at the eastern edge of Grant Park, generally near the Buckingham Fountain area, which sits a short walk south and east.

In 1955 the city of Chicago made Jackson Boulevard one-way eastbound, which forced Route 66's westbound traffic onto Adams Street. From 1955 through the highway's decommissioning, Adams Street served as the primary westbound starting point — which is why the 1977 Begin Sign was installed at Adams and Michigan rather than Jackson and Michigan. A separate End Route 66 Sign typically marks Jackson Boulevard at Michigan Avenue (one block south) for travelers completing their journey eastbound, though the Adams Street sign is the more frequently-photographed and more widely-recognized of the two markers.

For Centennial travelers in 2026, the practical visit covers both corners: photograph the Begin Sign on Adams, walk one block south to find the End Sign on Jackson, and then walk the short distance east toward Buckingham Fountain in Grant Park for the wider photographic context. The full visit takes 20 to 30 minutes including photography time, and combines naturally with a longer Grant Park or Millennium Park walk.

The Begin Sign is physically modest — a standard brown highway shield, roughly 2 feet tall, reading "Begin Historic Route 66" with the iconic Route 66 shield logo. It is mounted on a standard metal sign post on the southwest corner of Adams Street and Michigan Avenue, facing roughly west toward the start of the historic alignment. The sign post also typically carries directional signage and the standard Adams Street street-name plate; the Route 66 shield is the smallest and easiest-to-miss element on the post if you are not looking for it specifically.

The classic photograph is taken from the north side of Adams Street looking south, with the sign in the foreground and the brick-and-stone facade of the Symphony Center (Orchestra Hall) building behind it. Photographers can also frame the shot looking eastbound with Michigan Avenue's traffic and the Grant Park trees in the background. The light is generally best in the early morning (when the sun is to the east and lights the sign's face) or the late afternoon (when long west-facing shadows produce dramatic side light).

The sign sits at a busy urban intersection — Adams and Michigan see substantial pedestrian, taxi, rideshare, and bus traffic throughout the day — so visitors should expect to wait for traffic and pedestrian flow to clear before getting a clean photograph. Weekend mornings (especially Sunday before 10am) typically produce the lightest foot traffic and the easiest photography conditions.

The Begin Sign sits in the geographic heart of Chicago's primary tourist district, which makes it easy to combine with a full day of downtown sightseeing. The natural sequence: start at the Begin Sign for the obligatory Mile Zero photograph (15-30 minutes), walk north into Millennium Park to see Cloud Gate (the iconic Bean sculpture) and the surrounding gardens (45-60 minutes), continue south one block to the Art Institute of Chicago for the full museum experience (2-4 hours), and finish with an early dinner at Lou Mitchell's, the Berghoff, or one of the Loop's other Route 66-era restaurants.

For Route 66 travelers planning to drive westbound from Chicago, the Begin Sign is the natural first stop on a multi-day itinerary. The standard sequence: photograph the sign in the morning, breakfast at Lou Mitchell's (the traditional Route 66 trip-starter breakfast just a few blocks west on Jackson Boulevard), then begin the drive southwest toward Joliet (40 miles), where the Rialto Square Theatre, the Old Joliet Prison, and Rich & Creamy provide the first major Route 66 stops outside Chicago.

For travelers who want a deeper Chicago experience before hitting the road, the Begin Sign can anchor a full day or two of downtown exploration — the Willis Tower Skydeck for the panoramic city view, the Chicago Cultural Center (which doubles as the city's main Visitor Center), Navy Pier, the Chicago Riverwalk, and the architectural boat tour of the Chicago River are all within walking or short rideshare distance.

The 2026 Route 66 Centennial — marking 100 years since the highway's commissioning in 1926 — has elevated the Begin Sign from a regional photo stop to a genuine pilgrimage destination. Centennial-year programming organized by Chicago tourism, Illinois Route 66 preservation groups, and the national Route 66 Centennial Commission has included guided walking tours, public art installations along the Adams Street corridor, and a series of community events at Buckingham Fountain timed around the Centennial calendar.

Visitors traveling specifically for the Centennial should generally plan their Begin Sign visit for a weekday morning to avoid peak event-day crowds, though many will deliberately want to be present during major Centennial weekend programming. The Chicago Cultural Center (78 East Washington Street, three blocks north) is the best source for current Centennial event information and serves as the de facto Centennial visitor center for downtown Chicago.

For long-distance Route 66 travelers using the Centennial as the occasion for their own drive, the Begin Sign is the natural starting moment of the trip — the photograph that anchors the social-media story, the symbolic departure point that gives shape to everything that follows over the next 2,400 miles. Few American highway markers carry comparable symbolic weight; the modest brown shield at Adams and Michigan punches well above its physical size.