US Route 66 no longer exists. It died in 1977, when it lost its official government designation as a United States Highway.



For fifty years, the 2297 mile east-west highway was the major route between Chicago and Los Angeles. For much of its life, Route 66 was an American cultural icon, embracing the uniquely American culture of the road. Only fragments and remnants of this highway and its culture remain.



Berkman traveled the remaining segments of Route 66 in order to capture in photographs both the haunting spirit of what once was, and the reality of what now is.