Route 66: Study of cultural and architectural context

Beata Malinowska-Petelenz, Anna Petelenz, Magdalena Kozień-Woźniak

doi:10.37190/arc240412

Summary

The article presents an analysis of the cultural and architectural context of the famous Route 66. The historical significance of this route and its impact on the development of architecture and cultural landscape of the United States are discussed. Special attention is paid to preserved architectural objects and their role in shaping the cultural identity of the region.

✨ Summary generated by Artificial Intelligence. The actual Abstract can be found in the article below.

Keywords:
cultural heritage
architecture
route 66

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Beata Malinowska-Petelenz*, Anna Petelenz**,

Magdalena Jagiełło-Kowalczyk***, Małgorzata Petelenz****,

Radosław Rybkowski*****

Route 66: Study of cultural and architectural context

DOI: 10.37190/arc240412

Published in open access. CC BY NC ND license

Abstract

Route 66 – America’s Mother Road – continues to resonate in the Polish perception of US history, culture and architecture. In this study, we used

an innovative, multi-stage qualitative visual research method. As part of a research tour organised in 2018 to explore the cultural signicance of

Route 66 from an architectural perspective, photographic documentation and in situ freehand drawings were prepared and were then used for further

research. In the nal phase of the project, we used visual analysis to understand the cultural signicance of the roadside architecture along Route 66.

The results reected Polish perceptions of Route 66 and its users’ characteristics. The genius loci along Route 66 was shown to be based on fragment-

ed architectural structures, the randomness of forms and the dominant natural landscape.

Key words: architecture, landscape, tourism, cultural signicance, visual research method

Introduction

In Poland, Route 66 has been a symbol of the Ameri-

can dream and American liberty for many years. In the 21

century, the route continues to attract the attention of Pol-

ish viewers and readers, as reected in texts published by

popular websites (Sosnowska 2020; Białek 2023). In early

2022, the National Library catalogue cited 48 items relating

to Route 66, of which only 4 were translations from foreign

languages. Although the number of Polish publications de-

voted to this “Mother of all roads” (Steinbeck 2012)

may

seem limited, only 12 publications mentioning Route 66

and published after January 2000 can be found in the inter-

national Scopus database.

The main objective of this study was nevertheless not

to solely analyse the roadside architecture along Route 66.

Main aim was to demonstrate the eects of the application

of a qualitative method in research on architecture, and to

answer the question on how to combine the perspective of

cultural studies with architecture so as to better understand

the role and place of architecture in human life.

Route 66

– cultural context

Route 66 was opened as a federal highway in Novem-

ber 1926, just a few years before the Great Depression.

It was a part of an economic expansion programme and

was to serve as a link between communities. However, no

one could have predicted the great changes that the com-

missioning of this route would entail (Knudson 2012).

The new highway proved not only to be a convenient link

between the West Coast and Chicago, but also a driving

force that changed the surrounding towns, settlements and

residents forever. The growing popularity of Route 66 also

* ORCID: 0000-0001-9042-8139. Faculty of Architecture, Ta-

deusz Kościuszko Cracow University of Technology, Poland.

ORCID: 0000-0002-6965-7567. Fundacja AP KunstArt Fund,

Poland.

*** ORCID: 0000-0002-3971-839X. Faculty of Architecture,

Ta deusz Kościuszko Cracow University of Technology, Poland.

**** ORCID: 0000-0001-7038-1687. Faculty of Architecture,

Ta deusz Kościuszko Cracow University of Technology, Poland, e-mail:

malgorzata.petelenz@pk.edu.pl

***** ORCID: 0000-0002-2556-6698. Department of American

Culture, Jagiellonian University, Poland.

122 Beata Malinowska-Petelenz, Anna Petelenz, Magdalena Jagiełło-Kowalczyk, Małgorzata Petelenz, Radosław Rybkowski

Rodriguez and Coronado 2014). The starting point was

to identify the roadside architecture of Route 66, the fea-

tures constitutive of areas adjacent to US highways, and

its compliance (or non-compliance) with UN Sustainable

Development Goals no. 3 and 11: “Good health and qual-

ity of life” and “Sustainable cities and communities”. The

road as an essential and constitutive element of American

culture has its visual and spatial manifestation in roadside

architecture (United Nations 2022).

Research assumptions

Qualitative research in architecture requires a clear and

precise denition of the research procedure so that the re-

sults can be intersubjectively veried. It is in qualitative re-

search, where the researcher and their subjective approach

plays a key role, that the procedure gains signicance. This

is because it is important that the results do not become

merely a record of individual impressions. As Uwe Flick

emphasises: […] You should try to make the design of your

research and the methods as explicit and clear, and with as

much detail, as possible (Flick 2007, 114). In the context

of the subject under study, we assumed that the main user

of Route 66 was a viewer that moves fast (by car), and the

genius loci of the area stems from experiences and per-

ceptions created by scattered architectural structures that

blend into the landscape context. The visual method was

chosen as the most appropriate to identify the factors that

determine the distinctive atmosphere that results from the

architectural and landscape conditions along the road.

Of all the arts, architecture has the greatest impact on

nature, the landscape, the human environment and thus

determines an individual’s wellbeing and the life of a com-

munity. It is also sometimes seen as a purely sculptural or

visual art. Simon Unwin (2019) proposes that the concept

of extra-linguistic metaphor – a visual metaphor related to

user experience – should be introduced to its study.

If architecture can be a metaphor, it expects an audience

capable of deciphering it and understanding its meaning.

While some disciplines ignore the importance of the visual,

[…] cultural studies has always assumed an analysis of the

visual […]. [It] is concerned with “how culture is produced,

enacted and consumed”, so it is unavoidable that scholars

working in this eld will focus on visual issues (Pink 2008,

128). We proposed a carefully designed three-step method.

Method and procedure

John W. Creswell (2013) in his fundamental textbook

Re search Design. Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Me -

thods

Approaches, clearly indicates that sound work by

a researcher who uses qualitative methods must include

the following steps:

1) data collection/documentation, during which the

author […] should identify what data the researcher will

record and the procedures for recording data (Creswell

2009, 181),

2) interpreting data, or transforming data into informa-

tion – which involves […] making sense out of text and

image data (Creswell 2009, 183),

attracted small and larger businesses. The most important

change was not just economic – it went much deeper.

Symbolically and physically, the highway, together with

its accompanying commercial services for travellers, be-

came the newest and most inuential landscape in 20

-cen-

tury America. The automotive world: the highways, the

drivers and passengers of cars, trucks, buses and motorcy-

cles – created a new way of expressing the Ame rican life-

style – the freedom and passion to move and travel, whether

for work

or recreation (Jakle, Sculle 2004). Trains and rail-

ways, dominant in the late 19

and early 20

centuries, did

not provide the kind of independence that Americans found

in cars. From the beginning, they associated them with ev-

erything the railway was not. Private, rather than owned by

a large company, independent of a timetable, the car was

understood as a vehicle for escaping into adventure (Nye

2011, 104). Travelling by car was reminiscent of the days

of the pioneers. Jean Baudrillard (2011) also wrote about

viewing reality from the windows of a speeding car in his

famous manifesto America.

Route 66

– architectural context

Architecture is created at the intersection of engineer-

ing, construction and technology as well as art, creativity

and sometimes fashion. It must also answer societal needs

and aspirations, and should serve the well-being of indi-

viduals and groups, which is why it always reects the so-

cial and cultural context. The dynamism of local American

architecture calls for innovative modes of research that are

open to faster interpretations and reinterpretations (Bau-

man 2006). It also requires a specic perspective – prefer-

ably one from the window of a moving car. Robert Venturi,

Denise Scott Brown and Steven Izenour (2013) presented

such a discussion of local architecture, and in their man-

ifesto Learning from Las Vegas oered an in-depth anal-

ysis of the titular city, which is an extreme exemplica-

tion of eclectic and functional architecture that abolishes

the rift between function and form, mass and ornament.

Marta Mroczek (2016) presented an insightful analysis of

roadside architecture – she called it auto-architecture. Its

distinctive features found in the desert or in the vicinity

of small settlements have become important landmarks.

Architecture organises space, but this is not all – its

signicance goes beyond the mere structure of organised

space (Whyte 2006). Umberto Eco (1997, 174) noted that

[…] we commonly do experience architecture as commu-

nication, even while recognising its functionality. The way

architecture is interpreted changes with the times, as well

as the dominant culture, so researchers should […] explore

how architecture is interpreted by its users and viewers

(Whyte 2006, 171). Our research on Route 66’s roadside

architecture is an exploration of the architecture itself, but

more importantly it is an analysis of the Polish viewer’s

interpretation of roadside architecture (Diener 2000).

Landscapes of everyday life, such as roadside archi-

tecture, have begun to attract the attention of cultural re-

searchers since the early 1980s (Jackson 1984), but specif-

ic roadside heritage studies are recent and still few (Ruiz,

Route 66: Study of cultural and architectural context 123

3) interpretation, namely explaining their meaning. The

essence of this task is best encapsulated by the question:

What insight is gained from this? The insight can be the

researcher’s personal interpretation, couched in the under-

standing that the inquirer brings to the study from her or his

own culture, history, and experiences (Creswell 2009, 189).

It must be highlighted here that the researcher who

draws on their culture, history and experiences (Creswell

2009, 189) becomes an important part of the research pro-

cess. The individual, subjective view of a single researcher

does not invalidate the cognitive value brought by research

carried out in this way. But it denitely requires what Uwe

Flick wrote about, namely dening the research procedure

in such a way that it is […] explicit and clear, and with as

much detail, as possible (Flick 2007, 114).

The participants of the research project on Route 66’s

roadside architecture were three architecture researchers

aliated with the Cracow University of Technology (Bea-

ta Malinowska-Petelenz, Magdalena Jagiełło-Kowal czyk,

Małgorzata Petelenz) and two cultural studies resear chers

(Anna Petelenz, Radosław Rybkowski).

The rst stage of the study consisted of a research

tour. The tour was made possible by an institutional grant

to study selected cities in the US and their response to

natural disaster risks. The team’s itinerary was planned

months before the actual visit to the US in August 2018.

The research covered the western part of Route 66 (from

Los Angeles to Las Vegas and back) with a number of de-

tours deep into the country to investigate the wider land-

scape and the area’s architectural context. The diversity

of the authors’ areas of expertise was expected to result

in an interdisciplinary study and a holistic approach to

determining the quality of space and genius loci along

Route 66. The researchers focused on several themes that

linked the authors’ elds, such as architecture and nature,

the cultural context of US architecture, and the role of the

road and architecture in landscape interpretation. The fol-

lowing detailed stages were distinguished in the research

process:

1) in-situ photographic and drawing documentation,

2) selection of visual data.

In-situ photographic

and drawing documentation

During the Route 66 exploration, all members of the

team took photographs of places that each individual mem-

ber felt were worth documenting. Malinowska-Petelenz

also drew views of particular interest to her, thus docu-

menting the team’s most unique impressions. The sketches

became visual metaphors for the places that were visited.

Architecture gains meaning through the cultural context

brought in by its audience, so an analysis of the buildings

and the surrounding landscape alone could not produce

satisfactory results. The team therefore used photographs

both as a form of “objective” documentation of the archi-

tecture in its surroundings and as a personal interpretation

of its meaning. These sketches represent a personal, sub-

jective view, and the very making of these sketches be-

came […] a powerful methodological tool in anthropolog-

ical research […] and also served as a probe to trigger

and explore their social memories, transcending the limits

of lineal textual representation (Afonso, Ramos 2004, 76).

Selection of visual data

In the next stage of the research process, from among

hundreds of photos and numerous sketches, we selected

those that we considered signicant from an architectural

and culture studies perspective. By selecting the icono-

graphic material together, we achieved a kind of objectiv-

ity, as we selected for further analysis only those materials

that, via consensus of all team members, provided a good

illustration of the cultural context of Route 66’s roadside ar-

chitecture. Thus, at the level of iconographic material selec-

tion, care was taken to ensure its semantic intersubjectivity.

In the visual material that emerged, several thematic groups

can be distinguished: the road (Fig. 1), roadside architec-

ture (Fig. 2), advertising elements (Fig. 3), Modernist New

Regionalism (Fig. 4), Las Vegas as a distinctive and dier-

ent space (Fig. 5) (Malinowska-Petelenz, Petelenz 2019).

After returning to Poland, the second phase of research

was initiated. Over the course of several meetings and

discussions, we unanimously selected 20 photographs

(Figs. 1–5) and four sketches (Figs. 6, 7) that best repre-

sented Route 66’s roadside architecture and documented

its characteristic elements.

In the subsequent stages of group work, the team split

itself into two sub-teams according to their research back-

ground and experience. Sub-team A analysed the pre-

pared data/visual material in terms of cultural meanings.

Sub-team B, on the other hand, analysed the same visual

material from an architectural research perspective. Both

components used MAXQDA2020, a popular Computer-

Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (

CAQDAS).

This software can encode photographs and other visual ma-

terial by specifying a fragment of an illustration (this is al-

ways in the form of a rectangle) and assigning it a meaning

by including this fragment in a given code (see Fig. 8). The

benet of MAXQDA was particularly evident in the next

stage of the adopted research procedure – this was due to

the epochal shift towards visuality in our culture (Kuckartz,

Rӓdiker 2013).

Determination of codes – characteristic elements

– sub-team A

The team explored interest in the “ordinariness” or “ev-

erydayness” of culture, culture as a process by which a so-

ciety or social group produces meanings. This approach

allowed the team to document […] both the “how” and

the “what” of culture, both in terms of production and con-

text (Lister, Wells 2004, 4). The focus was placed on dis-

tinguishing the key characteristic elements that occurred

repeatedly in the visual landscape along Route 66, which

were then classied into the groups listed in Table 1.

Determination of codes – characteristic elements

– sub-team B

In the course of the discussion, the team distinguished

a number of semantic terms to be crossed with the visual

124 Beata Malinowska-Petelenz, Anna Petelenz, Magdalena Jagiełło-Kowalczyk, Małgorzata Petelenz, Radosław Rybkowski

Fig. 1. Road: a) Monument Valley, Utah, b) roadside shack, Monument Valley,

c) Stagecoach Motel, Route 66, Seligman, Arizona,

d) Route 95, road to Hawthorne, Nevada – old abandoned house

(photo by B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Il. 1. Droga: a) Monument Valley, Utah, b) przydrożny barak, Monument Valley,

c) Stagecoach Motel, Route 66, Seligman, Arizona,

d) Route 95, droga do Hawthorne, Nevada – stare, opuszczone domostwo

(fot. B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Fig. 2. Roadside architecture: a) Bull Moose Lodge motel, Alpine, Wyoming,

b) wooden roadside architecture – Alpine, Wyoming,

c), d) distinctive buildings along the main historic Route 66, Williams City, Arizona

(photo by B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Il. 2. Architektura przydrożna: a) motel Bull Moose Lodge, Alpine, Wyoming,

b) drewniana architektura przydrożna – Alpine, Wyoming,

c), d) charakterystyczna zabudowa wzdłuż głównej, historycznej Route 66, Williams City, Arizona

(fot. B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

a b

c d

a b

c d

Route 66: Study of cultural and architectural context 125

Fig. 3. Advertising elements: a) Cruiser’s Route 66 Café bar, Williams, Arizona,

b) Roy’s Motel bar & Café, Route 66 – iconic lone gas station stop, Mojave Desert, Amboy, California,

c) Bull Moose Saloon advertisement, Alpine, Wyoming, d) liquor store advertisement, Route 95, Nevada (between Luning and Hawthorne)

(photo by B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Il. 3. Elementy reklamowe: a) bar Cruiser’s Route 66 Cafe, Williams, Arizona,

b) bar Roy’s Motel & Café, Route 66 – ikona samotnego przystanku na stacji benzynowej, pustynia Mojave, Amboy, California,

c) reklama Bull Moose Saloon, Alpine, Wyoming, d) reklama sklepu alkoholowego, Route 95, Nevada (między Luning a Hawthorne)

(fot. B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Fig. 4. Modernist New Regionalism – examples: a) The Monument House, Mojave Desert, Joshua Tree National Park (design by Josh Schweitzer, 1990),

b) Visitor Centre building in Arches National Park, Moab Utah (design by Chamberlin Architects 2004–2005),

c) Las Vegas Central Library and Children’s Museum, Las Vegas suburb, Nevada (design by Antoine Predock, 1990),

d) Hotel View Monument Valley, Utah (design by Robert Maze Desert Sky Designs, 2008) (photo by B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Il. 4. Neoregionalizm modernistyczny – przykłady: a) The Monument House, pustynia Mojave, Joshua Tree National Park (proj. Josh Schweitzer, 1990),

b) budynek Visitor Center w Arches National Park, Moab Utah (proj. Chamberlin Architects 2004–2005),

c) Las Vegas Central Library i Children’s Museum, przedmieścia Las Vegas, Nevada (proj. Antoine Predock, 1990),

d) Hotel View Monument Valley, Utah (proj. Robert Maze Desert Sky Designs, 2008) (fot. B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

a b

c d

a b

c d

126 Beata Malinowska-Petelenz, Anna Petelenz, Magdalena Jagiełło-Kowalczyk, Małgorzata Petelenz, Radosław Rybkowski

Fig. 5. Las Vegas, Nevada:

a) the iconic sign at the entrance to Las Vegas, b) signs and neon lights along Freemont Street,

c) shops and casinos along Freemont Street, d) the nighttime lighting of the Las Vegas Strip

(photo by B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Il. 5. Las Vegas, Nevada:

a) legendarny znak przy wjeździe do Las Vegas, b) szyldy i neony wzdłuż Freemont Street,

c) sklepy i kasyna wzdłuż Freemont Street, d) nocne oświetlenie Las Vegas Strip

(fot. B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Fig. 6. The road as cultural heritage in the US, open landscape:

a) Arches National Park, Utah,

b) Roy’s Motel & Café, Amboy, California

(drawing by B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Il. 6. Droga jako dziedzictwo kulturowe USA, krajobraz otwarty:

a) Arches National Park, Utah,

b) Bar Roy’s Motel & Café, Amboy, California

(rys. B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Fig. 7. The road as cultural heritage of the US, urban interiors:

a) Route 66, Williams City, Arizona,

b) The Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada

(drawing by B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Il. 7. Droga jako dziedzictwo kulturowe USA, wnętrza urbanistyczne:

a) Route 66, Williams City, Arizona,

b) The Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada

(rys. B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

a b

c d

Route 66: Study of cultural and architectural context 127

Table 1. Codes of characteristic elements present along Route 66, linked to cultural context (elaborated by M. Petelenz)

Tabela 1. Kody elementów charakterystycznych obecnych wzdłuż Route 66, powiązane z kontekstem kulturowym (oprac. M. Petelenz)

Group

of elements

Element

(Polish)

Coding

(English)

Additional commentary

Vehicles

samochód car

Vehicles were divided into more specific groups

due to being the predominant form of vehicular travel

along Route 66. Old cars are also an important element,

which (sometimes as a form of display) give the space

a timeless character

stary samochód old car

grupa samochodów

w oddali

multiple cars in the distance

motocykl motorcycle

The American

flag

amerykańska flaga the american flag

It is both a frequent element and one that is highly essential

to the expression of the local place-based identity

Nature

zalesione wzgórze forested hill

Both individual elements of nature and whole areas

characteristic of American open areas were distinguished

góry mountains

horyzont horizon

daleka pusta przestrzeń vast open space

drzewo tree

Shabby fence niedbałe ogrodzenie shabby fence

An element that defines the geometry and aesthetics

of a space

Buildings

kasyno casino

Several types of buildings whose uses could be clearly

identified were distinguished, and a group of elements

(buildings) whose use could not be determined visually

were marked

stacja benzynowa gas station

jadłodajnia eatery

budynek building

dom mieszkalny house

sklep store

motel motel

Route 66 66

Route 66 sztuka art The road – a constantly visible, distinctive feature

Art Reklamy advertisement Aesthetic function

Advertisements

Las Vegas Las Vegas

Advertisements are an inseparable element of Route 66’s

landscape, initially the advertisements associated not only

with selling land, but also concerning Las Vegas, were seen

as a characteristic, distinct element

na sprzedaż for sale

grupa ludzi people (crowd)

People ludzie (policzalni)

people

(but you can count them)

People are both an indicator of a site’s degree

of activity and allow characterisation

of the dominant user of a space

characteristic architectural elements. Five terms that dene

spatial composition were borrowed from composition the-

ory. Five culturally relevant landscape terms were also dis-

tinguished to dene its natural and human-made elements.

The semantic terms have been presented in Table 2.

Examples of the results of the two teams’ work are

shown in Figure 8a, b.

Interpretation

This stage of the study demonstrated MAXQDA’s ben-

ets. It made it very easy to connect the coding by sub-

teams A and B and to verify the most commonly co-oc-

curring cultural and architectural codes. In cases where

sub-team A encoded a given visual material (data) using

codes that referred to distinct cultural elements of the land-

scape and architecture along Route 66, sub-team B coded

that same graphical material suing the second code group

– terms used in architectural analysis (e.g., compositional

accent, landmark, natural landscape, greenery). The two

sub-teams worked separately to avoid biases caused by

coding already done by others. The process of this double

coding is shown in Figure 8c.

The use of visual methods is a well-established research

approach, but it still needs to be employed more wide-

ly, including in the study of architecture – particularly in

128 Beata Malinowska-Petelenz, Anna Petelenz, Magdalena Jagiełło-Kowalczyk, Małgorzata Petelenz, Radosław Rybkowski

Group of terms

Term

(Polish)

Coding

(English)

Additional commentary

Composition

elements

akcent kompozycyjny compositional accent An element that stands out from the background

dominanta

kompozycyjna

landmark An element that dominates over its surroundings

tło vast open space As a background for distinctive elements

ściana wall A vertical plane that delineates a given space

horyzont horizon

An important horizontal direction that emphasises

the horizontality of the open landscape

Culturally

relevant terms

krajobraz naturalny natural landscape Landscape – the terrain and open space

architektura architecture

As a mass and other types of structures built by humans,

which do not fall under the other categories

zieleń greenery For example, trees, shrubs, forested hillsides

szyld signboard One of the most numerous details in space

droga road

Road in the physical sense,

but understood

as a cultural narrative axis for the landscape

Table 2. Codes of characteristic elements present along Route 66, linked to architectural context (elaborated by M. Petelenz)

Tabela 2. Kody elementów charakterystycznych obecnych wzdłuż Route 66, powiązane z kontekstem architektonicznym (oprac. M. Petelenz)

Fig. 8. Example of coding

– codes:

a) related to architecture,

b) related to culture,

c) intersection of codes

of group a and b (photo by

B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Il. 8. Przykład kodowania

– kody:

a) związane z architekturą,

b) związane z kulturą,

c) przecinanie się kodów

grupy a i b

(fot. B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Route 66: Study of cultural and architectural context 129

Fig. 9. Relationships between

codes of cultural meaning and

architectural context

(elaborated by M. Petelenz)

Il. 9. Relacje między kodami

o charakterze znaczeń

kulturowych oraz kontekstu

architektonicznego

(oprac. M. Petelenz)

demonstrating the role and place of architecture in people’s

lives (Rose 2016). The use of this method also allowed us

to test the validity of the approach, bearing in mind that

it […] is in the initial but developing phase of qualitative

research (Rodrigues, Costa and Moreira 2019, 236). It has

also been tested whether it can be successfully […] incor-

porated into qualitative research projects in various ways:

analysis of visual data (photos, videos, posters, etc.) (Ro-

drigues, Costa and Moreira 2019, 236).

As noted by Rodrigues et al. (2019), the visual research

method requires images not only to provide material for

investigation, but also to explain and present the results.

Using software that supports qualitative analysis (such

as MAXQDA) allows even extensive visual material to be

examined relatively easily. The most valuable results were

achieved by reviewing the code relationships used during

the third stage of the research. We compared the codes used

from the perspective of cultural meanings and architectural

context with each other. Segments with intersecting codes

were sought to understand the relationship between archi-

tecture and culture along Route 66, as presented in Figure

9. The visual material selection from stage 1 and its coding

in stage 2 demonstrated that, from the perspective of the

Polish research team that had travelled along Route 66, the

visual representation consisted of vehicles and cars (46 en-

coded fragments) and not people (21 encoded fragments),

which meant that people in cars were the main users of

this space.

The aforementioned sketches proved to be highly valu-

able material and were coded separately using solely ar-

chitectural context codes. The results of the analysis have

been shown in Figure 10. From this, it can be concluded

that signboards proved to be a constitutive element for the

visual landscape along Route 66. They most often co-oc-

curred with architectural substance and the wall under-

stood as a compositional element. They also mostly acted

as compositional accents.

Considering the entire study of the visual character-

istics of the space along Route 66 (the results from the

MAXQDA investigation combined with the impressions

of the participants in the in-situ landscape observations),

the following conclusions can be drawn:

– the area displays a symbiosis of numerous natural

elements (mountains, greenery, open space, etc.) and hu-

man-made elements (architecture, fences, signs, road, etc.).

Codes related to architecture were the most numerous: ar-

chitecture (29), wall (24), buildings (30), with nature being

equally important: greenery (25) and trees (18). The com-

positional dominance of natural elements can also be seen,

– the variable (moving) elements were dominated by

vehicles, not people, so the main users of the space were

motorised,

130 Beata Malinowska-Petelenz, Anna Petelenz, Magdalena Jagiełło-Kowalczyk, Małgorzata Petelenz, Radosław Rybkowski

Fig. 10. Relationship of codes

between categories

of architectural analysis

(elaborated by M. Petelenz

on the basis of drawings by

B. Malinowska-Petelenz)

Il. 10. Relacje kodów między

kategoriami analizy

architektonicznej

(oprac. M. Petelenz na podstawie

rys. B. Malinowskiej-Petelenz)

– the landscape is repeatedly characterised by open

space and the visible horizon emphasises the innity of

perspective plans and the compositional horizontality of

the vista,

– the main boundaries of the space (walls) are visible in

the form of the architectural mass,

– both architecture and the natural landscape are char-

acterised by horizontality (the vast majority of coded areas

dened by lying rectangles). This composition is broken

up by accents in the form of tall columns with signs or the

American ag,

– compositional accents are often present in the space,

landmarks are much less frequent – there is a lack of ele-

ments that bring structure to the spatial composition, while

numerous details can be observed, which increase its frag-

mentation and a sense of chaos,

– roadside architecture is also characterised by a lack

of a coherent, clear façade – obscured by signs and ad-

vertisements, the form and overall spatial composition is

fragmented.

Conclusions

Our experience in the study of roadside architecture

along Route 66 in the United States conrmed that a well-

planned and executed research procedure can lead to con-

clusions. Sometimes these conclusions were surprising to

ourselves, such as the loss of prominence of the building’s

facade in favour of an advertisement obscuring it. The

overlap of coding that reected cultural and architectur-

al contexts became an armation that travel in the Unit-

ed States is dened by an endless narrative of the road

(Fig. 1). Outside of large cities or metropolises (e.g., Las

Vegas), the land is mostly empty. Peter Zumthor, author

of the groundbreaking book Thinking architecture (2010),

noted that the dierence between the landscape and the

city is that the city both inspires and irritates, gives you

wings or suocates. The city can be a place for a sustain-

able and thriving community, but it can also make individ-

ual and social life unbearable. Landscape, in turn, is also

about peace and freedom, as nature has a dierent sense

of time. In the landscape, time is innite, while in the city

it can be as dense as space. It is this advantage: the all-en-

compassing landscape and the car required to experience it

that has given rise to the frontier and highway architecture

– depicted in novels and lms.

The scattered development typical of Route 66 gives an

impression of chaos and discontinuity, which is a distinc-

tive feature of its roadside architecture. At the same time,

and this is another surprising result of our research, despite

the economic and cultural signicance of this American

“mother of all roads”, nature plays an important role. One

manifestation of this is the high saturation with the code

tree, which appears almost as often as advertisement. And

– signicantly – it is thanks to the multi-stage research pro-

cedure that safeguards against an overly subjective reading

of the visual material that it became possible to discern

such an intense presence of nature along Route 66. This

road is a very good example that architecture that coexists

with the natural landscape does not in fact become an at-

tempt at imitating it. Through roadside architecture, nature

is reinterpreted and can be read as one of the possible inter-

pretations of the role of the landscape by those who travel

it (Stoppani 2019).

An analysis of roadside architecture in the context of

US cultural heritage leads to the conclusion that scattered

and impermanent development, often articial-like and

gaudy in character, together with the local terrain of the

prairies and canyons, form a distinct and unique local out-

line of the American landscape – created by natural condi-

tions and its roadside, episodic architecture. Its scattering

and apparent instability, the desert highway, the road from

one neon sign to another, build its genius loci. However,

one of the most common features of all these areas seems

to be the visual uniqueness created by scattered architec-

tural structures easily noticed by the main viewer – the one

who moves fast.

As authors who delved into Route 66 and its roadside

architecture, we put ourselves in the role of attentive ob-

servers. Through rigorously dened stages of exploration,

we were able to see just how deeply roadside architecture is

rooted in nature, irrespectively of Route 66’s technological

advancement. The sustainable combination of culture (and

technology and engineering) and nature proved to be the

basis of liveable places, no matter how remote they were

from their local metropolis. The research trip along Route

66 proved that protecting cultural heritage and showcasing

natural beauty is by far the best way to ensure a sustainable

future for the communities who live along the road. This is

a lesson that other regions that represent a similar combi-

nation of cultural heritage and natural scenic beauty should

take seriously so as to make this space more welcoming to

residents and attractive to tourists.

Translated by

Krzysztof Barnaś

Route 66: Study of cultural and architectural context 131

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Streszczenie

Route 66. Badanie kontekstu kulturowego i architektonicznego

Route 66 – Droga Matka Ameryki – wciąż rezonuje w polskim postrzeganiu historii, kultury i architektury Stanów Zjednoczonych. Zespół ba-

dawczy zastosował innowacyjną metodę zorganizowaną jako kilkustopniowa jakościowa metoda badań wizualnych. W ramach zorganizowanego

w 2018 r. wyjazdu studyjnego, którego celem było poznanie kulturowego znaczenia Route 66 z perspektywy architektury, przygotowano dokumentację

fotograczną oraz materiały rysunkowe in situ – posłużyły one następnie do dalszych badań. W końcowej fazie projektu zespół zastosował analizę wi-

zualną, aby zrozumieć kulturowe znaczenie architektury przydrożnej wzdłuż Route 66. Wyniki badania odzwierciedlały polskie postrzeganie Route 66

i charakterystykę użytkownika. Wykazano, że genius loci wzdłuż Route 66 bazuje na rozdrobnionych strukturach architektonicznych, przypadkowości

form i dominującym krajobrazie naturalnym.

Słowa kluczowe: architektura, krajobraz, turystyka, znaczenie kulturowe, metoda badań wizualnych