Pasadena Museum of History Announces Route 66 Stamp Unveiling Set for Sunday

The Pasadena Museum of History says an unveiling of the U.S. Postal Service’s Route 66 commemorative stamp will take place at the museum on Sunday, Oct. 11.

The unveiling would bring a national centennial tribute to a Pasadena museum that is marking the same anniversary. The museum’s current exhibition, “Where History Meets the Road: Celebrating Route 66 & Colorado Boulevard,” traces the highway’s effect on the city.

The Postal Service issued the Route 66 stamps May 5 in Phoenix. The set has eight designs, each showing a site in one of the eight states the highway crossed. The stamps are sold in panes of 16. They are Forever stamps, which stay equal in value to the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce price, the Postal Service said.

Greg Breeding, a Postal Service art director, designed the stamps using photographs by David J. Schwartz. The California stamp shows Beverly Hills City Hall, NBC Los Angeles reported.

Route 66 was designated Nov. 11, 1926, as a 2,448-mile highway from Chicago to Los Angeles. Colorado Boulevard later became part of the Route 66 corridor through Pasadena.

“The Route 66 stamp issuance represents an open invitation to come experience Route 66 for yourself along with the many historic and iconic landmarks you’ll see along the way,” Rod Reid, chairman of the United States Route 66 Centennial Commission, said at the May 5 ceremony.

During the free day, the museum plans to show the Route 66 exhibition and a second exhibition, “Pasadena Palette: Selections from the Museum’s Collection.” Visitors can take self-guided mini tours of the 1906 Fényes Mansion and the Finnish Folk Art Museum, the museum said. An Art 2 Go workshop will have visitors build cardboard tube race cars. The Glendale Model A Ford Club is to provide vintage cars for photos.

The Route 66 exhibition runs through Jan. 24, 2027. Outside the free day, gallery admission is $9 for adults and $7 for seniors. Members, students and visitors under 18 enter free.

The museum is at 470 W. Walnut St., at the corner of Orange Grove Boulevard. Parking is free in the lot off Walnut Street. The museum’s telephone number is 626-577-1660.

The museum’s next Route 66 program, “Route 66: Travelers and Tribes,” is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. Tickets are $18, or $13 for members.