The "end" for Route 66

Route 66 shield being removed, Jan 1977, Chicago. Source. Click image to enlarge

The signs were all removed when U.S. 66 was decertified in Illinois in 1977 and the Eastern Terminus moved to Scotland MO close to Joplin, where it remained until 1985 when the highway was completely delisted.The signs in Grant Park were taken down on January 17. 1977 and there is a great photograph of this event (see image).

The image shows two workers removing the US 66 Shield and the "End of Route 66" sign on a chilly January day. In the background you can make out the Aon Center skyscraper (in those days it was the Standard Oil Building, completed in 1974).

Info taken from www theroute-66.com