‘Route 66 Rewind’ Uses AI to Bring Historic Route 66 Sites to Life

In celebration of the upcoming 100th anniversary of Route 66, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, along with Google Arts & Culture, have collaborated on an artificial intelligence project called “Route 66 Rewind.” 

As Jade Morrow from FOX23 News describes, “through the Route 66 Rewind experience, users can explore eight states and 33 stops — all from their phones. At each stop, visitors can ‘rewind’ through time using AI-generated videos that recreate how each attraction may have looked in previous decades.”

FOX23 News spoke with Surya Tubach, U.S. program manager of Google Arts & Culture, who shared their insights on the project: “With Route 66, I think if you maybe don’t live in Oklahoma or Texas it feels like this kind of abstract concept. But when you actually bring it to life using video, archival images and storytelling, it means something very different … it inspires you to get involved — to either learn from the past or take your own road trip.”

Although the original route, which historically extended from Chicago to California, eventually became decommissioned in 1985 due to the Interstate Highway System, both the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Google Arts & Culture are dedicated to preserving the remaining sections of Route 66. 

Therefore, “Route 66 Rewind” includes the integration of personal stories and popular sites throughout the AI experience, with hopes of highlighting the legacy of one of America's most iconic roads. As Tubach outlines, “the hub itself features human-curated stories from different partner organizations and then the experiment, which is the AI component, uses Veo-generated images … Veo is Google’s AI video generation technology. It highlights quirky Americana — things like the Blue Whale in Catoosa — and iconic stops from Chicago’s Art Institute to Santa Monica’s historic pier, along with sites like the Threatt Filling Station.”

FOX23 News also interviewed Rhys Martin, president of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association, who expressed excitement about the AI hub's potential to engage younger generations: “It’s just a tool like anything else — like Photoshop — to take information and repackage it in a more dynamic way ... when you talk about history, it can sometimes be difficult to make something historic feel vibrant and alive for younger audiences. This helps make that connection.”