Before Route 66 - The Story of America's First Highway

Explore the forgotten story of America's first transcontinental highway in this 24-minute historical documentary. Discover how the Lincoln Highway, completed in 1913, connected Times Square in New York to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, revolutionizing American travel decades before Route 66 became famous. Learn about the ambitious dreamers and auto industry tycoons who built this pioneering road without government assistance, transforming muddy wagon trails into a coast-to-coast route that kickstarted tourism and helped birth American car culture. Trace the highway's rise from volunteer road crews and cement milestones to its eventual dismantling by the federal highway system. Uncover the industrial politics, patriotic branding, and engineering challenges behind this remarkable infrastructure project that made modern road trips possible. Understand how this largely forgotten highway laid the groundwork for America's love affair with the automobile and cross-country travel, setting the stage for the more famous routes that would follow.