Whittington Gallery visitors can vicariously get their kicks on Route 66 during tonight's Gallery Walk at the opening of a temporary exhibit on the Mother Road.
"Route 66: Avenue of Dreams" is a photography exhibit featuring the works of Drew Knowles, author of the Route 66 travel guide "Route 66 Adventure Handbook." Knowles took the photos back in the 1990s while he was researching the iconic road for the book.
The exhibit will be located in a new area within the gallery named after his late wife, Lauren. Prior to her diagnosis with colon cancer, Drew Knowles had been an exhibitor at Whittington Gallery, and owner John Faginkrantz named the new area the Lauren Knowles Annex in honor of her.
Knowles said his fascination with the Main Street of America happened when he was moving from Colorado to Texas and "stumbled upon Route 66 by accident."
Knowles and his wife were driving through New Mexico when they decided to stop for the night. In the small town, he spotted an "old filling station in the shape of a tepee" and "around the corner was a Mexican restaurant in the shape of a sombrero."
Knowles was in one of Route 66's most famous towns, Tucumcari, N.M. While Knowles said he knew Route 66 passed through New Mexico, "I didn't know where." He also didn't know that such roadside attractions still existed, noting he "thought that this stuff was long gone."
After experiencing Tucumcari, Knowles said he knew he had to search "every nook and cranny from Chicago to Los Angeles to see how much more of that stuff" still exists.
Over the next few years, he would spend most of his vacations traveling the Mother Road. "Eight states, one at a time," he said. This adventure would produce both the exhibit and the book, first published in 2001 and now in its fifth edition.
As for his favorite places along the highway, Knowles named the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M., and Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.
Knowles said that, for about 13 months, he had displayed his work at Whittington Gallery. During Gallery Walk, while he was talking to customers about his work, Lauren would help out at the gallery.
"Lauren was the type who loved to help out," he said. When she was diagnosed with colon cancer, Knowles said he had to pull out of the gallery. "Her health failed, but John didn't forget," he said.
"She was a really nice person," Faginkrantz said, noting he never had to ask her for help during Gallery Walk. She would help serve food and drinks to customers. "I really appreciated her," he said.
Lauren Knowles died in October from colon cancer. "Such a shock to us," Faginkrantz said. Knowles said losing his "best friend and companion" has been hard. Faginkrantz asked if he could name the area after her, Knowles said, noting, "I thought that would be terrific."
Getting to put his exhibit in a location named after her, Knowles said, "is a special occasion for sure."
Knowles will be at Gallery Walk, talking to guests about the exhibit and his book and copies of the book will be on sale.
This will be Whittington Gallery's first Gallery Walk since the pandemic hit. Knowles said the exhibit was planned to be in the gallery a few months ago, but the coronavirus delayed the opening.
Faginkrantz said there will be no food at the gallery during today's event, and he will limit how many people can enter the building at a time. He also said that guests "must wear a mask."
"We're excited to be back," Faginkrantz said.
The event starts at 5 p.m. and goes until 9 p.m. at the gallery, 307 Whittington Ave.
