Wikipedia:Featured article candidates/U.S. Highway 66

U.S. Highway 66
self-nom. I feel this article does a great job in both discussing the highway and its impact on people and vice-versa. It keeps both the aspects which have become standard for articles on highways (e.g., route infobox and related routes) as well as discussing how the highway was created, evolved, and eventually decommissioned and the impact that all of this has had on the people traveling on it and popular culture. Rt66lt 03:19, 19 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Object
 * No map of the route.
 * The image Image:Chain of Rocks.jpg has no source or copyright information.
 * --Carnildo 04:07, 19 September 2005 (UTC)
 * I have corrected the copyright issue. I had personally taken the photo and didn't know there was a specific template that needed to be used.  Also, a map is on the way, courtesy of SPUI.  Thanks.Rt66lt 14:10, 19 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Comment The second paragraph of the lead needs work. It says that politics and publicity made it famous, but the rest of the paragraph doesn't support that.  The lead should explain how 66 had iconic significance for so many people, and should give the year it opened.  The first pic is too big -- it squishes the TOC an awful lot.  Section headings should follow normal rules of capitalization -- only proper nouns and the first word.  It needs a thorough copyedit (The following year... would officially disband in 1976. for example, is in dire need of changes), then the next sentence refers to something Avery "claimed", but I don't see where he ever said why traffic would grow on the highway.  The paragraph about GIs after World War 2 doesn't make much sense to me -- it seems to imply that soldiers used the road to return home after the war, but since the war was not fought in North America, I don't see how they could have.  It claims there are several novels about Route 66, but only gives the one example and doesn't explain why that one is so important. Tuf-Kat 04:14, 19 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Rewrote opening line of the second paragraph, removed parts of it. Picture has been moved to the History section.  Section headings have been fixed (thanks to SPUI), removed Avery's claim and the returning GIs has been removed (the intent, I believe (I didn't write it) was that after the war, they would return to Route 66 to go to California, which was often the case according to the references, but I simply wrote about vacationers in general).  Removed "several novels" about Route 66.  Rt66lt 01:28, 22 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Object, the article is really very interesting but in needs a good copyedit. From the lead on the phrasing is awkward and there are there are places where the tense changes - and probably shouldn't, particularly in the Early 20th Century American pop culture section. Other minor things include the capitalisation of section heading where they should be in lowercase; a map, which although not necessary, would make a useful addition; and some of the items listed in the see also section would probably make interesting additions to the text rahter than in appearing in a list where they have no context, anything that already appears in the text shouldn't be on the list.--nixie 05:01, 19 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Capitalization of section headings (along with shortening of titles) has been done and I moved most of the "see also" list into the article and discussed them. Currently, only the "List of cities on US 66" remains, removed rest. Rt66lt 01:23, 22 September 2005 (UTC)


 * I can make a rough map; if I haven't within a few days let me know on my talk page. --SPUI (talk) 10:15, 19 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Object—Substandard prose, I'm afraid. Take the first sentence:

'U.S. Highway 66 or Route 66 was and is the most famous road in the U.S. Highway system and quite possibly the most famous and storied highway in the world.'

Why clutter the opening clause with 'was and is'? Why not just 'is'? What's a 'storied' highway? Why use both 'road' and 'highway'? (Better: 'Highway 66 is the most famous highway in the United States, and possibly in the world.') And why not name the article simply 'Route 66'? Much neater. Have you read the criteria for FAs? Tony 14:02, 19 September 2005 (UTC)
 * U.S. Highway 66 is the official name of the road; Route 66 is generic. The article was originally titled "Route 66", but was changed.  There is a lengthy discussion of this on Talk:U.S. Highway 66.Rt66lt 14:35, 19 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Rewrote mentioned section. Currently reads "Route 66 was a highway in the US highway system." Sorry, I see no way to retitle the article and keep it standard with the other highway articles.Rt66lt 01:23, 22 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Object – the prose does not have an encyclopedic tone in some places: But it became more than a highway. It was a major migratory path west, arguably the "Oregon Trail" of the automobile era.;  many Americans enjoy Route 66 nostalgia 2) Route 66 sign should be placed below, in the first section. 3) No route map. 4) Headings too wordy (it should be as terse as possible) and should be in small casing. 5) Business, Bypass, Optional, and Alternate US 66? Plz explain 6) Plz go through Manual of Style (dates and numbers) (8 point) regarding the units and use of the &amp;nbsp; 7) Claims such as  arguably the "Oregon Trail" ;  possibly the most famous and storied highway in the world references needed to support this. =Nichalp   «Talk»=  18:55, 19 September 2005 (UTC)
 * Removed "Oregon Trail" and the "nostalgia" statments from the article. I had moved the sign picture to the Revival section, but moved it to top of "History".  Retitled most of the headings.  Retitled the Business, etc. to "Bannered Routes" and gave a definition.  Fixed the spacing on measurements. Rt66lt 01:23, 22 September 2005 (UTC)


 * I have went through and cleaned up prose and unencyclopedic statements. I think I got all of it, but I will re-read the article again tomorrow, after I've been away from it to give me a new look at it.Rt66lt 01:28, 22 September 2005 (UTC)
 * I'm not satisfied with the cleanup: It was a major migratory path west. It would give livelihoods to... should be edited to Route 66 was a major migratory path west, and helped improve the economy of towns along the route.... And what is meant by "decommissioning" of a highway? Is the highway abandoned completely? =Nichalp   «Talk»=  12:15, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

Support Thanks to recent minor changes, this is now a great article. --PopUpPirate 09:54, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

Regretful Object Well, I just tore through the entire article changing it to one, single tense, changing spellings, etc. I don't really think this article is stable enough yet to be a FA. It might be a good idea to flesh stuff out a bit more. --Matt Yeager 06:28, 24 September 2005 (UTC)