Google map labels going East to South on what Google Maps calls U.S. Bicycle Rt 66.
Hogs & Hot Rods on Stateline Old Rt. 66 Blvd: (
Satellite)
Route 66 Giant Drive-Thru Shield: (
Satellite)
Gearhead Curios (Texaco Station): (
Satellite)
Galena Mining & Historical Museum: (
Satellite)
I'm starting with the Texaco Station because this post is what taught me about this town. Then I'll do a street view tour of the route through this town.
And it has neon signs.
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Craig Meador posted
Galena, KS on Route 66 This Texaco station is from 1939. Check out the vintage pumps outside, and the small gift shop inside. The Big Boy statue and the big American flag made out of license plates are both popular photo ops, as is the 1951 Hudson Hornet parked next to the building. (Gearhead Curios / TripAdvisor) |
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Tom Reed commented on Craig's post
It also has the weirdest bathroom on 66. Be sure to check it out if you stop there. |
Gearhead Curios
posted two photos with the comment: "Humble beginnings, seeing something others didn't then making it reality. First pic Oct 2018, second pic Jan 2026."
Kimberly Bertel: First time I traveled through Galena you told me about your BIG dreams and your future vision for this Texaco Station. I have witnessed you making your dreams into reality! You turned it into a must stop when traveling through Galena, KS.
Dennis DeBruler: Kimberly Bertel Thanks for providing the town's name.
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Patty Eggers commented
Stopped there in August of 2022 with my Holiday House. Great place! |
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Laurie Kern Tener commented
One of our favorite stops on Route 66, September 2025. |
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| Dan Grelk commented, cropped |
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Rick Dettwiler commented
A must stop on everyone's Rt 66 Journey. |
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John Grant commented, cropped
We loved stopping there in October. We are bringing a large group of Corvettes in Oct 2026. |
I didn't realize that the canopy was a car hood until I saw the logo in this photo.
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Randy-Cynthia Drake commented, cropped
The place looks amazing, your commitment to the route is a testament to your hard work over the years. I see how you promote over ambassadors of the route in your posts. The route is better because of your efforts |
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Ross D. Lewis commented
June 2025 |
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| Olga Schultz commented, cropped |
Neon signs are a big part of the Route 66 tradition.
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Rick Goette posted
On Route 66 in Galena, Kansas. |
Jan 24, 2026: Gearhead Curios
posted five photos with the comment: "Snowy cold Gearhead Curios."
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George Fireball Hale commented on the above post, cropped
Our grandkids love it |
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| George Fireball Hale commented on the above post, cropped |
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| George Fireball Hale commented on the above post |
Jan 27, 2026: Gearhead Curios
posted seven photos with the comment: "Yeah buddy, we are open. Back to normal hours, come on over."
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John W Bratcher commented on the above post
Got a few things to remind us of our stop at Gearhead Curios. |
Luckily, I saw the "Cars on the Route" map label before I "cruised" down what Google labels U.S. Rte 66 and KS-66 because the eastern part of that route was added since 1962. This topo map confirms that it used to come into the north part of town along the M-K-T tracks, South on Main Street and then West on 7th Street. Since the texaco station is on a 45-degree diagonal, it implies the corner is important. But it is on 6th instead of 7th. This map shows that 6th used to be more important because it connected with 7th on the west side of town.
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| 1959/60 Baxter Spring Quad @ 24,000 |
Our cruise of Route 66 actually starts a few feet in Missouri.
The drive-thru shield is on the left and what is labeled Route 66 Cruisers is on the right. In the May 2023 street view, the Shield does not appear, and only Betty Boop is painted on the side of the building. Also note that US-66 is painted on the road.
It looks like they painted sunflowers on the side of the building.
And, of course, that is The Sheriff on the left.
The next stop on the route is Cars on the Route.
I have never heard of the Kanotex brand of gasolene.
<update>
Route 66 Postcards
posted three photos with the comment:
Here is a "then, closed, and restored" Galena, Kansas, Route 66 history-making restoration. The station is home to a 1951 International boom truck that inspired Pixar's animated character Tow Mater. The Kan-O-Tex Service Station bears the branding of the former Kanotex Refining Company (1909-1953), a now-defunct regional fuel brand named for Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Little's Service Station installed its fuel pumps on the former site of the Banks Hotel (demolished 1933) at 119 North Main Street in Galena. In 1979, US 66 in Galena was taken off its former Main Street alignment (which came in from Missouri as Front Street, turned south on Main Street, then followed the current K-66 route to Riverton) and routed directly onto 7th Street, bypassing the station. US 66 would become Kansas State Route 66 in 1985, but the station sat vacant, closed, and largely abandoned until its 2007 restoration. The station was restored in 2007 and renamed 4 Women on the Route. After an ownership change and the death of one of 4 Women on the Route's founders, it was renamed again as "Cars on the Route" to emphasize its connection with Cars.
Little's Station, once lost, was restored to Cars on the Route in Galena, Kansas. Renee Charles, Betty Courtney, Melba Rigg and Judy Courtney restored the old station beginning in 2006. Now it has a roadside café and a souvenir shop. It kept the facade and gas pumps, but now it has a diner which the original did not.
The older photos are courtesy Melba Rigg.
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Bart Orlans commented on the above post
My '54 Pontiac the day we rescued it from a junkyard in Galena. |
</update>
The Route 66 Wedding Chapel label is on the building that is for sale in this view.
It got sold.
More sunflowers.
The next stop is the restored Texaco Station. I got this view because I was trying to find the ice cream shop that I saw in Randy-Cynthia Drake's comment above. I'm glad I got this view because I hadn't noticed the glass-top pump on the side of the building in the other photos. Looking closer at the photo with the ice cream stand, it is in the road. So, it was a temporary stand.
The Katy depot had to be moved to attract Route 66 tourists because the Missouri-Kansas-Texas tracks are north of town. The caboose pays homage to Frisco, another railroad that was north of town.
The depot is labeled Galena Mining & Historical Museum. I didn't see anything in the photos about mining, but I did see cars.
Just like Galena, IL, they mined for lead.
When I studied the satellite map, I noticed a lot of vacant lots. I hope their effort to reinvent themselves as a tourist town pays off. The other Route 66 town in Kansas is
Baxter Springs.
Cars Movie was based on these models, not vice versa.
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