Bypass Route 66 in Maryland Heights, Mo
Index to this page
- About Maryland Heights
- Maryland Heights' Weather
- Hotels and accommodation
- Map of US 66
- What to see and do in Maryland Heights
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About Maryland Heights, Missouri
Facts, Trivia and useful information
Elevation: 659 ft (201 m). Population 27,807 (est. 2019).
Time zone: Central (CST): UTC minus 6 hours. Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5).
Maryland Heights is a town in St. Louis County, eastern Missouri.
History
This part of Missouri has been inhabited for the past 11,000 years. In recent times (AD 1300) agricultural societies that built massive earth mounds lived nearby (on the eastern side of the Mississippi River).
The French coming from Canada in the 1700s claimed the territory for their king Louis XIV and named it Louisiana in his honor.
After changing hands with the Spaniards, it returned to the French, who then sold it to the US in 1803. s area was peopled around eleven thousand years ago. Later (AD 1300) the Native Americans built gigantic eath mounds that can still be seen on the eastern side of the Mississippi River.
The French trappers explored the region in the mid 1700s, coming from Canada and named it Louisiana after their king Louis XIV.
After a period under Spanish rule (1763-1800) the French recovered it but sold it to the US in 1803. It became a territory in 1812 and a state in 1821.
The village sprung up around a station of the Chicago, Rhode Island and Pacific Railroad after a post office opened there in 1926 (same year as Route 66 was created). At that time US 66 ran to the south along Manchester Rd. But a new bypass around St. Louis was built later and BYP 66 ran along it.
The name: Maryland Heights
The station was named Maryland Heights Station and is a refrence to the state of Maryland, which in turn was named after Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of King Charles I of England (1632).
The town was a rural area and grew during the 1960s it incorporated in 1985.
Where to Lodge in Maryland Heights, Missouri
Accommodation and hotels near Maryland Heights
> > Book your accommodation in neighboring Bridgeton
(St. Louis Lambert International airport)
More Lodging near Maryland Heights along Route 66
You can find your room in other towns along Route 66 near Maryland Heights: Click on any of the following links to check out the accommodation options in each town.
Nearby, South & West on Route 66 in MO
Hotels to the west in MO, KS and OK
- 51 mi Saint Clair
- 67 mi Sullivan
- 85 mi Cuba
- 98 mi Saint James
- 108 mi Rolla
- 135 mi St. Robert
- 137 mi Waynesville
- 169 mi Lebanon
- 200 mi Marshfield
- 213 mi Strafford
- 232 mi Springfield
- 298 mi Carthage
- 310 mi Joplin
- 322 mi Baxter Springs
- 336 mi Miami
- 351 mi Afton
- 365 mi Vinita
- 400 mi Claremore
- 423 mi Catoosa
- 426 mi Tulsa
Heading East in Missouri
- 3 mi Bridgeton (St. Louis airport)
- 7 mi Hazelwood
- 8 mi Florissant
- 17 mi St. Louis
Hotels further East, in Illinois
- 20 mi East St. Louis
- 27 mi Granite City
- 30 mi Pontoon Beach
- 36 mi Glen Carbon
- 38 mi Troy
- 31 mi Edwardsville
- 40 mi Hamel
- 46 mi Williamson
- 51 mi Staunton
- 63 mi Litchfield
- 76 mi Raymond
- 103 mi Springfield IL
- 139 mi Lincoln
- 151 mi Atlanta
- 173 mi Bloomington
- 185 mi Normal
- 199 mi Chenoa
- 210 mi Pontiac
- 266 mi Joliet
- 306 mi Chicago
>> Check out the RV campground in neighboring Fenton
Weather in Maryland Heights
Location of Maryland Heights on U.S. Hwy. 66
Rainfall in Maryland Heights is, on average 41 in. (1.041 mm). The most rainy months are from May through July with more than 4.1 in per month (104 mm). Snow falls from Nov. to Apr.: 17.9 in. (45 cm).
Maryland Heights has four well marked seasons. It is located in the area where humid continental climate shifts towards a humid subtropical climate, so summers are hot and humid while winters are cold. It gets cold Arctic air and hot damp tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico. Spring is wet and may have extreme weather (tornados, thunderstorms and even winter storms). Fall is sunny and less humid, with mild weather.
The average winter high (Jan) is a chilly 39.9°F (4.4°C) and the winter low is on average 23.7°F (-4.6°C). The summer (Jul) average high is 89.1°F (31.7°C) and the average low is 71°F (21.7°C).
Tornado risk
Maryland Heights is inside Missouri's "Tornado Alley" and St. Louis County has around 7 tornados each year.
Tornado Risk: read more about Tornado Risk along U.S. 66.
Map of Route 66 in Maryland Heights Missouri
The following color key applies to this map:
Orange: is first, the original 1926-32 alignment of US66 through St. Louis
Brown is the Bypass US-66. Maryland Heights is on the upper right side.
Pale Blue: Is the Historic Route 66 alignment after 1932 into St. Louis, from the west. The gap in the alignment south of Crestwood MO is where I-40 overlaps the old alignment.
Blue, Green, Gray, Pink, Yellow, and Violet show different courses taken by US 66 over the years.
Black: missing segments.
The following map, from 1955 shows Route 66 in St. Louis vicinity. Maryland Heights is located between US 40 and MO-340.
See this Bypass 66 map in Maryland Heights.
Bypass 66
Apart from the "City 66" which went through downtown St. Louis -hence its name- there was another branch that split from the main alignment on the north side of the city at the "Chain of Rocks Bridge it was known as "BYP 66" (Bypass 66).
On the western tip of the Chain of Rocks Bridge it took a sharp left, heading west, following what then was Hall Ave., and then further west it continued along Lindbergh Ave., nowadays Dunn Rd. on the north side of I-270.
At modern Exit 25 of I-270 the road curved south (now the ramp next to Pershall Rd.) heading straight south along N. Lindbergh Blvd. This old road is cut now by the extension of St. Louis Lambert Airport runways. The modern highway curves west and passes under the runway.
BYP 66 continued straight southwards all the way to Watson Rd. on the southwest side of the city, where it met the "City 66" alignment, and both "City" and "Bypass" 66 merged back into US 66 and headed west, crossing the Meramec River.
The Route 66 alignment in Maryland Heights
Visit our pages with old maps and plenty of information about US 66's alignments.
- Gray Summit to Rolla (next)
- Route 66 St. Louis to Gray Summit (In Maryland Heights)
- Route 66 Hamel IL to St. Louis MO (previous)
Route 66 Sights in Maryland Heights
Landmarks and Places to See
As it was a rural area there were few commercial buildings along the highway and no motels either. Only two structures survive from the golden days, a garage and a gas station. Both can be seen in this aerial photo taken in 1968. (left side of the image).
A former Gas Station
Coming from Bridgeton, to your right at 3129 N. Lindbergh is a 1940s gas station, you can still see where the old pumps concrete islands stood (red arrow in image). The office building has been renewed. It has a two bay service garage.
Old Garage or gas station
Next to it, at 3125 N. Lindbergh, also to your right, is another building now a used car dealership, formerly a garage (or even a gas station). It has two service bays and a box-shaped layout with a flat roof.
This is the end of this part of your Route 66 Road Trip, continue west along Bypass 66 into the next town Creve Coeur.
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> > Book your hotel in Bridgeton (St. Louis airport)
Credits
Banner image: Hackberry General Store, Hackberry, Arizona by Perla Eichenblat