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Maryland Heights

On the BYP 66 "Bypass" alignment

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Maryland Heights is a community on the western side of St. Louis, located on the Bypass Route 66 alignment. This was an alternate route to the City 66 that went through downtown St. Louis. It ran around it, along its northern and western sides.

There is a former Gas Station and an old Garage both from the 1950s on Route 66 in this semi-rural community.

Drive the Bypass Route 66 alignment on your Route 66 road trip in Maryland Heights MO.

Route 66, the "1926-32" Alignment into St. Louis
< West - Gray Summit ¦ Wildwood ¦ Ballwin ¦ Manchester ¦ Des Peres ¦ Kirkwood ¦ Rock Hill ¦ Brentwood ¦ Maplewood - East >

Bypass Route 66 Around St. Louis
<SW - Kirkwood ¦ Creve Coeur ¦ Maryland Heights ¦ Bridgeton ¦ Hazelwood ¦ Mitchell ¦ Edwardsville ¦ Hamel - NE >

The Main Alignment of Route 66 near Maryland Hts.

< Head West
St. Clair ¦ Villa Ridge ¦ Gray Summit

Head East >
Sunset Hills ¦ Crestwood ¦ Marlborough

Bypass Route 66 in Maryland Heights, Mo

Index to this page

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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.

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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

Heading East in Missouri

Hotels further East, in Illinois

>> Check out the RV campground in neighboring Fenton

Weather in Maryland Heights

Route 66 in Maryland Heights MO; location map

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

Map of US66 alignments in Saint Louis Misouri

Map showing Route 66 in St. Louis MO
Click on Map to Enlarge

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.

click to see 1955 road map of St. Louis and vicinity

1955 roadmap of St. Louis and vicinity
Click on Map to Enlarge

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.

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.

flat roof, gray color, oblong box shaped former gas station
The old gas station, pumps were in the foreground (red arrow). Click for street view.

Old Garage or gas station

flat roof two bay box-shaped garage from the 1950s surrounded by cars, now an auto dealership

1950s Route 66 Garage, Maryland Heights. Click for St. view

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)

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Credits

Banner image: Hackberry General Store, Hackberry, Arizona by Perla Eichenblat

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