Mark Cline stood beside Chandler’s unfinished 66 Man statue as the figure awaited its final touches.
The Virginia artist, known for building larger-than-life roadside figures along Route 66 and across the country, was in town to attach and blend the statue’s arms before turning the remaining work over to a sign company. Once finished, the statue will include a rocket pack and stand as the centerpiece of McClanahan Park, a Route 66-themed park under construction beside the Route 66 Interpretive Center.
For Cline, 66 Man reflects the history behind the wacky roadside attractions that helped define Route 66 — big signs, strange landmarks and oversized figures built to make travelers look twice.
“Well, I would have to say that people have always loved these giants,” Cline said. “They’ve been around since the ’60s.”
Back then, he said, they were called Muffler Men. Created by a company in Venice, California, they appeared not just on Route 66, but across the country.
“People had two-week vacations,” Cline said. “And they would put their families in the station wagons and hit the road.”
Along those roads, businesses had to compete for travelers’ attention. “The people that owned these attractions were trying to come up with ways to have something a little more unusual to draw people into their gas stations or hotels,” Cline said. “And so to be seen, you have to have something big.”
That culture faded when interstates redirected traffic away from towns and roadside businesses, but decades later, travelers are returning to the kinds of places and objects that once made road trips memorable.
“It’s like, wait a minute, we’ve missed something,” Cline said. “There’s a younger generation that’s going, ‘That was so cool back then.’” Chandler’s new giant is 66 Man, a superhero-style character created by Jerry Mc-Clanahan, the Chandler artist and author for whom the park is named. McClanahan created the EZ66 Guide for Travelers, which has become a trusted companion for road trippers serious about exploring the route.
McClanahan said his connection to the Mother Road began in the 1960s and led to an interest in atlases, maps and the roadside.
“When I was a kid sitting in the back seat with a comic book looking out the window,” McClanahan said, “that went in my imagination.”
After his family moved to Texas in 1969, he wasn’t able to get back on Route 66 until 1981, after college.
“A lot of them were in ruins,” McClanahan said of the roadside places he remembered from his childhood. “And then there were mystery roads and dead ends. I started looking at old gas station maps. I started taking photographs. I started doing artwork. And it just all kind of gelled together into one Route 66 enterprise.”
That enterprise eventually made McClanahan a destination stop for Route 66 travelers from around the world, many of whom visit to have guidebooks signed and talk about the road’s history.
Even with that recognition, learning the park would carry his name still came as a surprise.
“Personally, I would never ask anybody to name a park after me,” McClanahan said. “Maybe after I’m dead. You never feel like you’ve done enough for that kind of honor.”
McClanahan said he first posted an illustration of 66 Man online in early 2024, tied to Route 66’s centennial. City Manager Jason Orr saw the illustration while the city was applying for a park grant and asked whether the character could be used as the centerpiece.
McClanahan agreed, then heard nothing for months. “I thought they didn’t get the grant,” McClanahan said. Then Susan Pordos, at the Route 66 Interpretive Center, called and asked him about McClanahan Park.
“And I go, ‘What?’” McClanahan said. “I had no idea.” For McClanahan, the character brings together what the road has meant and what he hopes it can continue to be.
“He is the history, the power, the nostalgia, the future of Route 66,” McClanahan said. He said he hopes the park and giant bring attention to Chandler and give travelers another reason to stop.
“If it helps Chandler get more notice and more people to stop and look at the park, and maybe they’ll go to a restaurant or stay overnight, I just want more people to enjoy 66,” McClanahan said.
The roughly $1.6 million project began after the state started the Route 66 Revitalization Grant Program in December 2023. Orr said the city received $650,000 through the first round of the program and has added just under $1 million to the project since then.
The added work includes new landscaping at the Interpretive Center, two stairways leading into the park, 30 new parking spots along Cleveland Street, new lighting for the Interpretive Center’s back lot, an observation deck overlooking the park, upgraded electric service for food trucks and special events, pickleball courts and other additions.
The park’s baseball-diamond-shaped design reflects Chandler’s baseball history and includes a pull-in photo area for Route 66 travelers with classic cars.
The city will hold McClanahan Park’s grand opening from 7 to 9 p.m. on July 4. The event will include guest speakers, a ribbon cutting and a free concert by local band RedLand.
Attendees will be able to see the 30-foot 66 Man statue, and 66 Man merchandise will be available. The city said free shuttle service will be provided to and from the park, with full shuttle and parking information expected later.
The city’s annual Fourth of July fireworks show will still take place at Bell Cow Lake at 10 p.m. There will be no fireworks at the park, and the lake show will not be visible from the park.