If you’ve ever taken a road trip, you’ve probably stopped a rest area to take a break. While many of these places look the same, the history and design of rest areas on America’s highways are much deeper than bathrooms and picnic tables.
On this episode of Vehicle Vibes Radio, host Marcia Hansen will speak with Joanna Dowling from Rest Area History, a website dedicated to documenting the unique and significant history of rest areas. According to the site, rest areas have shaped the American experience of road trips since the 1950s.
Rest stops, also known as safety rest areas (SRAs), were constructed for safety reasons as off-road emergency and short-term stopping spaces for motorists. Many of these rest stops look alike because they were designed around a central architectural theme to reflect picnic and information shelters as well as toilet buildings.
Although the Federal Aid Highway Act created a system of formally designed primary highways in 1921, a standard for rest areas was not developed until 1958. Before then, roadside parks were created along highways to give drivers a break. By 1972, there were over 1,200 rest areas on America’s interstate highways.
Rest Area History is a great resource for historical information about the development of rest stops. It has a section dedicated to the architecture of rest stops in every state. While many of the rest stops look the same, there are definitely unique features that set rest stops from different regions apart from each other.
So, if you’ve ever wondered about the significance of the rest stops you drive by or are planning on taking a road trip soon, you’ll definitely want to catch this episode of Vehicle Vibes radio to learn more about America’s rest stops.
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