Route 66 Centennial: Lakewood photographer, USPS be part of forces for commemorative stamps

LAKEWOOD, Ohio — The street to a United States postage stamp is lengthy, winding and principally invisible to the general public. But for Lakewood photographer David J. Schwartz, the journey has been measured in miles — actually.

Some 22 years, 42 journeys and greater than tons of of pictures of Route 66 later, Schwartz is inviting the general public into his Madison Avenue studio Dec. 4–7 for a first-ever viewing of the fine-art prints created from the unique images chosen for the upcoming United States Postal Service (USPS) Route 66 Centennial Stamp Collection.

The Holiday Open Studio — an annual, appointment-only custom he opens to the general public for one lengthy weekend every December — now arrives with a brand new degree of weight.

For the primary time, Schwartz will present museum-quality editions of the stamp imagery: Hahnemühle WonderfulArt prints, archival mats, exhibition-grade frames and the street that has held his creativeness since 1988.

Like many origin tales, his begins with a tune. “I was in high school, my girlfriend and my buddy’s girlfriend were really into Depeche Mode, and they covered ‘Route 66,’” he advised Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer in an interview earlier this month.

He laughed on the reminiscence. “We were rock-and-roll guys, but that cover from the band’s ’Music For the Masses’ album got us wondering: what is this highway about?”

There was no Google then; no simple approach in.

A deliberate journey west with a pal fell aside (“my mom said no way”), however the thought by no means left.

Fast-forward to 2004: Schwartz, newly out of college and in search of a artistic undertaking he may sink into, pitched the concept of touring Route 66 to the girl he was courting. They went — and it modified every thing.

“I was completely taken in,” he stated. “The roadside scenes, the desert patina on everything, the mountains, the small towns — and then the people. They reminded me of where I grew up. They’d slow down and talk to you. Sometimes more than you even wanted.”

He got here residence with negatives — principally black and white at first — however rapidly realized Route 66 wanted to be advised in coloration.

“It’s just such a colorful place,” he stated. A 12 months later, after watching Pixar’s “Cars,” he discovered himself itching to return. Soon, the yearly journeys turned routine. Whatever cash he had saved, no matter trip time he may carve out, he spent it on the Mother Road.

Over twenty years, the journeys turned longer and extra intentional. Schwartz realized to decelerate, typically revisiting the identical spots repeatedly as a result of “you don’t always get what you want — it goes back on the list for next time.” A physique of labor emerged, as did editorial assignments again residence in Cleveland.

Then a partnership started with Route Magazine, a publication dedicated to Route 66 tradition, street journeys, classic journey and pop-culture storytelling. The stars have been aligning.

“I’ve probably done half the covers,” he stated. “Being part of that from its start in 2018 has been huge.” But nothing ready him for the day the USPS referred to as.

“They told me they’d been searching everywhere for imagery for the Route 66 Centennial,” Schwartz stated. “They said my photographs matched exactly what they were going for. I pretty much had to pick myself up off the floor.”

The course of took a 12 months and a half. Schwartz delivered an unlimited catalog for assessment — “far more than probably they needed,” he admitted — however he wished them to have the widest doable view of the street.

Eventually, a remaining set of pictures was chosen for the stamp panes.

When the announcement dropped unexpectedly two weeks in the past, Schwartz realized the information virtually the identical second the remainder of the world did. “I thought I had more time,” he says. “It was wild. I started getting a bunch of messages on my phone about it.”

Now, he’s racing to arrange the studio for December’s open home, whereas juggling consumer work and an exhibition at the moment on show at Art On 66 Gallery in Wilmington, Illinois.

That present, “Roadwork Ahead,” focuses on the folks and companies preserving the custom of 66 alive — legacy household operations, new entrepreneurs and the “torch-carriers” preserving the hall’s id.

But this stamp undertaking has undoubtedly shifted the horizon line for Schwartz — a dream he by no means imagined unfolding just like the open street. Route 66’s centennial birthday is in 2026, marking 100 years for the reason that freeway was commissioned on November 11, 1926.

Now, Schwartz and his work can be part of its historical past.

“My hope is to get this work into museums and galleries everywhere,” he stated. “Not just along Route 66. I want people to see it and think, ‘I want to go there.’”

Schwartz worries about what occurs to the Mother Road with out a new era of American vacationers investing in its cities, motels, neon indicators and roadside landmarks.

International tourism has lengthy been a lifeline for a lot of communities. But youthful U.S. vacationers haven’t embraced the freeway with the identical devotion.

“That’s what inspires me,” he stated. “I have so many friends out there now who run businesses, places that mean something. We have to keep the ball rolling for those future generations. I want this work to inspire people to get out and travel the road.”

For now, the instant objective is easy: open the door, share the story and let Northeast Ohio see the pictures that may quickly journey throughout the nation on tens of millions of letters and packages… and nestle into philatelist collections all over the world.

And within the heart of all of it? A child who as soon as heard a Depeche Mode cowl of that outdated Nat King Cole customary and questioned what was ready for him out west.

Talk about getting your kicks!

“Find something you’re passionate about and do it,” Schwartz stated. “It might take years, but eventually it pays off. I’m living proof of that.”

Hours for the open studio are Thursday, Dec. 4 from 5:30–8:30 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6 from 1–8 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 7 from 1–5 p.m.

David Schwartz Photography is situated at 17010 Madison Ave., Lakewood. 216-269-2625 davidschwartzphoto.com.