This dispute is complicated. But it seems the Autry National Center wants the Southwest Museum of the American Indian to move from its historic 1914 building near the Pasadena Freeway (Route 66) to an expanded facility in Griffith Park.

The Southwest Museum’s supporters, Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition, don’t want it to move, and it alleges the Autry folks are playing hardball.

The Southwest Museum has been toured by generations of schoolchildren to gaze at American Indian artifacts and learn about Indian culture. It remains the oldest museum in Los Angeles. The Autry Museum became a relatively recent suitor for the museum after it had languished for years.

The Autry Museum claims the the Southwest Museum is no longer viable at its current location. Southwest Museum supporters counter that by noting that a new commuter train stop was built nearby.

Many Southwest Museum supporters don’t want a tie-in with the new facility because the focus would mainly be on former cowboy movie star and musician Gene Autry. Plus the “cowboy raiding the Indians” symbolism rubs many museum supporters the wrong way.

The Friends of the Southwest Museum Coalition is holding a meeting at 7 p.m. March 29 at Ramona Hall at 4580 N. Figueroa in Highland Park, Calif., to discuss the current situation and future options. On top of that, a museum volunteer has reported that the Autry Museum would cease all tours at the Southwest Museum effective July 1.

Scott Piotrowski, an author about Route 66 in Los Angeles and a member of the Southwest Museum Coalition, urges people to write to the Los Angeles City Council, urging them to reject the expansion of the Autry Museum and keep the Southwest Museum where it is.

Much of the trail isn’t on Route 66 for safety reasons, but shadows it. Roger Kramer of Roger Kramer’s Favorite Cycling Tours reports:

One of the old alignments of Route 66 used Chain of Rocks Road from the Mississippi River to the present Illinois Route 157, took Route 157 through Edwardsville and Hamel, then continued north. While for historical accuracy’s sake, it would be better that the trail used that alignment, those roads simply aren’t very well suited for bicycle touring because of high traffic or inadequate lane width.

As you might imagine, the trail also strays off the alignments of Route 66 in the Chicago area, again because of heavy traffic on the streets that were part of Route 66. Through the rest of the state. the trail often does stray from the Route 66 alignments, but the map gives advanced cyclists the option of using the actual alignments.

The trail, by LIB’s own admission, is a work in progress. As more off-road routes and road improvements are made, the trail will change. But at least this is a start, and we should appreciate the efforts of LIB and DNR in putting this ambitious project together.

Maps of the bicycle trail can be downloaded from this page here. I’ve looked over the 14-page map, and it’s really well done. It contains a list of bicycle repair shops, lodging options, many of our favorite Mother Road restaurants, and Route 66 attractions. It’s yet another way for tourists to “get their kicks.”

Jim Conkle of the Route 66 Preservation Foundation also announced that an agreement has been secured with Universal Studios City Walk in West Hollywood, Calif., to host a Route 66 event on the first weekend of October each year. He says there will be a Web site and more information on it later.