What do Oguquit Playhouse, Eartha, Damariscotta’s Norumbeg Oysters, Tucker Auto Musuem, Wild Blueberry Land, the Madawaska Festival, Nubble Point Lighthouse, Ellsworth Candlepin Bowling, Penobscot Narrows Observatory, and The Maine Solar System Model, have in common?

They are some of the historical, and culturally significant, attractions along Maine’s Route One, and they are the subjects of Bob Krist’s new film, "100 Years of Route One: A Centennial Roadtrip." The film is scheduled to air on PBS stations from Thursday, March 26 through Sunday, March 29 in various time slots.

America’s upcoming semiquincentennial got Krist thinking about a project focusing on Maine and Maine attractions that have been around 100 years, specifically along Route One.

Explained Bob, “When the U.S. highway system was kind of invented, they started paving roads in northern Maine and southern Florida to try to draw people in,” he said. “And there was all kinds of weird roadside attractions that popped up along the way. One that came to mind was the ‘canopy alley’ that might have been in existence 100 years ago, or at least in spirit, and everything that made that Route One kind of a unique thing.”

“So, you know, almost everything I picked, I picked because it had to do with the development of of the U.S. highway system, of that road,” said Bob. “One place that may have been in existence is ‘the Canopy Alley’ maybe 100 years ago, or at least in spirit; just everything that Route One kind of a unique thing.”

My curiosity about Canopy Alley got the better of me. I had to find out if it was a real place, or maybe a place like “Brigadoon," appearing every hundred years.

According to AI, Route One's Canopy Alley could have been the nickname locals used when referring to areas of densely canopied stretches of trees creating a tunnel effect. It was noted that no documentation, provided historically or in tourism records, exists.

Nevertheless, through spring, summer and fall of 2025, Bob traveled Route One with both film and digital cameras, his innate curiosity fueled by his love of travel. Most of the road trip was done solo, but on the trip to the Madawaska Festival last fall, he was accompanied by Peggy, his wife, manager and, when necessary, navigator. 

Most locations were places Bob is naturally drawn to, although, with his inquisitive mind, I’m thinking most anywhere, as long as it was on Route One,  fit the criteria just fine.

Said Bob, “It was a collection of interesting people and places that I kind of felt had the staying power, and the authenticity, for a 100-year kind of retrospective. I've always been fascinated by Eartha, that big globe in Yarmouth. Yeah, I’d seen that and I wanted to do a little more about it, you know. I thought the Tucker Auto Museum was great because some of the cars there might have been on Route One 100 years ago. And, I love the whole story there and the museum being a labor of love for the father and son.”

The Maine Solar System Model in Aroostock was a location Bob was naturally drawn to, as well. “It held every kind of good story marker for him. “You know, a group of people acting as a community, doing something educational to pass time on a lonely highway. It perfectly met my theme.”

Being an old theater hand, Ogunquit Playhouse was sure to be in the film. “I wanted to do something about summer stock; it existed because roads were made good enough for actors to get out of the cities and drive to do theater in all these summer places.”

Perhaps watching “100 Years of Route One: A Centennial Roadtrip” will inspire you to take your own road trip on Route One. Here, the air dates are March 26 at 9 p.m., March 27 at 1 p.m., March 28 at 1:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 29 at 3:30 p.m. on PBS stations.