Photo by Lara Cooper/Daily News Isaac Eskind, 8, and his brother Alec, 11, both of Nashville, check out “The Lost Highway” exhibit at the Corvette Museum on Monday.

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David Malcolm Rose remembers traveling old highways across the country before interstates were the norm.

And he remembers what happened to his favorite restaurants and motels once interstates bypassed the tiny towns that were home to them.

“They couldn't afford to go out on to the interstate,” he said, “and the bigger people - the chain operations - moved out onto the interstates” and took all the business, forcing them to shut their doors.

About 20 years ago, after working as a model builder for architects in New York City, Rose decided he'd like to build tiny replicas of the places he missed from his travels long ago.

Now through March, some of his nationally recognized pieces are at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green.

“The Lost Highway” exhibit features 13 replicas of filling stations, motels and other places once bustling in this country and later abandoned after interstates played host to most travelers.

They have been shown at the American Institute of Architects, the National Building Museum and many other venues.

Wendell Strode, executive director of the National Corvette Museum, said the exhibit is a good fit for the museum, where the goal is to educate the public.

“There is a lot of connection and thought concerning the Corvette and driving it and being on the (old) highways,” he said. “And we also have an exhibit called ‘The Route 66 Exhibit' that pays tribute to that TV show and the fact they did have a Corvette that they drove during that time period. So this blends in with that exhibit as well.”

Recent reminders of the glory of the old U.S. highways have come in many forms, including the animated movie “Cars,” which features a town - Radiator Springs - that has struggled from losing traffic to an interstate.

Rose enjoys such nostalgic reminders, though nostalgia wasn't what motivated him to build his models, some of which are in the collections of celebrities including Bruce Springsteen, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon.

“I'm as nostalgic as the next guy, but nostalgia wouldn't have kept my interest for 15 years,” he said.

Reminding people of the landmarks through the use of models is important because “there was a time when businesses were owned by people who lived in little towns. ... They had a loyalty to their business but also a loyalty to their town.”

In many cases, “that's kind of gone now,” he said.

And many businesses have become homogenized.

“You can drive across the country and eat the same meal at every stop,” he said.

While Rose appreciates that interstates make traveling easier, he wishes the homogenization they brought in terms of architecture and other things would change.

“When our artistic decisions are being made in corporate boardrooms, for an artist that's kind of scary,” he said. Mom-and-pop businesses along the less-traveled roads “were almost like little laboratories. If something didn't work, the owner would try something else. If you're a franchise, you don't have that flexibility.”

Many will enjoy reminiscing through the pieces, Rose said, and a new generation of travelers will like seeing what the stops on old highways used to be like.

Admission to the National Corvette Museum and “The Lost Highway” Exhibit is $8 for adults, $4.50 for children and $20 for families.

The museum is usually open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. just off Exit 28 on I-65. However, it will be closed Sunday and Monday for Christmas and on Jan. 1 in observance of New Year's Day.

- For more information, call (800) 53-VETTE.