County seeks grant for Route 66 Bike Trail extension May 16, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in bicycling.add a comment
McLean County, Ill., will apply for a grant that will extend the Historic Route 66 Bike Trail about 2 1/2 miles north from Towanda, reported the Bloomington Pantagraph.
The extension would begin at County Highway 29 north of Towanda and connects an old alignment of Route 66. The state of Illinois would cover 80 percent of the $1 million cost. The county’s share would be just under $50,000.
The county board approved the application by a 15-3 vote.
“We are talking about an enhancement for the community and the benefits of an extension of a bike trail may show up in other areas,” said board member George Gordon.
“This is a great investment for our community,” said board member Sondra O’Connor.
“There is an old saying about being pound foolish and a penny saved. Well, we would look like idiots if we turned this down.”
Bridge work will affect Route 66 travel near Gray Summit this summer May 15, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges, Highways.add a comment
Work that started tonight on a bridge over Interstate 44 near Gray Summit, Mo., will affect Route 66 travel in that area through August, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.
MoDOT is replacing the Highway 100 bridge that goes over Interstate 44 between Gray Summit and the west edge of Villa Ridge. A Google Street View image of the bridge can be seen here.
The bridge work will force a lengthy detour for both eastbound and westbound travelers on I-44 nightly from Tuesday through Thursday. MoDOT’s detour maps can be seen here.
And the interstate will see lane closures through much of the project. Officials are expecting travel delays in that area through the summer.
Travel on Highway 100, aka Route 66, in that area will be closed through the entire project. MoDOT says detour signs will be posted for local traffic.
Here’s a report by KPLR-TV in St. Louis:
Founder of Mazzio’s pizza chain dies May 15, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Restaurants.add a comment
Ken Selby, who started what turned into the Mazzio’s pizza chain in 1961 on Route 66 in Tulsa, died of lung cancer Saturday at age 73, according to several Tulsa media sources, including the Tulsa World.
Selby opened his first pizza restaurant at 11th Street (aka Route 66) near Harvard Avenue in Tulsa. It soon was named Ken’s, which later became Mazzio’s.
The original restaurant is still there, although it’s been extensively renovated over the years. The Mazzio’s corporation now counts more than 160 restaurants in nine states.
To mark the 50th anniversary of Mazzio’s, Selby braved summer heat, narrow highway shoulders, and chiggers to walk about 100 miles from Oklahoma City to the original eatery on 11th.
An interesting excerpt from the World’s obituary:
Greg Lippert, Mazzio’s president and CEO, said Selby was an inspiring figure.
“Ken was born to Depression-era parents; he was not a man of means when he came into this world or while growing up,” he said. “He achieved what he did through sheer determination and hard work. The Ken Selby story is a uniquely American story.
“And Ken never forgot where he came from,” Lippert said. “He was comfortable talking to governors and heads of state or to one of our employees making pizzas on a Friday night. He always had great respect for the hourly employees and their vital importance to the company.”
A memorial is set for 2 p.m. May 22 at the Boston Avenue United Methodist Church in Tulsa. His remains were cremated. Survivors included his wife, five children, three sisters, and seven grandchildren.
Historic Route 66 church being moved to winery May 15, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Preservation.add a comment
The bad news is preservationists’ efforts to keep a historic stone church in the Rock Hill, Mo., area were stymied. The good news is that the church will be reassembled at winery in Warren County, Mo.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, preservationists wanted to move the 1845 Rock Hill Presbyterian Church and adjacent Fairfax House from their location on Manchester Road (aka Route 66) to nearby Rock Hill Park. The land had been purchased about two years ago to make way for a U-Gas station, car wash, and convenience store.
However, the church was dismantled and will be reassembled at Cedar Lake Cellars winery. According to winery owner Carl Bolm, the cost of putting the church back together will be between $200,000 to $400,000. Brinkman Contractors will pay some costs of the move.
The St. Louis Patina blog posted several recent photos of the church being taken down.
The Fairfax Home will be moved also, but to a spot on the current property at McKnight Road.
I can sympathize with preservationists’ dissatisfaction with the church’s removal:
Esley Hamilton, St. Louis County preservation historian, said that taking the church apart and reassembling it at the winery would lose the church’s historical integrity and could result in some stones falling apart.
“If it’s done in that way, it’s a replica, not the original building, and it’s totally out of its context as the central focus of the Rock Hill community,” Hamilton said.
However, this scenario seems much preferable to the church and home being razed and the rubble dumped in a landfill. Although the church’s historic status will vanish with the move, at least it survives in some semblance and will continue to be used.
(Hat tip: Norma Bolin)
The finished 3-D sidewalk mural in Pontiac May 14, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Events, Museums.1 comment so far
During the Illinois Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival in Pontiac, airbrush artist Tang Dongbai spent the weekend painting a three-dimensional sidewalk mural downtown.
Here’s the finished product:
He finished the mural last Monday, but the artwork was barricaded for two more days until the paint cured.
I believe one of the fish in the painting is Bruce, the great white shark seen the Pixar film “Finding Nemo.”
The mural is just outside the International Walldog Mural & Sign Art Museum. The 3-D effect occurs when looking south toward the Pontiac Oakland Automobile Museum and Resource Center. And Pontiac boasts plenty of standard wall murals as well.
(Photo courtesy of Pontiac Tourism)
Hello from Dallas May 14, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.add a comment
Here’s a nifty arrangement of Nelson Riddle‘s “Route 66″ by Reverend Organdrum, a three-piece band in Dallas.
Riddle initially composed this for the “Route 66″ television program.
Try not to be too distracted by the video’s pinup models.
Monroe’s Diner reopens as a Cajun restaurant May 13, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Food, Restaurants.1 comment so far
The old Monroe’s Diner building, a landmark on Route 66 in Pacific, Mo., that was shuttered for years, recently reopened as the Down South Cafe.
Monroe’s is known for its stone facade, attached to a Quonset hut structure (photo here). It was built in the 1940s, and closed a few years ago. Its location is 409 E. Osage in Pacific.
The new owner, Dawn Vinson, serves American food as well as Cajun and Creole-style cuisine from her native Louisiana. Included on the menu are muffuletta and po’boy sandwiches, gumbo, etouffe, fried alligator, and beignets, although that may vary on the season.
Vinson says the interior of the restaurant is covered in Route 66 decor, and recently hosted a Chevrolet Chevelle car club.
Hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
