A look at the Illinois Route 66 master plan October 21, 2008

Yesterday, the Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project released a proposed Interpretive Master Plan executive summary, which seeks to “enhance and to promote economic opportunities” to communities on historic Route 66 in Illinois.

The plan was written by the University of Wisconsin’s Schmeeckle Reserve Interpreters of Stevens Point. The entire 32-page document can be viewed here, and I commend it to your attention. It contains interesting ideas on how towns can promote themselves and Route 66.

Wisely, Schmeeckle also doesn’t mind borrowing good ideas from other towns and states. After all, if it’s successful elsewhere, there’s no reason it can’t be viable on the Mother Road.

Again, I’d read the whole report. But here are the highlights:

– Installing “Illinois Route 66 Heritage Community” welcome signs. It suggests a 1950s-style font, along with the highway shield. The report also suggests custom neon signs to help certain towns tell their stories.

An artist's rendering of one of the proposed Wayside Exhibits.

– Route 66-themed street scapes.

– Community murals that reflect the town’s history. The murals in Cuba, Mo., are a good example.

– Interpretive statues.

– Improved road signs, not only on Route 66, but nearby interstates and major highways. The report also suggests directional signs for each town’s attractions.

– A new Illinois Route 66 travel guide, complete with maps.

– Wayside Exhibits for about three dozen historical sites. These are festooned with chrome with a streamlined design. They each will contain audio and sound effects unique to the site.

– Experience Hubs, or kiosks, that contain maps, messages, history and the significance of Route 66 to

Artist's rendering of an Experience Hub.

that site.

– Interpretive Visitor Facilities, or welcome centers, at about eight spots in Illinois.

– An Illinois Historic Route 66 Discovery Center at the Bel-Aire Motel in Springfield. It would include a neon-sign park, hands-on exhibits and the “Fast Lane” theater that tells the story of Route 66.

– Audio tours that are available by compact disc or by MP3 downloads from Web site.

– A “passport” to Route 66 attractions.

– A beefed-up Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project Web site.

– An enhanced visitors guide.

– More stuff for children, including travel packets, highway bingo, audio programs and Web site features.

Artist's rendering of the proposed neon sign park at the Bel-Aire Motel site in Springfield.

All of this stuff will require years and millions of dollars to implement, obviously.

But I think the state, feds and communities are willing to gamble on it. First, a poll a few years ago indicated that Route 66 was the No. 2 tourism attraction in Illinois for international visitors, much to the state’s surprise.

Second, the high-tech Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield has been wildy successful since opening about three years ago, and the thought is that a similar attraction for Route 66 would replicate that.