Sears Tower name change isn’t going over well March 13, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Towns.7 comments
I learned late yesterday that the name of the Sears Tower, which is among the world’s tallest buildings and is on Route 66 in Chicago, would be changed to the Willis Tower after the British-based Willis Group Holdings acquired naming rights.
The first thing I thought was: “Chicagoans aren’t going to cotton to this.”
Apparently a report in the Chicago Tribune agrees:
What’s far less certain is whether loyal Chicagoans, as well as tourists, will allow the “Willis Tower” name to stick. [...]
Many people, including hundreds chiming in online, appeared dead-set against embracing Sears Tower as anything different, despite the fact that the retailer it was named for left for the suburbs 17 years ago.
“I think it’s terrible,” said Jen King, 20, of Bartlett. “It’s been the Sears Tower forever.”
“It’s just wrong,” said her friend Audrey Joseph, 22, of St. Louis, shaking her head.
The chairman and CEO for the Willis Group expressed shock and then whined that the renaming has been received so poorly. Which made me incredulously exclaim “Duh!” at his cluelessness.
The Trib does a good job explaining why folks in the Windy City are resisting the renaming:
But in Chicago, say consumers and branding experts, it’s just not that simple, because the city’s attachment to the building is far more complex than recognizing its economic contribution. This is a city with a deep appreciation of tradition and a healthy ego, where some Chicagoans still mourn the switch from Marshall Field‘s to Macy’s.
“It’s our strong Midwestern values,” said D. Joel Whalen, an assistant professor of marketing at DePaul University. “We know one of the hallmarks of quality is constancy, and change is not always good. We’re friendly to everyone but we don’t make friends quickly. It takes years to make a friend. You’re from out of town and we don’t know who you are.”
I don’t have a big problem with naming rights for under-construction buildings that essentially don’t even have an identity yet. But anyone who thinks he or she can simply rename a bona fide icon – one that’s been a source of pride for more than 35 years in a town described as the “City of Big Shoulders” — isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.
Here’s my prediction: The vast majority of Chicagoans are going to still call it the Sears Tower. And others, if they call it the Willis Tower, will put a place a profane word or two in front of it.
And, after a few years, the building will be half-apologetically reverted back to its original name.
Design phase to begin soon on Tulsa Route 66 center March 13, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Museums, Route 66 Associations.add a comment
The design phase of the Route 66 Interpretive Center in Tulsa is set to begin by fall, reported the Tulsa World.
The center, near the Arkansas River on Southwest Boulevard, is slated to house offices, a restaurant or two, gift shop and an interactive Route 66 museum. It’s hoped the center will be open in about three years.
Another interesting thing about the report is that the fledgling Route 66 Alliance has made its wishes to in the center much more public. Michael Wallis, a key officer of the group, has made no bones about wanting it there. But the fact he said so much more openly indicates there’s substantial support for the idea.
Also, sponsors are interested in helping fund the building of the center. Odds are strong that Aubrey McClendon, CEO of Chesapeake Energy, is one of them because of his already-deep interest in Route 66 with his POPS complex in Arcadia, Okla. Another strong possibility is ConocoPhillips, with its long ties to the region and the fact its Phillips 66 gasoline brand was inspired by road-testing on Route 66.
Palms Grill to reopen next month March 12, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Preservation, Restaurants.2 comments
The historic Palms Grill on Route 66 in downtown Atlanta, Ill., will reopen in early April after extensive renovations, reported the Bloomington Pantagraph.
The goal is to have as many 1930s and 1940s items as possible, as well as provide a place for locals and Route 66 travelers to share stories, said Bill Thomas, board treasurer of Atlanta Public Library, which owns the restaurant building.
“When you walk in the door, we want you to feel like you are stepping back into 1938,” Thomas said.
The Palms opened in 1934 with home-cooked meals, bingo games and dances. It became a stop for Greyhound buses, but closed in the late 1960s. [...]
Up to 44 diners will sit at square tables along a wall of mirrored panels and perch on stools along a reproduction marble counter. The tables are modeled after those from the former Palace Cafe. [...]
The Grill will have a modern cash register with an antique model behind it. It also will have a 1947 refrigerator, a 1939 rotary phone, a vintage milkshake maker and an old pie display case. Food will be served on china and blue-plate specials on divided plates.
Atlanta is about to add another Route 66 attraction to an already-impressive list, especially for its relatively small size (pop. 1,600).
Rancho Cucamonga station may be designated a landmark March 12, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Gas stations, Preservation.add a comment
The abandoned Cucamonga Service Station on Route 66 in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., may be designated by the city as a historic landmark, reports the Contra Costa Times.
The Planning Commission made the recommendation, and the City Council must approve the landmark status.
Such designation would require the Mission-styled station have an extra layer of approval process before the property can be developed. If the station is granted landmark status by the City Council, the property owner would have to apply for a landmark alteration permit before the station can be demolished or developed, said Planning Director James Troyer.
The station, believed to be built between 1910 to 1915 by Henry Klusman, was a key pit stop during the heyday of Route 66. It is the only example of roadside architecture from that era still standing in the city. The Pearson Filling Station & Garage on Foothill and Etiwanda Avenue was demolished in the 1990s.
The landmark status would provide protection a lot El Vado Motel in Albuquerque received. A photo of the station can be seen here.
Lunch at Fair Oaks Pharmacy March 12, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Restaurants.add a comment
Pasadena Weekly turned in a review of the historic Fair Oaks Pharmacy in South Pasadena, Calif.
If you haven’t been there, this excerpt gives you an idea what it’s like, and why it’s so treasured:
The Pharmacy looks so old-fashioned it’s hard to believe it’s real. When I walk in, my thoughts are inevitably drawn to memories of Disneyland’s Main Street, Solvang, Williamsburg. On the corner of Fair Oaks and Mission, just down from the (sigh … defunct) Rialto, it’s a part-restoration, part-fabrication that fits right into its locale.
According to a prior menu, the “Fair Oaks Pharmacy has been South Pasadena’s friendly corner drugstore since 1915.” I don’t understand how anybody can vouch for its century-old demeanor, but I can attest to its pleasantness during a lunch in 2009. [...]
Artifacts were purchased from an ancient pharmacy in Joplin, Mo., and transported to South Pasadena. These treasures included a complete set of pharmacy fixtures, an original soda fountain, stained-glass cabinetry, marble-topped counters, heavy chrome barstools and original Hamilton Beach malt mixers.
They added other authentic soda fountain and apothecary memorabilia to this collection along with an array of unique gifts, greeting cards, toys and decorative accessories reflecting the era of the original store plus various classic collections of vintage film and television.
Needless to say, it’s a positive review.
Bill to renew Route 66 program suffers setback March 12, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Preservation.2 comments
The Omnibus Public Lands Act, which contained a provision to renew the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program for another 10 years, suffered a setback when it fell two votes short of passage in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday.
The bill was favored 282-144 in the House, but a procedural tactic by Democrats required it to pass by a two-thirds majority. It seems clear that House Democratic leadership miscalculated the amount of bipartisan support for the measure.
The bill was opposed by some gun-rights groups, oil and gas interests, and, ironically for Route 66, motorcycle enthusiasts.
By the Daily Sentinel in Grand Junction, Colo., reports that one of the bill’s champions is optimistic it can still be passed soon.
[...] but the Omnibus Public Lands Act Package of 2009 is expected to be amended and voted on again within the next couple of weeks, said Eric Wortman, spokesman for Congressman John Salazar, D-Colo.
“We were very close,” said Wortman, whose boss voted in favor of the measure. “It’s a bill that is very important to him.”
Another lawmaker echoed Salazar’s sentiments:
Jude McCartin, spokeswoman for Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., the bill’s sponsor, said the House could revote on the measure, but could also send it back to committees for further hearings. “This bill is certainly alive,” she said.
Ditto for another bill advocate, David Carr of the Southern Environmental Law Center:
“This is a temporary setback,” he said. “We’ll stick with it, and it’ll get done.”
One report indicated the bill could be brought up again as soon as next week, where it would require a simple majority to pass. Another report indicates the lands bill could be folded into some other legislation for passage. The lands bill already had been easily approved by the Senate.
So the well-regarded Route 66 Preservation Program may yet be renewed after all. But the task has become tougher.
It’s maple sirup time March 11, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Food.4 comments
Funks Grove Maple Sirup (yes, the spelling is correct) in the Route 66 hamlet of Funks Grove, Ill., has begun harvesting maple sap from its ancient stand of trees, reports the Kankakee Daily Journal.
Late February and early March are the times in which the sap rises in the trees.
Production began in 1824 when German immigrant Isaac Funk arrived at the maple grove now known as Funk’s Grove. For the Funk family, “sirup’ is still spelled the way Noah Webster spelled it in his first dictionary. The spelling is protected by a trust set up by Hazel Funk Holmes.
Over the years, Funk’s Grove ‘sirup’ has become a part of Route 66′s legendary status as “The Mother Road,” the nation’s first major interstate highway.
“We usually have enough sirup made and bottled to open our shop by the first of March,” said Debby Funk.
The family gives tours to groups during the week and offers self-guided tours on weekends.
And you’d better order its sweet stuff quickly. Depending on the size of the harvest, Funks Grove Maple Sirup is usually sold out by early to mid-summer.
Manhattan Transfer goes Mother Roading March 11, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.1 comment so far
I know I’ve posted videos of the Manhattan Transfer performing Bobby Troup’s “Route 66″ before. However, this is a performance done from just last year, for the group’s “35th Anniversary — Great American Songbook” DVD.
The singing, as usual, is marvelous. And the piano backing is excellent, too.
Mark your calendars March 10, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Preservation, Signs.add a comment
An e-mailed update from the City of Tulsa today says that Claude Neon Federal Signs will begin re-erecting the neon-festooned letters of the historic Meadow Gold sign at 11th Street and Quaker Avenue in Tulsa on April 6.
Claude estimates it will take about a week to completely install those letters.
So, in about a month, we’ll see the Meadow Gold sign glow again for the first time in decades.
Exploring the Sooner State by Route 66 March 10, 2009
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips.add a comment
Brian Passey of the The Spectrum in southern Utah once traveled along Interstates 40 and 44 when he was going through Oklahoma, and he wasn’t overly impressed with what he saw on the superslab.
The next time he was in the Sooner State, however, he decided to take Route 66 as much as possible. His view of the state changed.
The whole thing is worth reading here.
In Oklahoma, you can drive nearly 400 miles of Route 66 without ever having to be on the interstate. I should also add that Passey’s experience — of finding ample charms in Oklahoma while driving the Mother Road — largely matched our own during our first big Route 66 trip eight years ago.