Pontiac motel torn down

The Downtowner Motel, along a more-obscure alignment of Route 66 in downtown Pontiac, Ill., was torn down Wednesday to make way for new Law and Justice Center, reported the Pontiac Daily Leader.

More pictures of the demolition can be seen here, at The Community Times.

The Downtowner had been for sale for several years, including a listing on Route 66 News. But apparently there were no takers.

A photo of the Downtowner in better days can be seen here.

 

4 thoughts on “Pontiac motel torn down

  1. I’m sorry to see this old landmark go, despite the fact that it had really outlived it’s usefulness some time ago. I hope an effort was made to photo-document the large mural on the rear side of the building; it depicted the history of the community and was done by local artists years ago — long before the more recent murals in Pontiac. It demonstrated an earlier awareness of the community’s significant history in the area. The mural seems to have been forgotten as time went by; the colors were faded, but it was still clear and attractive. If anyone is interested, I have several photos of that mural which I took this past summer.

  2. We spent many nights at this place and enjoyed talking with the owners. He had been a German soldier during WW II, captured, taken to the US, liked it so well, he settled here.

    It was within easy walking distance of quite a few great bars around the square.

  3. just seeing this now……
    you are mistaken, my parents motel did not outlive its usefullness…… just needed some work… but it was the perfect route 66 motel and sooooo very sad that the city fathers did not realize that.

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