Deep thought June 9, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses.1 comment so far
If fire officials say you should get a sprinkler system for your very old building and no hydrants are nearby, maybe you should listen to them.
Sigh.
Riviera Roadhouse destroyed by fire June 8, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Restaurants.16 comments
The historic Riviera Roadhouse on Route 66 in Gardner, Ill., was destroyed by fire Tuesday night and is still burning, according to an e-mail I received from the editor of The Braidwood Journal.
The historic Route 66 restaurant and lounge was owned and operated for decades by Bob and Peggy Kraft until the two retired in late 2008.
Bob Keller briefly reopened the restaurant in late 2009, but had a long and protracted spat with local officials over, ironically, fire-safety issues.
More details as they come …
UPDATE: Marney Simon, editor of the Journal, said by phone that the fire started about 7 p.m. and multiple departments were still fighting the blaze as of 9:30 p.m.
The restaurant had been closed “for a while,” she said, amid the fire-safety disputes.
Keller had grown so combative that he refused to allow member of the Illinois Route 66 Association on the property to perform regular maintenance on the Streetcar Diner, a 100-year-old horse-drawn streetcar that was later converted into a diner. The diner’s fate is unknown at this time.
Simon said the Free Press Advocate would have updates on its website and Facebook page when more details become available.
UPDATE2: Here’s a photo from the fire scene, courtesy of the Free Press Advocate. More fire photos can be seen at the newspaper’s Facebook page here.
UPDATE3: Route 66 advocate and preservationist John Weiss told me by phone Tuesday night that the Streetcar Diner on the property was safe, for now. The diner, he said, was situated about 150 feet from the Riviera building.
He said the Illinois Route 66 Association would move the diner to the property that also contains the two-cell jail in Gardner that was built in 1906.
Weiss, who was at the scene earlier in the evening, said firefighters were having trouble with the blaze because there are no nearby fire hydrants. All water to combat the blaze was being hauled to the scene by tanker trucks. He said arson investigators are at the scene.
“It’s just a sad day to see an icon such as this slip away,” Weiss said. “I don’t know what else to say.”
Weiss said he especially felt bad for Bob and Peggy Kraft, who spent much of their lives running the business.
UPDATE4: A bit of history about the Riviera … it was built in 1928. More from the Road Wanderer:
James Girot, a South Wilmington businessman, moved buildings from Gardner and South Wilmington and put them all together to form the Riviera structure as it stands today. The Riviera is a true roadhouse! Once movie legends Gene Kelly and Tom Mix regularly stopped here. This was a favorite haunt of Al Capone and was known as a gangster hangout too. Slot machines and booze were offered to the discrete customer during prohibition. In fact, there’s a freezer in the basement with a heavy iron door that was used to hide booze and gambling machines in case of a raid.
UPDATE5: The Free Press Advocate posted a slide show on its home page, plus a story.
UPDATE6: A Chicago Breaking News Center report Wednesday morning labeled the fire as highly suspicious.
A commentary by Michael Ciric of Chicago Now about the fire.
Here’s the Associated Press version of the story.
Here’s the Joliet Herald News version of the story.
UPDATE7: The Morris Daily Herald has some interesting nuggets sprinkled into its story:
Authorities were not saying earlier today if arson was involved.
However, investigators were checking the smoking embers this morning, and Gardner Fire Chief Randy Wilkey said the site is currently being treated as a crime scene.
The report said that restaurant operator Bob Keller had backed out of the lease with building owners Bob and Peggy Kraft some time ago. It had been vacant for two months.
Also, some of the fire departments were delayed in their response to the scene because of miscommunication by dispatchers. However, the report said the building was already 50 percent involved with flames when the first firefighters arrived. So, even in a best-case scenario, saving the Riviera still would have been a lost cause.
Strangely enough, the Riviera’s front wall remained standing through the fire.
Photo-op building in Kingman will be razed June 7, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Motorcycles.add a comment
A building in Kingman, Ariz., that was decorated in a Harley Davidson motorcycle theme and frequently used by Route 66 travelers as a photo opportunity will be razed by the railroad, reported the Kingman Daily Miner.
The Burlington Northern-Santa Fe railroad owns the structure, and it’s fallen to into disrepair, including part of the roof being blown off.
The building, at Andy Devine Avenue and North Third Street, once was a realty building, and a mining assay building before that. It had been abandoned for years when the railroad bought it in 1997.
As for the building’s motorcycle-themed decor, the newspaper explains:
For the last several years, the building has served as a photo backdrop for motorcyclists passing through town. The Harley Davidson theme was added at the same time that local business owner Scott Dunton had the neighboring Kingman Cab Company building repainted in 2002.
That building was destroyed last September in a hit-and-accident.
Mother Road Harley-Davidson General Manager Tony Campbell said the biker theme was painted by an artist from Phoenix. He said several of the building’s decorations have gone missing over the years. He doubts anything could be salvaged from the building at this point.
No time line exists on when the building will be torn down. The railroad is taking bids for its razing.
Can’t see the bottles for the trees June 6, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions.add a comment
Here’s a good video that shows the Bottletree Forest, made by Elmer Long, along Route 66 in Oro Grande, Calif. The clip shows how wonderfully weird the whole place is.
Long’s blog is here, although it’s updated only sporadically.
Not a wallflower June 6, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Museums, Signs.add a comment
The International Walldog Mural and Sign Art Museum in Pontiac, Ill., has seen hundreds of visitors since opening May 1, according to a report in the Bloomington Pantagraph.
“We have been doing really well, and we are getting visitors from all over,” said museum manager Kristen Mehlberg. “We’ve had visitors from 15 states and seven different countries come in while traveling Route 66. Just recently, we had some people from Australia and India come in.”
Mehlberg said that about 450 people have signed the guest book. However, she said the true number of visitors is much higher.
The history of murals and sign art are the focus of the museum, including those on Route 66. The Walldogs is an artists’ organization that has created 19 murals in downtown Pontiac.
Former Exotic World opens in Las Vegas June 5, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Museums, People.add a comment
(Editor’s note: Despite the somewhat risqué subject matter, all of the links are safe and contain no nudity.)
The Burlesque Hall of Fame, formerly Exotic World Museum off Route 66 in Helendale, Calif., opened to the public in its new digs in downtown Las Vegas this week, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Exotic World became a treasured destination for many Route 66 travelers because of the sincere hospitality of longtime curator Dixie Evans, a former Marilyn Monroe-impersonating burlesque dancer.
A recent video shows Evans’ outsized personality (but shows no skin, so the clip is safe for work):
An isolated location and deteriorating facilities hampered Exotic World. So the museum packed up and moved to Las Vegas in 2006 until a permanent home could be found. The news of the moving saddened many on Route 66, but admitted that Las Vegas was a terrific location for a such a museum.
I saw no mention of Evans in the Las Vegas newspaper’s story. But this news release from the Hall of Fame shows she’s still the curator and that she’s alive and well:
“The living legends love to be there with all the wonderful girls who come from all over the world to celebrate an American tradition!” says Hall ofFame curator Dixie Evans, herself a retired dancer (she was dubbed “The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque” by legendary promoter Harold Minsky). “Burlesque is much more than striptease; it combines the whole live experience of dancers, comedians and music.”
The Burlesque Hall of Fame is an honest-to-goodness nonprofit organization with 501(c)3 tax-exempt status. The museum’s Facebook page is here.
(Hat tip to Roadsidepeek.com)
“Sur la Route 66″ June 5, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.8 comments
I don’t understand the language, but the arrangement grabbed me almost instantly. This is French actor and singer Eddy Mitchell on “Sur la Route 66.”
(Note: The animation is sorta interesting, but not terribly germane, I reckon.)
Anyone have a translation?
UPDATE: Vincent Desmonts has provided a translation to English here.
Last frame coming for 66 Bowl June 3, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Music, Sports.7 comments
The historic 66 Bowl of Oklahoma City has been sold to an India grocer, and its last bowling frame will occur in mid-August.
Spices of India, down the road from the 66 Bowl on the Northwest 39th Street alignment of Route 66, has bought the bowling center and concert venue, reported Oklahoma Route 66 expert Jim Ross, who was informed by a Daily Oklahoman newspaper reporter on Thursday.
A group of investors reportedly made a bid to buy the 66 Bowl when it was first announced it was for sale last month. But a 66 Bowl spokesperson said in an e-mail Thursday: “We looked for help all over to keep it as a bowling center, through numerous investors, and the search was unsuccessful.”
Donna McKeegan, a 20-year employee of 66 Bowl, said that the bowling alley’s last bash will be Aug. 21 and that the new owners take over Sept. 6.
She wasn’t certain what would happen to the 66 Bowl’s iconic neon sign.
“We’re all heartbroken here,” McKeegan said by telephone Thursday.
The 66 Bowl was built in 1959. Jim Haynes has owned the bowling center since 1978, and he reportedly put the 66 Bowl up for sale a few weeks ago because of health problems in the family.
In addition to bowling, the 66 Bowl was well-known as a venue for rockabilly and punk music groups. One of its shows included Wanda “Queen of Rock” Jackson in 2009, on its 50th anniversary. Jackson met her future husband at the 66 Bowl in the early 1960s.
The 66 Bowl also played host for the Okie Twist-off classic-car, hot rod and rockabilly festival. This year’s festival will be Aug. 6-7.
UPDATE: Here is the story from the Oklahoman.
I have little to add, except it’s disingenuous for the director for the Oklahoma City Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum to claim that the sport of bowling is not in decline. In the 1960s, there were 12,000 bowling alleys. Now, there are less than half that. And some of the biggest operators saw revenue declines in recent years.
The decline in bowling is a big reason why the Rose Bowl on Route 66 in Tulsa no longer operates as a bowling center. And that same decline undoubtedly affected 66 Bowl.
Notes from the road June 3, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Books, Food, Gas stations, Motels, Motorcycles, Movies, Museums, People, Photographs, Restaurants, Road trips, Signs, Sports, Vehicles, Web sites.1 comment so far
(Editor’s note: This is my Catch Up from the Memorial Day Holiday Edition.)
Actor and director Dennis Hopper died over the weekend after a long bout with prostate cancer. He was 74. A memorial service and burial was held Wednesday at a church in his beloved Taos, N.M., where he lived for years.
Although a thick book could (and likely will be) written about Hopper’s turbulent life and career, he holds a significant link to Route 66 in two ways.
First, he directed and co-starred in the influential 1969 hit movie, “Easy Rider,” which took place on parts of Route 66 in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Mr. Zip66 traces the path that Peter Fonda and Hopper took on motorcycles in the film so you can do it yourself. The film also spawned a hit record and a classic for all road-trippers, “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf. And “Easy Rider” inspired countless road trips, including those on the Mother Road.
Second, Hopper in 1961 shot a famous photograph, “Double Standard,” of two Los Angeles gas stations on Route 66 through the windshield of a car. An image of the photo can be seen here. Hopper’s image wound up in a lot of art galleries over the years, and helped jump-start his eventual career in film. The Los Angeles Times reports that the Museum of Contemporary Art is planning a giant retrospective of his art next month.
— The Art Institute of Chicago, near the beginning of Route 66, has commemorated the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team’s advancement to the Stanley Cup Finals by placing huge Blackhawks helmets on its famous bronze lions. (This is not unprecedented, by the way.) Photos of the lions decked out in Blackhawks gear can be seen here.
— Check out this Los Angeles Times story about the Devil’s Rope Museum in the Route 66 town of McLean, Texas. Longtime roadie Delbert Trew gets a lot of ink.
— Claudia Heller, who’s writing an ongoing series about Route 66 in Southern California for the Pasadena Star-News, reports that Dave Emerson is about to publish a book titled “Keeping You on the Mother Road.” He spent seven years researching the guidebook, which will contain maps and information about businesses on Route 66. Go here for more books that Heller recommends.
— Here’s a story about California State University-Heyward students who are converting a 1969 Volkswagen Beetle into a multimedia Route 66 experience. Here’s the team’s video channel and website. The team is looking for donations to help complete the project and finance a trip on Route 66 from Amarillo to Chicago for research purposes. The project will be unveiled June 11.
— The old DX gas station on an older alignment of Route 66 in Baxter Springs, Kan., was unceremoniously and unexpectedly torn down a few weeks ago, reports Ron Hart. The DX sign still stands. But the main building, which held a locksmith business for years before it closed, was razed.
— The Joplin Globe reports that a new 2-ton sign has been installed at the edge of Kellogg Lake in Carthage, Mo. The sign denotes Kellogg Lake State Park and includes a Route 66 logo.
— Read about Ron “Tattoo Man” Jones’ latest Route 66 tattoo on his body — his 84th.
— Richard Talley of the Motel Safari in Tucumcari, N.M., reports that a new Mexican restaurant, Unburritable, has opened on Route 66 in town.
— Also in Tucumcari news, the state revoked a gaming license for a horse-racing and casino facility in Raton, N.M. Tucumcari, which competed against Raton for the license in 2009, may get another chance at it. Raton’s license was yanked after it missed a deadline to open a temporary casino.
— Schlotzky’s Deli is making three special Route 66-themed sandwiches this summer — the Windy City Pastrami & Swiss, Tulsa Two-Step Angus Beef & Cheddar, and Albuquerque Turkey. The promotion runs through Aug. 29.
Wagon Wheel Motel reopens to travelers June 2, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Motels, Movies, Preservation.5 comments
A Jacuzzi tub in one of the Wagon Wheel Motel's renovated rooms. (Photo by Jane Reed)
The Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Mo., will partially reopen to travelers this weekend, then will have a full opening the following weekend, according to its owner.
This comes after months of renovations on the historic Route 66 property.
Owner Connie Echols, who bought the motel in fall 2009, said three rooms will be available for overnight guests beginning this weekend, and all 12 units will be available by the June 11 weekend.
The long-closed restaurant building was renovated and reopened as a gift shop just weeks later.
The Wagon Wheel Motel opened on Route 66 in 1934 and remained in continuous operation until longtime owners Harold and Pauline Armstrong died a few years ago. The property earned fame for its individual stone cabins and its unbelievably economical $17-a-night room rates ($19 a night for doubles).
The Wagon Wheel Motel also served as a likely partial inspiration for the defunct Wheel Well Motel shown in the mountains near the tiny Route 66 town of Radiator Springs in the 2006 hit animated film by Disney-Pixar, “Cars.”
According to a news release about the Wagon Wheel:
The Ozark sandstone Tudor-style rooms have been gutted, updated, and restored until they are better than ever. New plumbing, heating and cooling systems, bathrooms, and bedding are just some of the upgrades in the historic motel. Flat screen TVs have been added to the rooms, and WiFi is free throughout the property. [...]
Echols has added a deck behind Connie’s Shoppe and the old station building for guests to use while they are staying at the Wagon Wheel. [...]
Another of the updates includes the Jacuzzi room with both a Jacuzzi tub and a shower. Another unit is a suite with a kitchenette and two Queen beds. The motel will also rent single and double rooms. Rates will run from $50-$100, depending on room size and amenities.
Reservations can be made by calling 573-885-3411. The Facebook page for the motel and gift shop is here.
(Photo of Wagon Wheel Motel courtesy of Guy Randall.)