Historic building in Joliet will be torn down December 27, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, History.add a comment
The century-old White Store in downtown Joliet, Ill., will be razed to make way for a new building being erected by Joliet Junior College, reported the Herald-News.
The four-story White Store at 235 Chicago St. (on the Illinois 53 alignment of Route 66) will be demolished in about 20 days, the newspaper reported.
Workers will try to salvage and recycle as many materials as possible from the building, Russ said. For instance, bricks and wood from the building will be reused where possible, excluding items tainted by asbestos. The neon White Store sign on the front of the building also will be salvaged.
Route 66 posters in the store’s windows have already been saved and probably will be donated to the nearby Joliet Area Historical Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center. [...]
Members of the Joliet Historic Preservation Commission urged JJC to try to save the White Store instead of tearing it down, but school officials decided bringing the building up to code would be too costly.
Joliet City Manager Tom Thanas said the building sat neglected for 30 years and would have been expensive to rehab.
The White Store, which dates to 1938, sold apparel, furnishings, sporting goods and groceries until it closed in 1980. Another furniture business used the building as a warehouse until July 2009.
A good photo of the building can be seen here.
The fire is so delightful December 25, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.1 comment so far
Today, it’s time to relax with an eggnog, with your feet propped up near a virtual Yule log fire. Music is by Sam Harris, who grew up just a few miles from Route 66 in Sand Springs, Okla.
“O Holy Night” December 24, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Music.1 comment so far
Route 66, a female a capella quartet based in Chicago, posted this Christmas-themed performance a few days ago.
Alas, Route 66 does most of its work with sales conferences and private gatherings. So, if you notice a public performance on their schedule, catch them when you can.
Rancho’s plans for Foothill Boulevard December 22, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Bridges, Highways.add a comment
The City of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., has just posted a computer animation video of its plans to dress up Foothill Boulevard (aka Route 66), including the Pacific Electric Trail overpass.
The pedestrian bridge is particularly impressive.
12/28/2010 UPDATE: The Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports that this project will be finished in late 2011.
Traffic report December 22, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Bridges.add a comment
Here’s a recent TV report about the closure and detour from the westbound Bird Creek Bridge on Oklahoma 66 near Catoosa:
I’m glad those rumble strips are being removed. I drove over them a few days ago, and they were incredibly bone-jarring.
He’s no tenderfoot December 22, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Road trips.add a comment
The Quay County Sun in Tucumcari, N.M., caught up with a Ron Zaleski, who’s walking barefoot across the country — including much of Route 66 — for Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.
Zaleski is walking across the United States without shoes to gather signatures for a petition calling for mandatory counseling for soldiers heading into and returning from overseas combat. He hopes to gather 1 million signatures and deliver the petition to the president Nov. 11, 2011, Veterans Day and — according to Zaleski — his 60th birthday.
Zaleski’s walk started in June in Massachusetts. Zaleski arrived in Amarillo earlier this month and plans to follow I-40 west to Los Angeles. His wife, Valeria Moran, follows Zaleski in an RV as he walks every day and then the couple stays in the RV at night.
Zaleski, a Long Island, New York native who served as a United States Marine from 1970 until 1972, said he stopped regularly wearing shoes after leaving the Marines to pay tribute to his peers who were killed in the Vietnam War. [...]
“When people say ‘I’m sick and tired of hearing about veterans’ issues,’ well, you’re going to hear about them until we start doing something different. We keep doing the same thing, thinking something different’s going to happen,” Zaleski said.
According to Zaleski’s website, his original cross-country path took him down the Blue Ridge Parkway until he realized the admittedly scenic path was too sparsely populated for him to spread his message. He’s now taking the Interstate 40 corridor, which includes Route 66 west of Oklahoma City.
Zaleski is averaging 10 miles a day during his quest. I’m not sure what he will do when the temperature will drop into the teens at some point. Will he keep walking? Or will he simply take a day off until conditions improve?
This is supposed to be a desert December 21, 2010
Posted by Ron Warnick in Weather.add a comment
You’d think the Mojave River, being in the middle of Southern California’s harsh desert, would remain dry or see just a trickle of water, at most.
But not today. Here’s what the river looked like after the region was lashed with severe rainstorms. This is off Route 66 near Helendale:
More storm and flood coverage can be found with the Los Angeles Times here.