New Illinois Route 66 Hall of Famers announced May 18, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Events, Gas stations, Restaurants.add a comment
The Route 66 Association of Illinois will induct three new members to its Hall of Fame on June 8, during its annual Hall of Fame banquet in Lincoln, Ill., reported the Morris Daily Herald.
The newspaper said the association received 17 nominations for the annual induction. The Class of 2013 in the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame are:
- The Palms Grill Cafe, Atlanta, Ill. It opened in 1934 in downtown Atlanta, when Route 66 ran through the town’s center. After being closed for many years, local leaders renovated and reopened it in 2006. It has become a must-stop for many Route 66 travelers.
- George B. Cathcart of Edwardsville, who owned the long-gone Cathcart’s Cafe in town. He also opened a tourist court, hamburger stand, and grocery along Route 66 in Edwardsville.
- Wilbur Fawns Sr. Family of Williamsville and Sherman. The family owned several gas stations, dating to 1937, in those towns along Route 66.
The Hall of Fame banquet is held in conjunction with the Illinois Route 66 Motor Tour. Details about the banquet and motor tour can be found here.
The full list of Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame members since 1990 can be found here.
Former 4 Women on the Route should reopen this month May 6, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Businesses, Gas stations, Movies.2 comments
Cars on the Route, formerly known as the 4 Women on the Route in Galena, Kan., should reopen sometime in May after months of renovations, reported the Joplin (Mo.) Globe newspaper.
We previously reported on the overhaul of the Route 66 landmark in March. At the time, principal owner Renee Charles hoped to have the former gas station reopened by mid-April.
The newspaper said:
When it is finished, Cars on the Route will feature new restrooms, new concrete, a new asphalt parking lot, an improved kitchen, a revised menu, neon signs, and an expanded section of memorabilia and Route 66 items for sale.
Out front, Charles is planning additional cars that play off the Pixar movies “Cars” and “Cars 2.” One of the business’s biggest draws has been Tow Tater, a rusty, antique tow truck from which “Cars” director John Lasseter drew inspiration for the character Tow Mater. Schoolchildren and other visitors often pose for photos by the truck.
“He’s getting company,” Charles said. “We are going to get a car like Sheriff’s, Red the Fire Truck will get a face-lift, and we are working on a Doc Hudson.”
Melba Rigg, one of the original 4 Women, will continue to help run the business.
Library planned in abandoned Route 66 gas station in Mojave Desert April 24, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Books, Gas stations.5 comments
An artist and an author plan to establish a Philosopher’s Library inside an abandoned gas station along Route 66 east of Amboy, Calif.
The Philosopher’s Library website contained these details:
In our age of increasing distractions, the need for perspective and reflection is essential. Candy Chang and James A. Reeves will transform an abandoned gas station on Route 66 into a library dedicated to pilgrimages and personal transformation. Located in the Mojave desert, The Philosopher’s Library will be a remote sanctuary filled with books about leading an examined life, as well as a card catalogue where travelers can share their philosophies for personal well-being.
The website also asks for suggestions on what inspirational books
to stock in the library.
On his Twitter account, Reeves said the gas station was located about 10 miles east of Amboy. That would be near the settlement of Chambless.
He also said he plans to open the library in September.
The library is part of the Academy of Modern Ruins, “dedicated to the mythologies of ghost towns and transforming them into contemplative places.”
Longtime readers of Route 66 News may remember Reeves from his 2011 memoir, “The Road to Somewhere.” My review of the book is here.
The project reminds me of the Prada Marfa art installation on a lonely road in west Texas. But Prada Marfa is more of an elaborate farce; Reeves and Chang seem a lot more earnest about this project.
UPDATE: Reeves confirms in a comment that he wants to buy the abandoned Roadrunner’s Retreat station.
Dedication of Odell Station miniature April 13, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Gas stations, Museums.add a comment
“Roamin’ Rich” Dinkela produced this video of the recent dedication ceremony of Willem Bor’s newly created miniature replica of Odell Station. The miniature is housed at the Pontiac Oakland Museum in Pontiac, Ill.
Bor, a native of the Netherlands, has created several miniature replicas of Route 66 landmarks.
Nonprofit group seeks to restore Whiting Brothers signs April 5, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Gas stations, Preservation, Signs.1 comment so far
A nonprofit group that’s trying to spur Route 66 tourism in the Albuquerque region is raising funds to restore signs at a Whiting Brothers gas station in Moriarty, N.M. — the only one still operating.
According to a report in the Mountain View Telegraph, a member of RETRO-Relive the Route asked for money from the Moriarty City Council for the effort:
Pogue asked the council for a $5,000 appropriation from the Lodgers Tax fund in order to help Sal Lucero, who owns the Whiting Brothers station, refurbish two 60-year-old signs on the property.
The council voted to give the effort $2,000.
Pogue said that refurbishment of the two neon signs will cost about $15,400. She explained that a grant is available from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, but that would only fund half of the cost. Money from Lucero and donations total $2,700, which is why she was asking the city for help.
The Whiting Brothers station dates to 1964, and owner Sal Lucero has owned it since 1985. Zeon Signs in Albuquerque, which originally installed the signs, would do the renovations.
Whiting Brothers started in 1926 and boasted more than 100 gas stations and several motels along the American Southwest. The chain declined in the 1970s, mostly from stations being bypassed by the interstates. A ruins of long-closed Whiting Bros. stations still stand, but the one in Moriarty remains the lone operating business.
Remnants of Bell gas station are demolished, but sign is saved March 28, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Gas stations, Signs.3 comments
The deteriorating remains of the long-closed Bell gas station along Southwest Boulevard (aka Route 66) in southwest Tulsa were razed Wednesday.
However, the rusty Bell sign was salvaged the day before the bulldozer arrived, and plans are to eventually restore and re-install it at the nearby Route 66 Village.
Roy Heim, associated with the Route 66 Village, sent an email about the Bell station on Thursday:
We continue to lose places of the past along Route 66, but thanks to Greg Burkett, owner of American Demolition & Site Services, LLC of Tulsa, we captured the sign. Greg carefully rigged and lowered the sign onto a trailer for the Route 66 Village so it could be saved for restoration and display at some point. Mike Massey of the Route 66 Village negotiated the deal with Greg Burkett.
Theses photos by Pete Zarria from 2011 show what the Bell gas station looked like, before the wrecking ball arrived. Even with the building’s basic structure being shored up only by nearby trees and the Bell sign being pitted with rust, it still made for an interesting photo opportunity:
Information about the history of the station is scant. A photo of the station from 1950 could be seen in the Oklahoma Department of Transportation’s archives (photo has been cropped):
And an elderly woman who talked to a reporter from The Oklahoman newspaper in 2007 provided her memories of the station and the neighborhood:
Longtime residents like Esther Murray, 80, fondly recall the Route 66 era, and remember how the highway through Red Fork once thrived with restaurants, motels, gas stations, shops and even an amusement park.
“I remember how the kids loved to go to Bell’s Gas Station,” Murray said. “It was so cool, getting that Orange Crush for a nickel out of this big ice box.”
The property had been for sale for years. At last check, the asking price was $70,000.
The razing of the station saddened me and other west-side Tulsans. It was one of the few historic landmarks left on Route 66 in that part of town. However, I’m glad someone took the trouble to save the station’s most recognizable piece.
(Photos courtesy of Emily Priddy, Pete Zarria, and Roy Heim)
Effort officially begins to restore Rancho Cucamonga station March 21, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Gas stations, Preservation.add a comment
Work to restore the historic Cucamonga Service Station on Route 66 in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., officially started with a ceremony Wednesday, reported the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.
A sign company deeded the property to the Route 66 Inland Empire California nonprofit group a few months ago.
The nonprofit was formed to save the structure and members intend to renovate and rebuild the gas station to what it looked like during its business heyday in the first part of the 20th century. [...]
A main goal of the organization is to turn the site of the old Richfield service station into a landmark Rancho Cucamonga tourist destination and museum for Route 66 fans and travelers from all over the world. [...]
Gonzalez said the group plans to bring back the old gravity-fed pumps from the 1930s, and possibly have old signs, oil cans, souvenirs, and literature related to Route 66 for visitors and the community.
David Allen, a reporter for the Bulletin, posted this photo above from the ceremony on his Twitter account.
Organizers hope to restore the station by 2015, which would be its centennial. The station operated until the 1970s. The City Council awarded historic landmark status to Cucamonga Service Station in 2009.
UPDATE 3/21/2013: A video from the ceremony has been posted: