Pacific entrance signs will prominently feature Route 66 June 6, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Signs, Towns.add a comment
Student-designed entrance signs for Pacific, Mo., will prominently feature the Route 66 shield as part of its look, reported The Missourian newspaper in nearby Washington, Mo.
Amy Ketcherside and Curtis Paglusch of Pacific High School submitted the winning design from seven submitted sketches. The two students each earned a $2,000 for their design, which was chosen by the tourism commission.
The winning entry combined a stone base and two stone pillars holding a wooden Historic Route 66 shield with the words “Welcome to Pacific Train Town USA” with a cannon on one corner. Spots are designated on the pillars for the names of civic organizations such as Kiwanis, Lions, Partnership and others.
A garden also will be planted in front of the stone base.
One sign will be placed on East Osage Street, near the U.S. Silica plant, and the other on the Pacific High School practice field on West Osage. Osage Street, as you might have guessed, is old Route 66 through town.
The tourism commission expects the signs to be completed by fall.
“End of the Trail” sign temporarily removed June 5, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Businesses, Signs.3 comments
The “End of the Trail” sign on the Santa Monica Pier that has become a popular photo op for Route 66 travelers is being taken down for about two weeks while work is being done on the pier itself, said Dan Rice, owner of the 66-to-Cali stand on the pier.
The sign, a replica of an “End of the Trail” sign that once stood at Ocean Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard, was erected in 2009, thanks to Rice’s efforts.
The pier announced in May it would undergo a one-year modeling. Rice wanted Route 66 News readers to know the removal of the sign isn’t permanent, but was necessary to replace the deck of the pier in that area. The Santa Monica Pier will remain open throughout the remodeling.
Rice said the “End of the Trail” sign might be re-erected near his stand in mid- to late June, but that isn’t definitive.
(Image of the “End of the Trail” sign by jonathanpercy, via Flickr)
Kickstarter campaign launched to restore Roy’s sign May 26, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Preservation, Signs.add a comment
A Kickstarter campaign aims to raise $16,000 to restore the historic Roy’s sign at the Route 66 town of Amboy, Calif. The restoration is part of the newly christened Amboy Foundation of Art’s eventual goal to turn the motel at the Roy’s complex into an artist’s colony.
According to the Kickstarter page:
Restoration of this neon sign serves each generation – those who passed through a half-century ago, those present, and generations to come.
Route 66 has been marked by Roy’s Cafe neon sign in Amboy, Ca since 1959. The immediate need served by this project is to stabilize and repair this long-standing monument sign. A need continues beyond an act of arts, documentation and conservation, and the mechanical arts of repair and bent glass tubes. We will restore the sign to original operating condition. This will include restoration of structural, electrical and neon art elements.
A team of professional conservators, engineers and artisans will be managed by recognized historical architect, Taylor Louden AIA.
The deadline to raise the money is June 12.
Albert Okura, owner of the Juan Pollo restaurant chain in Southern California, has owned the town of Amboy for several years. A couple of years ago, he reopened the long-closed cafe into a convenience store.
(Photo of the Roy’s sign by zampano!!, via Flickr)
A competitor to the Hollywood sign? May 20, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Attractions, Signs.add a comment
Those who have traveled an old alignment of Route 66 recently along northeast Los Angeles may have gazed up into one of the hills overlooking the city and found an unfamiliar — yet familiar — sight.
It’s a massive “Glassellland” sign halfway up a hill above the Glassell ParkRecreation Center. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the sign with 10-foot-tall letters was erected by an artist named Justin (no last name given) who has planted cutouts of movie stars in the Glendale area.
Times reporter Steve Lopez spoke to Howard Seth Cohen, a publicist for the “Glassellland” sign:
Cohen told me he thinks Justin is trying to instill a sense of civic pride in Glassell Park and suggest that romanticism is not confined to the hoity toity Westside neighborhoods.
The sign pays a sort of homage to the world-famous “Hollywood” sign in Los Angeles, which actually was “Hollywoodland” many years ago.
Scott Piotrowski, an expert on Route 66 in Los Angeles, said by email after sending a photo of the sign:
The hill is a part of Mount Washington (the hill, not the community in Los Angeles). It literally is surrounded by Route 66 on three sides, and another portion of 66 sits slightly north. In other words, coming down from the hill, you almost HAVE to at least cross Route 66 to get anywhere. [...] The view of the sign is from the west side of the hill, along Eagle Rock Boulevard and Verdugo Road. In this Google maps link http://goo.gl/maps/CWrXx the Glassell Park Community Center is marked. Just south / east of there is Mimosa Drive. The sign sits between Mimosa and Kinney on the hillside.
And Piotrowski agrees the “Glassellland” sign isn’t mocking the “Hollywood” sign so much, but was created by “someone calling this community their home and taking great pride in that fact.”
(Hat tip: Scott Piotrowski)
Park will feature replica of Red’s Giant Hamburg sign May 8, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Events, Restaurants, Signs.add a comment
A Route 66-themed park in the middle of Springfield, Mo., will feature a replica of the Red’s Giant Hamburg restaurant sign, reported KSPR-TV in Springfield.
The Hy-Vee grocery chain is holding a fundraiser through May 12 for the sign project, including a car show on May 11.
Details about the park:
The City-owned West Meadows area (on College just east of Fort Avenue) will include a Route 66 roadside park, including a plaza, sculptures, a picnic area, a gateway and more.
One feature at the park would be a replica of the Red’s Giant Hamburg sign. Red’s, owned and operated by Sheldon “Red” Chaney and his wife Julia, was a roadside café on West Chestnut Expressway that is recognized for opening the world’s first drive-through window.
The café’s name was supposed to be Red’s Giant Hamburger, but Chaney measured the sign incorrectly and dropped the “er.” Red’s opened in 1947 and closed in 1984. The building was torn down in 1997.
One of the best ways to experience what Red’s was like is a music video, “Red’s,” by The Morells from the early 1980s.
An interview with one of the restaurant’s principals, Julia Chaney, also was placed online a few months ago.
UPDATE: Tonya Pike emailed a few photos from the Hy-Vee:
The store is located at 1720 W. Battlefield in Springfield.
UPDATE2: KY3 in Springfield posted a good report, including old vintage of Red Chaney and his restaurant.
“Yukon’s Best Flour” sign removed for repairs May 6, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Preservation, Signs.add a comment
The massive “Yukon’s Best Flour” sign on top of a flour mill in Yukon, Okla., was removed for repairs, according to a report Monday by KWTV in Oklahoma City.
News9.com – Oklahoma City, OK – News, Weather, Video and Sports |
The Route 66 community embarked on a successful $175,000 fundraiser to repair the sign and eventually refurbish the side of the mill. The station reported the sign will be re-installed on the mill by June.
Original sign re-installed at Boots Motel April 30, 2013
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Preservation, Signs.add a comment
Workers from the Wilhite Signs delivered and installed a replica of the original Boots Court sign at the historic Boots Motel in Carthage, Mo.
Wilhite was the sign company that installed the original Boots Court sign when the Route 66 motel was built in 1939. The sign and its color scheme later was changed to Boots Motel.
According to a Facebook post from the motel:
Now, the new owners are restoring this Mother Road icon back to the 1949 era…both inside and out! The recent pitch roof is also gone and the Art Deco-Modern style of architecture that was popular in the 30′s is back again. Five rooms in the rear 1946 addition have been restored and work is beginning on the remaining eight rooms in http://route66news.com/wp-admin/post-new.php#category-allthe original structure.
The neon is next and a re-lighting event is coming soon!
More photos from the sign installation:
(Photos courtesy of Debye Harvey)