The long-closed Palms Grill in downtown Atlanta, Ill., has been meticulously renovated its Route 66 glory days and should reopen by spring, reports the Peoria Journal-Star.
The storefront restaurant has been restored according to a depiction in a photograph taken during the era when Johnson worked there as part of a new museum project of the Atlanta Public Library.
It should be fully operational by spring. The restaurant portion of the building will be rented out and generate income to support the adjacent museum. […]
The museum currently is located in the basement of the library, and relocation of the collection would allow for its expansion, as well as more breathing room for library operations. […]
The first phase of construction, now complete, included restoration of the building’s facade, a new roof and restoration of the first-floor storefronts. The second phase, which was scheduled to be complete by the new year, included the addition of a second-story section to accommodate the museum’s exhibits and a climate-controlled space for its collections.
Other work in the second phase brought the cafe back to life in meticulously re-created detail – based in part on Johnson’s memories of the diner – and included restoration work on the neighboring bank and law office and handicapped-accessible restrooms on the first and second floors.
The article includes a photo of the front of the Palms Grill, circa 1940.
Atlanta deserves a lot of credit for fully embracing its Route 66 heritage in recent years.
We recently returned from traveling a portion of Route 66- coming back from St. Louis and heading towards Springfield Illinois. We stopped in Atlanta Illinois and had lunch at The Palms Grill. My husband and I had the blue plate special -which was BBQ ribs- and the food was excellent. We also shared a great piece of blueberry pie. It was as if we were stepping back in time, even old music playing, that reminded my mother of the old records her grandmother would play. The restaurant looks amazing!!