The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program soon will honor groups’ work to two historic landmarks along Route 66 in Illinois, according to news releases from the agency.
The landmarks are Soulsby Station in Mount Olive and Sprague’s Super Service station in Normal.
The ceremony for Soulsby Station Society will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 24, at 102 S. Route 66 in Mount Olive (map here). From the news release:
Built in 1926 by Henry Soulsby from his own design, Soulsby Service opened as a Shell Oil station. […] Soulsby Station sat along the original alignment of U.S. Highway 66.
Henry’s son, Russell, returning home from WW II, where he served in the Pacific theater as a communications technician, opened a radio and TV repair shop in the north room of the station.
Soulsby Station served Route 66 traffic until the late 1970s, when Interstate 55 replaced the highway. Russell and his sister, Ola continued to sell gas for the next 20 years, finally closing the business in 1993. Russell died in 1999.
In 2004, the Soulsby Station Society, co-founded by Route 66 author Tom Teague, received a cost-share grant from the NPS to restore the building—one of the oldest filling stations on Route 66.
The ambitious project sought to completely restore the station for use as a museum. Work included placing new joists next to weakened floor joints, restoring original windows and installing a new HVAC and fire and security alarm systems. With Teague’s death in the fall of 2004, the project foundered. But members of the 25-member society came together, volunteering hundreds of hours, and completing the project in August, 2009.
Today, the restored gas station is open for limited tours. A huge Shell Oil sign hangs outside; inside wood shelves are neatly lined with vintage oil, sealant and lubricant containers. Visitors from all over the world drop by to pay homage to Henry and Russell Soulsby and this Route 66 Icon.
The ceremony to honor Terri Ryburn for her work on Sprague’s Super Station will be at Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 305 E. Pine St. in Normal (map here). From the news release:
Constructed in 1931, by building contractor William W. Sprague, the service station sat squarely on the original alignment of U.S. Highway 66. The two-story, Tudor Revival-style structure included a restaurant on the ground floor with living quarters upstairs.
Over the years, a number of operators leased or owned the station, which sold at different times, Texaco, Cities Service, Gulf and Zephyr gasoline. In the 1970s, it ceased selling gas and turned into a bridal shop, cake gallery and catering operation. The pumps were removed in 1979.
Terri Ryburn, a Route 66 author, bought the property in 2006. In 2007, Ryburn received a cost-share grant from the NPS to develop a Historic Structures Report to guide the building’s restoration and funds to replace the roof over the garage and make repairs to the ground floor restrooms. Additional money came from the Town of Normal, which funded the replacement of the building’s main roof; a separate grant from the State of Illinois paid for a new HVAC system. In 2008, Ryburn worked to get the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Ryburn has plans to turn the old Sprague’s Super Service into a visitor center, coffee shop and tea room and a public meeting space. “Even though (progress is now) going much slower, I will get it done,” says Ryburn.
The public is invited to both ceremonies.