A chairman of the historical preservation panel in Plainfield, Ill., is applying for a grant to help create a park at the intersection of U.S. 30 and Illinois Highway 59 — the Lincoln Highway and Route 66, respectively.
According to the Plainfield Patch:
Michael Bortell told the Plainfield Village Board Monday that he plans to apply for a $5,000 matching grant from the National Park Service to fund a redevelopment study for the .925-acre site, which is one of the most historic in the village.
The gas station that once anchored the triangle-shaped property was removed last year by the Illinois Department of Transportation as part of the Illinois 59 widening project, Bortell said. A historically significant house known as the Corbin-Bingham-Worst residence remains, as does another house and two detached garages, he said.
The plan would be to restore the historic house as a visitors center, surrounding it with park land and parking for 10 to 12 cars, he said. The other structures would be demolished, he said.
A park in that area has previously been sought, but a landowner balked at the idea. The landowner has reconsidered.
Bortell says he’ll know by mid-May whether it will receive the grant.
A Google Street View image of the Plainfield intersection can be seen here.
The Lincoln Highway goes nearly 3,400 miles from New York City to San Francisco. It was founded in 1913, and predates Route 66 and other U.S. highway by more than a decade.
The Lincoln Highway and a more-prominent alignment of Route 66 also intersect in Joliet, Ill. (map here)
(Hat tip: Lincoln Highway News)
For my money, this would have to be one of the most important historic roads locations in the United States. Aside from the other cross-point of 66 and the LH, I cannot think of anything more important. Perhaps third on the list would be where 6 (the longest US highway), 66, and 99 (the Canada-to-Mexico Highway) all ran together in my current home of Glassell Park.