The Route 66 Food & Fuel gas station complex under construction on Route 66 in Joliet, Ill., will feature a replica of the car driven by the Blues Brothers on top of a 25-foot pole, according to the Joliet Patch.
The Patch said:
Ferhat Zerin, a principal planner for Ginkgo Planning & Design, cited the project as a great example of the “photo op” attractions that will lure people to the Joliet area because they want to see something unique and quirky. […]
According to plans submitted to the city, the replica Bluesmobile will be nothing but a shell, lacking a fuel tank, engine or drive train. It will be placed on an angle on top of a steel pipe embedded in concrete and anchored six feet below ground level. It will have an electrical conduit to allow for illumination.
According to varying sources, the Blue Brothers drove a 1974 Dodge Monaco police car in the movie.
The Patch doesn’t mention it, but this car-on-a-pole structure sounds an awful lot like the late, great Spindle art installation that stood a few miles north of Route 66 in Berwyn, Ill.:
“The Blues Brothers” was a 1980 action-comedy starring Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi shot around Chicagoland. The Blue Brothers themselves spawned from Ackroyd and Belushi’s “Saturday Night Live” music skits, taking inspiration mainly from Memphis soul act Sam & Dave. The act spawned movies, concerts and a few LPs. Blues Brothers statues and artwork still are seen in the Chicago area, including the Rich and Creamy ice cream stand in Joliet on Route 66.
According to an earlier Patch story, Route 66 Food & Fuel is a $5.5 million complex that will feature a Dunkin’ Donuts, Pop’s Italian Beef, a convenience store and a liquor store. It at Route 53 (aka old Route 66) and Laraway Road, very close to the Route 66 Raceway.
(Blue Brothers impersonators and their car at the 2013 Doo Dah Parade by waltarrrrr; image of The Spindle in 2006 by Seth Tisue)