John Weiss, a longtime preservationist with the Illinois Route 66 Association, has scheduled a work day at the historic Sprague Super Service station in Normal, Ill., starting at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 2.
The Sprague station was built in 1931 on Route 66 by William Sprague. It was a unique in that it appears to be designed as a gas station and residence. It sold City Service gas. It morphed into other businesses by the 1940s, and the pumps were removed by 1979. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places.
Terri Ryburn purchased the station in 2006 with the goal of turning it into a visitors center, restaurant, tea room, and meeting and performance space.
According to a news release at the association’s website:
Last April we had a work day and accomplished a lot, but we were not able to complete the project. I am determined this time to finish the needed work in the downstairs visitor area that we started. I need your help! Having this wonderful site sitting there half finished is just not acceptable. We need to band together and help Terri get this project completed.
In an email that Terri Ryburn sent to those who worked last time she stated, “I sometimes get discouraged at the enormity of what I’ve taken on but I really get a boost when other people see the value in restoring the building. Thanks for the “boost” that I really needed”.
I could really use carpenters, but there are also many other necessary jobs inside and out that need to be accomplished. Tourists from around the world stop here all the time to take pictures and peek inside. We need to continue to show pride in all of our Illinois Roadside Attractions and help when and where it is needed. Let’s give Terri and this site an additional well deserved boost!
Those who wish to help are asked to call 815-458-6616. The station is at 305 E. Pine St. (map here) in Normal.
(Image of Sprague Super Service station by Larry Myhre via Flickr)
Wow, we saw this on our Route 66 trip in April. We had trouble finding it but we did stop and take a picture. I am happy to hear it is being restored. It’s in our photo book. Keep up the good work it will be worth the efforts.