The fabled neon sign for the now-closed The Tropics restaurant in Lincoln, Illinois, this week was moved to a shop for restoration work for the next six months.
The Lincoln Courier reported the sign was moved Tuesday to Ace Sign Co. in nearby Springfield, where the company will undergo restoration work on it through late December.
A fundraiser for the sign’s restoration will be Aug. 24 at the old restaurant site — home to a future McDonald’s. Funds for the sign’s restoration also will be taken through a GoFundMe account below:
The Courier reported:
Currently money is being raised to meet the goal of $70,000 in support of the restoration efforts as well as the landscaping around the historic icon. For those who wish to contribute to the campaign may do so by sending a check payable to the Tropics Legacy Campaign, Logan County Tourism Bureau, 1555 5th St., Lincoln, Illinois 62656 […] The sign will be installed when weather permits during the first quarter of 2018 and a grand re-lighting ceremony will be scheduled shortly thereafter showing the newly restored sign for the public to see when it is lit up and returned to its former glory.
The Springfield State Journal-Register reported about a month ago organizers were about halfway to the fundraising goal.
The Tropics’ sign greeted Mother Road travelers from the 1950s until 2003, when the diner closed. Even unplugged, the sign continued to draw tourists following Route 66.
The sign was removed from the property in 2014 and donated to the city of Lincoln. It was inducted into the Route 66 Association of Illinois’ Hall of Fame in 2015.
“We want to save this important part of Lincoln, Logan County’s Route 66 past, but also recognize the potential of this sign to be a huge attraction for folks traveling Route 66,” Thomas said.
“There are sentimental reasons, but there are very different economic development reasons for saving this sign.”
Original owner Vince Schwenoha once lived in California and drew inspiration from its palm trees when he dreamed up of his business in Illinois.
(Image of The Tropics sign in Lincoln, Illinois, in 2010 by Dennis Dixson via Flickr)
Isn’t that always the case. If not WalMart then McDonald’s replaces these iconic businesses.
My hometown JOPLIN, is / was on Route 66. Interestingly, some of the signs given Rt66 recognition from the community, were really from Highway 71, which was nearby. Sadly, Joplin has come ‘late-to-the-dance’ (which has loooooong been the situation for mannnnny aspects of the ole mining town.) The City Leaders allowed the destruction of so much and then Mother Nature erased more with tornadoes.
When the Rocket Motel was destroyed, the Space Age giant rocket-shaped sign was felled, mashed and gone. The huge Bob Cummings Motel sign – bashed to pieces and a memory. Thus was the fate for many, many more (The El Rancho, The Siesta Motel, The Colony Inn, Mickey Mantle’s Holiday Inn, The Sands Motel, Howard Johnson’s Motel, etc… Folks from St. Louis recognized the poor thinking of the Joplinites and grabbed several of the Joplin signs for a transportation museum up there. This included the fantastic Thunderbird Motel sign, a stunning behemoth near 20th and Range Line. We even had a Tropics Motel and Lounge (same name as your feature story business). Alas, it is only old postcards ‘that didn’t sell’ that tell the tale because no Joplinite could believe anyone would ever enjoy the beauty of neon ‘n history or care about a (beloved) has-been highway.
Today, Joplin operates under the delusion a newly painted mural is a brilliant replacement for ‘the real deal’ signage of the glory period of The Mother Road. Ordinances need to be established where remaining historic business signs can be preserved. A better understanding that genuine items from yesteryear are worthy of restoration rather than investing in chrome and plastic replica pieces needs to be stressed.
It is good to see some of the true tangible landmarks of America’s Main Street are getting the loving attention today, that tomorrow’s generation will appreciate.