The Friends of the Mother Road nonprofit group this week donated neon signs from the Stanley Cour-Tel and Lin-Air Motel on Route 66 in St. Louis to the future Route 66 Neon Park in St. Robert, Missouri.
According to a news release from Beth Wiles of Pulaski County Route 66 Preservation:
Both properties were razed for the expansion of St. Louis Lambert International Airport. Friends of the Mother Road took possession of the signage and then relocated them to Staunton, Illinois, to the iconic Henry’s Rabbit Ranch in 2004. […]
To help “light up the night” and preserve the signs, the Pulaski County Route 66 Preservation is accepting tax-deductible donations. Sign sponsorships and personalized bricks are available. All monies go directly to the neon park development. For more information find us on Facebook at Pulaski County Route 66 Preservation or visit the website route66preservation.org.
As you can see from the above photo, the signs were moved indoors, which will help protect them from further weather deterioration. You can see the signs when they were outdoors at Henry’s Rabbit Ranch here.
In addition to its Route 66 link, the Stanley Court-Tel also was notable that it housed Apollo 1 astronauts when they trained for the first manned space mission.
Route 66 Neon Park, located within George M. Reed Roadside Park in a wide median of Route 66, is a partnership with the Route 66 Association of Missouri, the city of St. Robert and the Pulaski County Tourism Bureau.
Eligible signs for the neon park would be those that were originally along Route 66 between 1926 and 1985, have been abandoned and do not have a home, and otherwise would not return to the Mother Road without such a park.
The partnership has raised funds for the neon park since 2013. It eventually hopes to raise $250,000. About $10,600 has been raised so far. If you wish to give, go here.
(Image courtesy of Pulaski County Tourism)
It’s nice seeing the signs go to where some day they might blaze in their former glory. We were blessed have them here 13 years, where people continued to see them. It’s with melancholy happiness we bless this move. It was fun being able to be their caretaker during this period and will look forward to watching their continued progress. Hopefully see them again someday, when they are able to be re-erected. Rich and the rest hare at Henrys Ra66it Ranch in Staunton, Illinois.
Thank you for keeping my signs safe all these years. I was the person who bought them before they were destroyed. I recently donated them officially to The Friends of the Mother Road to be re-erected at the neon park.
Dr. Joel Braunstein