The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has prompted the closing of many Route 66-related museums or visitors centers in the past day or so.
Here are the museums or visitors centers that are closed through at least late March or early April that we know about:
- Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac
- Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum in Pontiac, Illinois
- Ryburn Place, Normal, Illinois
- Cruisin’ with Lincoln on 66 Visitors Center, Bloomington, Illinois
- The Mill Museum, Lincoln, Illinois
- Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, Springfield, Illinois
- Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Springfield, Illinois
- Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Visitors Center, Litchfield, Illinois
- Cahokia Mounds World Heritage Site, Collinsville, Illinois
- Gateway Arch, St. Louis
- City Museum, St. Louis
- Museum of Transportation, St. Louis
- St. Louis Car Museum
- Woody Guthrie Center, Tulsa
- Heart of Route 66 Auto Museum, Sapulpa, Oklahoma
- National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City
- Oklahoma History Center, Oklahoma City
- Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum
- Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton
- American Quarter Horse and Hall of Fame Museum, Amarillo
- New Mexico Route 66 Museum in Tucumcari
- Tucumcari Historical Museum
- Georgia O’Keefe Museum, Santa Fe
- National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, Albuquerque
- Barstow Route 66 Mother Road Museum, Barstow, California
The list is by no means inclusive, so if you have your heart set on visiting a certain spot, it’s probably wise to call ahead to see whether it’s still open.
The museum closures are on top of a European travel ban to the U.S. and several states imposing mandatory closings or restrictions of bars and restaurants.
Needless to say, all these factors are going to hurt Route 66 businesses significantly for at least several weeks.
Coronavirus had infected at least 181,000 people worldwide Monday night, with more than 7,100 deaths. The number in the U.S. was more than 4,600 and rising rapidly, with 85 deaths. This strain of coronavirus is 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu, and U.S. officials are trying to slow its spread to keep it from overwhelming hospitals and other health systems.
(Image of the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton courtesy of Oklahoma Tourism)
Do not take this Corona virus lightly as many Europeans have done. One of my very close friends, who lives in Milan (Italy), even if they sounded the alarm, few people took it into consideration. Some told her that we had 15 days before them, that our medical system was the best…. For your information, Lombardy (region where she lives) is one of the richest regions and where the medical system is one of the most developed).
The situation is really very serious!
Follow the instructions your government gives you to protect yourself and others and to contain the disease. In France, Macron said that “it was war”!
Sincerely, be careful! May God protect you my friends!
Thanks, Ron!
Which of those listed have any online collections/virtual tours, etc?