Missourinet with its regular Show Me Today segment recently interviewed Ryan Lowry, the chief curator of exhibits at the Red Cedar Inn Museum and Visitor Center in Pacific, Missouri.
Lowry reveals a lot of history of the former Route 66 restaurant you might not have been aware of.
The Red Cedar Inn Museum and Visitor Center held its grand opening in August.
The visitor center and museum at 1047 E. Osage St. (aka Route 66) is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday.
The Smith brothers built the Red Cedar Inn restaurant along Route 66 in 1932, then added the tavern a few years later. Both structures were made from logs cut from the family farm.
The restaurant and bar were favorites for many travelers on Route 66, including politicians and baseball legends Dizzy Dean and Ted Williams.
The Red Cedar Inn closed abruptly in 2005. The City of Pacific shortly after that made a multiyear effort to acquire the property so it could be preserved and converted to its current purposes.
(Image of the Red Cedar Inn Museum and Visitor Center via the City of Pacific, Missouri)