As promised by its owner, the Gemini Giant of the Launching Pad Drive-In landed on an online auction site — along with about 350 items from the Route 66 restaurant in Wilmington, Illinois.
Grafe Auction of Minnesota is listing the fiberglass giant, with the auction closing on the morning of March 20. The company scheduled an inspection window of 3 to 6 p.m. on March 19.
Owner Holly Barker said in a Twitter post a few weeks ago if the Gemini Giant didn’t sell for $100,000, she would destroy it.
As of Wednesday night, the Gemini Giant already had drawn several bids and was up to $37,500.
Whoever wins the bidding will have to act fast — according to the terms, it would have to be removed by March 23.
The auction also includes the “Launching Pad” yellow metal roof signs on the building, Gemini Giant bobblehead dolls, the custom tables and booths (several that predate Barker’s ownership), the large Route 66 interior mural and lots of memorabilia and basic restaurant equipment.
Barker, whose tweets alternate between her reading Bible verses and posting conspiracy theories, threatened to kill her former business partner, Tully Garrett, in a Twitter post in January.
She littered memorabilia and restaurant equipment all over the Launching Pad’s parking lot a few weeks ago, prompting a citation from local police.
The Joliet Area Historical Museum last year wanted to buy the restaurant — one media outlet reporting for $420,000 — and turn it into a Route 66 welcome center. The museum also offered $150,000 for the Gemini Giant — all to no avail.
Barker and Garrett purchased the closed restaurant in 2017 and reopened it about 18 months later. They shuttered it during the COVID-19 pandemic and only reopened it sporadically at best since that time.
The Launching Pad and Gemini Giant were inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000. Both long have been one of the biggest photo opportunities for Route 66 travelers.
John and Bernice Korelc opened the restaurant initially as a Dairy Delite in 1960. They renamed it the Launching Pad after an expansion in 1965. The Gemini Giant landed there in 1965 after John Korelc saw a Muffler Man during a restaurant convention. He retired in 1986.
Morey Szczecin bought the property in 2007 after longtime owners Jerry and Sharon Gatties retired. But the restaurant struggled financially and closed in 2010 until Barker and Garrett emerged.
(Image of the Gemini Giant at the Launching Pad Drive-In restaurant in Wilmington, Illinois, by formulanone via Flickr)
There is a gofundme to raise funds to save the giant.
Is that muffler man really 28′ tall? A large percentage of muffler men are 20′ tall to top of head (excluding hat).