The Missouri Route 66 Centennial Commission recently awarded the City of Lebanon a sponsorship worth up to $15,000 for an interactive Missouri Route 66 shield sign that will be 12 feet tall. Nearly a half-dozen others will be installed across the Show-Me State.
Lebanon tourism director Rebecca Rupard announced the sponsorship during the annual meeting of Lebanon-Laclede County Route 66 Society, reported Gary Sosniecki for the society’s website.
A mockup of the proposed shield is shown below:
The sponsorship, which will cover the sign’s purchase, installation and maintenance, is being offered to 11 sites in Missouri where Route 66 traverses. The sites are St. Louis, Franklin, Crawford, Phelps, Pulaski, Webster, Greene, Lawrence and Jasper counties, plus St. Louis city.
The sign must be installed by Jan. 1, 2026, which is the year of Route 66’s centennial.
Lebanon’s sign will be installed in Boswell Park, near a set of existing Route 66-themed murals.
The big Route 66 shield is strongly reminiscent of the first — installed in El Reno, Oklahoma, in 2018.
Since then, similar big shields also have popped up in Illinois.
More local Route 66 tourism efforts from the report:
Rupard also reported that Lebanon will have its own page on a website targeting international tourism, thebrandusa.com. Brand USA already is promoting Route 66 Centennial tourism to overseas audiences. She told the Route 66 Society at an earlier meeting that Lebanon Tourism received a $12,000 grant from the Missouri Division of Tourism for the website page. Lebanon is responsible for 10 percent —$1,200 — of the website expense. The grant pays the rest. […]
She said Lebanon continues to participate in the Route 66 Passport program. Travelers have their passports stamped at the Lebanon-Laclede County Library, where the Route 66 Museum is. “It makes people stop at the library, which is what we want.”
Rupard also announced that a new digital sign will be placed on Interstate 44 at the Elm Street exit to alert travelers of current Lebanon events.
(A mockup of the Route 66 interactive shield proposed by the Missouri Route 66 Centennial Commission)