The city of Lincoln, Ill., has filed a public-nuisance complaint against the owner of The Mill, a long-closed restaurant on Route 66 that resembles a windmill, reports the Lincoln Courier.
The Mill originally opened at the Blue Mill in 1929, which had an lighted, revolving windmill. The restaurant closed in 1996, and the building has deteriorated ever since.
It sounds like the city and county have been very patient with owner Dennis Koehler. The public-nuisance complaint doesn’t necessarily mean that the city will order The Mill’s demolition. But if Koehler does nothing, then the city apparently will have little choice because the structure is unsafe and vermin-infested.
Here’s a little more background and a photo of The Mill from the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County.
There’s a hearing about the dispute scheduled for Aug. 3.
I would be very surprised if anything could be done with this old building. I was in it twice before it finally closed, and it wasn’t in the best shape in 1994, when it appeared to me to be more of a bar than a restaurant. It’s certainly an obvious landmark on 66, but I’m afraid its days are limited. I hope I’m wrong.
It’s yet another case of an indifferent property owner, not developers, dooming a once-cool Route 66 landmark.