The Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven in Springfield, Mo., on Friday installed a near-replica of a directional sign that was destroyed in a traffic accident in 1952.
The Springfield News-Leader reports:
The 10-foot-long sign is in the shape of an arrow with the word “Springfield” pointing traffic down St. Louis Street to downtown. Below the arrow is another sign that reads “The birthplace of Route 66.”
You can see a part of the new sign here. It was reinstalled at Glenstone Avenue and St. Louis Street. The new sign marked mark the motel’s 75th anniversary.
Here’s a photo from the State of Missouri’s archives of the spectacular wreck on Feb. 12, 1952, that destroyed the sign. The Springfield-Greene County Library has more details of the accident; somehow no one was killed:
As an aside, Rail Haven owner Gordon Elliott also let loose this news that’s significant to Route 66 enthusiasts:
He said he recently purchased the Rock Fountain Court cabins on College Street and plans to spruce them up so tourists can photograph a motor court typically found along Route 66 during its heyday.
That Rock Fountain Court cabins, last I checked, were being used as apartments and were in remarkably good shape. A recent photo of the cabins can be found here. Here’s a vintage postcard of the cabins:
The Rock Fountain Cabins were built in 1945 by “Mac” MacCandless. They were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
I suspect a lot of Route 66 enthusiasts could pay good money to book those cabins for overnight stays.
(Image of Rock Fountain Courts via Joe S0nderman at 66Postcards.com)
Oh, that’s exciting!
That’s pretty cool Ron. That Ozarks article says “Return of Historic Sign Kicks Off Weekend of Route 66 Festivities”, What other Rte. 66 festivities do they have going on?
It’s the annual Birthplace of Route 66 Festival.