The Corvair Museum along Route 66 in Glenarm, Illinois, will close sometime in January and is seeking another location along Route 66, stated the museum’s curator.
Mike Hall, the curator of the museum and president of the nonprofit Corvair Preservation Foundation that operates it, posted this message that was forwarded to the Corvair Society of America group on Facebook a few days ago:
It is unfortunate that I have to report that the building in which our CPF Corvair Museum resides in has been sold. We lost our lease which now requires us to remove all Corvairs and display items from the building on or before January 31, 2022. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused those who have vehicles and items on loan in our museum as well as those who were planning to visit, however, we were given short notice.
We are actively looking to secure another building site, preferably on Route 66, as this would continue to be an ideal location for our museum. We will keep everyone posted of any changes, and we appreciate your understanding, and thank you for your continued support at this time.
A Route 66 enthusiast who messaged me said the museum’s location on an Interstate 55 frontage road south of Springfield “never got its legs underneath it.”
The museum moved from Decatur, Illinois, to Glenarm in November 2019.
This person also noted the COVID-19 pandemic and the museum subsequently opening by appointment only — “which isn’t really going to work well with folks just passing through” — probably undercut it further.
The Chevrolet Corvair, a compact model was manufactured from 1960 to 1969. It more or less foreshadowed the so-called econobox cars of the late 1970s and ’80s.
(Image of the Corvair Museum in Glenarm, Illinois, via Facebook)