The Old Courthouse, a landmark in downtown St. Louis, will reopen on May 3 after undergoing two years of renovations. Officials with Gateway Arch National Park and the nonprofit Gateway Arch Park Foundation announced the reopening date last week, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The courthouse is part of the national park. The $27.5 million … Continue reading Old Courthouse in St. Louis will reopen on May 3 after a two-year renovation
Category: Museums
National Trust announces latest round of Preserve Route 66 grant recipients
The National Trust for Historic Preservation announced its latest grants from its Preserve Route 66 program totaling $135,835. Among the grants awarded are preservation work on an Albuquerque building where Microsoft started, funds to pursue a National Register of Historic Places listing for the Gasconade River Bridge near Hazelgreen, Missouri, and an educational program about … Continue reading National Trust announces latest round of Preserve Route 66 grant recipients
Gemini Giant will remain in Wilmington for the next 20 years
The mayor of Wilmington, Illinois, announced the landmark Gemini Giant will remain in the city for at least the next 20 years. Mayor Ben Dietz stated in a Facebook post that the loan of the Gemini Giant from the Joliet Area Historical Museum has been extended through 2045. The city council approved the loan pact … Continue reading Gemini Giant will remain in Wilmington for the next 20 years
Illinois lawmaker files resolution to celebrate a century of Route 66 next year
A state lawmaker in Illinois has filed a resolution that would celebrate Route 66's centennial next year. State Sen. Chris Balkema (R-Channahon) filed the resolution that would officially designate 2026 as the Illinois Route 66 Centennial Year, reported WCIA-TV. Route 66 goes through Balkema's 53rd Senate District, including the towns of Dwight, Odell, Pontiac and Chenoa. Balkema touted the … Continue reading Illinois lawmaker files resolution to celebrate a century of Route 66 next year
Route 66 Mother Road Museum in Barstow will hold its reopening celebration on March 22
The closed Route 66 Mother Road Museum in Barstow, California, will hold a grand reopening celebration on March 22. The museum, located in a historic Harvey House complex on the city's north side, will be open that day at 10 a.m.., with the celebration tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. After that, the museum will be … Continue reading Route 66 Mother Road Museum in Barstow will hold its reopening celebration on March 22
Bristow Route 66 Toy Museum contains a half-century of collecting
The Bristow Route 66 Toy Museum in Bristow, Oklahoma, is the culmination of one man's dream and his collecting of toys for over 50 years. KJRH-TV in nearby Tulsa interviewed Bret Fadely, who co-owns the museum and is its visionary. "All my life, for years, I've collected toys. I just wanted to share and make … Continue reading Bristow Route 66 Toy Museum contains a half-century of collecting
Someone steals vintage police car owned by late Amboy owner Albert Okura
A 1955 Dodge Coronet police car owned by deceased Route 66 legend Albert Okura was stolen on Christmas Day from the headquarters of the family's Juan Pollo restaurant chain in San Bernardino, California. Okura's son Kyle told the San Bernardino County Sun his father acquired the car many years ago. The vehicle purportedly was used … Continue reading Someone steals vintage police car owned by late Amboy owner Albert Okura
“BLVD” Cafe sign moved from closed Barstow museum to Duarte Historical Museum
The "BLVD" Cafe sign is back in the town where it once stood. The sign was on loan from the Duarte Historical Society in Duarte, California, to the Route 66 Mother Road Museum in Barstow, California, for about 30 years. But after the museum closed earlier this year, Duarte historian Alan Heller recalled the sign was … Continue reading “BLVD” Cafe sign moved from closed Barstow museum to Duarte Historical Museum
Route 66 Visitor Center in Albuquerque now slated to open by May 2025
After multiple delays, the Route 66 Visitor Center on the west edge of Albuquerque now is scheduled to open sometime in May next year. Shelle Sanchez, the city's Department of Arts & Culture Director Shelle Sanchez, gave the tentative date during a tour of the property on Thursday, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Arts & … Continue reading Route 66 Visitor Center in Albuquerque now slated to open by May 2025
American Giants Museum featured in the New York Times
The so-called "newspaper of record" has published a prominent story about the American Giants Museum in Atlanta, Illinois. The New York Times posted the story by reporter Valerie Schremp Hahn and St. Louis photographer Bryan Birks in its Fine Arts and Design section on Wednesday. It contains a lot of information about the museum's genesis … Continue reading American Giants Museum featured in the New York Times