Hit the road. On your computer.
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| Select a destination above to visit and tour the historic, picturesque towns and sites along Route 66 throughout the Prarie State. |
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Experience the landmarks of the Prairie State and see the service stations, motels and restaurants that aided and entertained travelers from Chicago to L-A. |
The SkyView Drive-In in Litchfield, Illinois sits along the two-lane 1930-40 alignment of Route 66. Still operating after 50 years, this year it will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its induction into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame. The theatre re-opened for the 2008 season the last week of April (25-27) with "Horton Hears a Who" and "Jumper". Click to enlarge.
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| Classic cars show their power along the old southbound lanes north of Towanda during the second annual 2008 Red Carpet Corridor on May 3 and 4. Cold weather hampered spirits on Saturday but temperatures in the 60s on Sunday brought out good crowds. |
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Digital Route 66 serves to honor the Mother Road throughout Illinois as well as Eastern Missouri, spreading the beauty and history of the highway across the globe. Use the menu above to select a town to tour ("Towns on 66"), or to take a look at a historic Route 66 landmark. Each town's page features a history of US 66 in the community as well as a picture tour of the highway through the area. You can also read the history of the road through Illinois and learn how America's Main Street snaked its way through the Prairie State for almost seven decades.
New additions are listed below, as are upcoming changes and new features. Feedback and corrections are welcome, as are any other comments.
All content is protected under a Creative Commons license; photography is available for non-commercial use by permission. |
May 1, 2008: 24 new images from Litchfield including the old Route 66 Cafe and an old motel between the two alignments. Also several new pictures from around the Ariston Cafe and the classic "Vic" Suhling Gas For Less sign.
May 1, 2008: Brand-new history section featuring information about U.S. 66 in the Prairie State.
May 1, 2008: Coming Events and Picture of the Week features added to the front page.
May 1, 2008: The site re-launches! New resolution, larger pictures, more information. And a great new design.
• Brand new town pages for Braidwood (and the Polk-a-Dot), Chenoa (featuring the downtown stretch and the historic Chenoa Pharmacy), Gardner (with the Riviera, Streetcar and downtown), Lawndale, Lincoln and McLean.
• Additions to Broadwell, Dwight, Towanda and Wilmington (including the Eagle Hotel and Mar Theatre).
• Coverage of the Carlinville Alignment (including Staunton) and the old brick pavement along the 1926-1930 corridor.
Throughout the last several years additions included...
• 19 earlier pictures from Farmersville,
including Illinois Hall of Fame inductee Art's Motel and Restaurant
and its
classic sign prior to restoration in the spring of
2007.
• ~20 pictures added to Mount
Olive and Odell,
particularly the Mother Jones Monument and the unearthed stairway, as well as updated pictures of Soulsby's
Shell Station.
• 28 pictures from Litchfield,
including the Ariston and Sky
View Drive In.
• 38 pictures from Towanda
• 27 pictures from Lexington
• 20 pictures from rural Waggoner of the Our Lady of the Highways Shrine along west frontage
I-55 (old 66.)
• New sections for Atlanta, Broadwell, Sherman and Wilmington,
including the Pig-Hip, Launching
Pad/Gemini Giant, classic two-lane
in Sherman and all of wonderful downtown
Atlanta (especially relocated Tall Paul.)
• 9 pictures from North
St. Louis, specifically the Stanley Cour-Tel Motel on
north Lindbergh Blvd. shortly before its demolition in early
2003 (plus one bonus pic of the Lin Air Motel just south of
the Cour-Tel.
• 9 pictures from the Homestead rest area along I-55 south of Hamel.
The Route 66-themed rest area houses a manned tourist info
booth that welcomes travelers to the Mother Road in Illinois.
Check out several of the pictures from this site in William Simmonds' book Advertising
Barns: Vanishing American Landmarks. The book is a fascinating
tour of this historic and artistic form of advertising that
touches not only on the obvious - like the Mother Road's Meramec
Caverns displays - but also products ranging from Pepsi to
potato chips hidden in the most picturesque corrners of the
Midwest's winding roads. The photography is first rate, and the history of this form of advertising that has all but disappeared is a fascinating read. Pick up a copy and explore.
