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Braidwood, IL |
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 County: Will, IL
Population: 5203
Main 66: 1926-1956
Bypass 66: 1946-1966
Braidwood on the Web:
braidwood.us
Landmarks:
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Polk-a-Dot Drive In restaurant with its 50's diner decor has served up great American food since 1956 and features lifesize replicas of pop culture icons lining the building. |
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Double Route 66 along the railroad tracks as Illinois 53 and Illinois 129 run along each side of the rail line.
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Tucked into the Gardner-to-Joliet stretch that sees Route 66 follow Illinois 53 away from Interstate 55 through the small towns of Grundy and Will County, Braidwood stands out from the town around it for two principal reasons: the Polk-a-Dot Drive In and nuclear power.
Originally located in a school bus painted with polka-dots, the Polk-a-Dot Drive In has spent over fifty years on the east side of Braidwood and is one of the most beloved restaurants along the Mother Road in Illinois. Now a replica fifties diner complete with neon, jukebox and outside carport seating, the business features a diverse menu of American cuisine and frozen treats. The inside sports a 50's era decor that transports visitors back to the heyday of the highway, while the walls outside feature lifesize replicas of pop culture icons including Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, the Blues Brothers and Betty Boop (acccuracy of "lifesize" for the last individual can be disputed). Each August the Polk-a-Dot hosts a Cruise Night and packs their lot full of classic cars that look right at home with the retro feel of the restaurant. Not that the Polk-a-Dot needs the motif as a gimmick: the food is really good.
Braidwood got its start as a community thanks to the rich coal deposits in this area of Will County, and the mining activities that brought settlers to the town helped power much of Chicagoland for decades. The city still supplies much of the Windy City's energy, but in a much different fashion now: nuclear power. The Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station, owned and operated by Exelon, opened in 1987 and is the largest nuclear power plant in the Land of Lincoln. The cooling lake for the towers used old strip mine land left over from Braidwood's coal mining past, keeping the ground in the power creation business to this day. Sitting right along the east side of Illinois 53/Route 66, the complex (and its massive security that resembles that of a penitentiary) is easily visable from the highway and is quite the unique landmark along Route 66.
Braidwood has double 66's lining the Chicago & Alton Railroad tracks as both Illinois 53 and Illinois 129 run along old alignments of America's Main Street. Originally Route 66 was on the southeast side of the rail line on its direct path between Chicago and Saint Louis. Starting in 1940, the primary alignment of US 66 changed north of Gardner as the road split there to follow the new Plainfield Alignment. From the south side of Gardner the new road looped around the northwest of town to rejoin the railroad on the northwest side of the line and travel alongside both it and the older - now Bypass - Route 66 until the northside of Braidwood where the newer alignment curved to due north to head towards Plainfield. Today the newer alignment joins I-55 shortly after leaving Braidwood as the Interstate replaced the mainline of Route 66 in 1956 (with the Bypass remaining in effect for another decade.)
Most of Braidwood is located on the northwest side of both alignments of Route 66, sandwiched in between the old US highways and Interstate 55.
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Northbound -> |
Godley |
Braidwood, IL |
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5 miles |
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Originally located in a school bus painted with polka-dots, the Polk-a-Dot Drive In has spent over fifty years on the east side of Braidwood and is one of the most beloved restaurants along the Mother Road in Illinois. Now a replica fifties diner complete with neon, jukebox and outside carport seating, the business features a diverse menu of American cuisine and frozen treats. The inside sports a 50's era decor that transports visitors back to the heyday of the highway, while the walls outside feature lifesize replicas of pop culture icons including Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, the Blues Brothers and Betty Boop (acccuracy of "lifesize" for the last individual can be disputed). Each August the Polk-a-Dot hosts a Cruise Night and packs their lot full of classic cars that look right at home with the retro feel of the restaurant. Not that the Polk-a-Dot needs the motif as a gimmick: the food is really good.
Braidwood got its start as a community thanks to the rich coal deposits in this area of Will County, and the mining activities that brought settlers to the town helped power much of Chicagoland for decades. The city still supplies much of the Windy City's energy, but in a much different fashion now: nuclear power. The Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station, owned and operated by Exelon, opened in 1987 and is the largest nuclear power plant in the Land of Lincoln. The cooling lake for the towers used old strip mine land left over from Braidwood's coal mining past, keeping the ground in the power creation business to this day. Sitting right along the east side of Illinois 53/Route 66, the complex (and its massive security that resembles that of a penitentiary) is easily visable from the highway and is quite the unique landmark along Route 66.
