Most of the types of attractions featured on this site are still quite numerous today, often even more so, albeit perhaps in more generic, uniform and boring manner than in the glory days of Route 66. Restaurants still dot the landscapes. Gas stations are still a necessity. Hotels and motels pop up like zits around an urban interchange, promising families from Tulsa a pool and a good night's rest.

Drive-in theatres are the exception. Once a staple of American life, the rural movie house has given way to twenty screen multiplexes run by nationwide corporate chains (or local groups like Wehrenberg who cut their teeth on a drive-in screen). Few survive today, scattered in various small towns often only on weekends and supported by the local population in part because they are such a rarity. With an entire generation (or two) having grown up without the experience, a trip to the drive-in is becoming popular for the same reasons as a trip down Route 66: history and the novelty factor.

Let's combine the two: Route 66 and the drive-in. Cruise through Mitchell, Illinois and you'll find the relics of the Bel-Air, gone for two decades but not forgotten thanks to the classic sign left behind. An hour north in Litchfield no one's close to forgetting about the Sky View: they're still open, with two dollar double features and crazy good refreshments. If only they had more company along the drive north to Chicago.

An endangered relic trapped in an area of industrial expansion, this sign remains from the days when Edwardsville and Granite City residents could travel a few miles out of town and take in a double feature along Route 66. The screen and buildings were demolished after the business closed in 1987, but (most of) the sign remains to this day, watching over the intersection of Chain of Rocks Road (Route 66) and Illinois 111. Much of the land around it has been developed into warehouse space and truck stops, and hopefully if the same fate befalls this lot the sign can be saved and put on display somewhere else along Route 66.

Bel-Air Drive-In Mitchell, Illinois 1950s - 1987 For more information and photographs visit the Mitchell page.

On the north end of Litchfield's 1930-1940 two lane alignment sits the Sky View Drive-In, the only drive-in theatre still operating right along Route 66 in Illinois. Open weekends April through October, admission for the double feature is only $2, a staggeringly cheap amount that requires you not only patronize this Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame establishment but also buy lots of popcorn and soda as well. If you don't plan to stay for the second film at least stick around long enough for the classic intermission reel featuring dancing hot dogs and candy. It's the perfect touch to this retro Route 66 experience.

Sky View Drive-In Litchfield, Illinois 1951 - present For more information and photographs visit the Litchfield page.