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Litchfield, IL |
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Litchfield is one of the largest and perhaps most famous stops along Route 66 south of Springfield even though the road didn't originally run through it. In 1926 the first alignment of the Mother Road traveled further to the west in Carlinville, but the intention from the very start was to move the highway to the east where travelers would have a much straighter journey than the curvy, ragged wanderings of the Carlinville Alignment. In 1930 Route 66 first made its way onto Litchfield's streets and the town's fame as a stop for hungry and weary travelers was born.
While Route 66 just touches the western edge of town, the road still managed to feature a number of famous attractions, none moreso than the Ariston Cafe. Founded in 1924 by Pete Adam, the business was originally located in Carlinville along State Route 4, which would two years later become Route 66. The restaurant would proceed the road's move eastward, shuttling off to Litchfield in 1929, and six years later the business moved across the road to its current location on the west side of the two-lane alignment. When the four-lane bypass opened in 1940 the cafe was convienently located between the two highways and traffic along the newer Route 66 were greeted by signs on the backside of the Ariston. Believed to be the longest operating restaurant on US 66, the business and the Adam Family were inducted into the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame in 1992.
Another famous Mother Road eatery sat just to the south on the two-lane alignment: the Route 66 Cafe. The original restaurant closed years ago, though the classic building remains on the west side of the road and a newer establishment bearing the same name operates across the street. The Route 66 Cafe was in its earlier years known as the Belevidere Cafe, and in back along the four-lane alignment sits the remnants of the Belevidere Cafe Motel; both structures were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
At the north end of town along the older two-lane alignment is the SkyView Drive-In theatre which dates back to 1951 and still operates to this day. The only active drive-in cinema along the Mother Road in Illinois features flicks only Friday through Sunday and, of course, only April through October, but admission is ridiculously affordable at $2 a head for a double feature, and locals and tourists alike flock to the grounds each summer to take in new releases. The theatre was inducted into the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame in 1998 and embraces its unique and historic place along American's Main Street.
Though its core econony is based around coal and farming, Litchfield haslong benefited from its position as a transportation crossroads. Along with the intersection of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Norfolk Southern rail lines, the town was blessed with traffic from both Route 66 and Illinois 16, one of the main state trunk roads running west-to-east across the middle of the state. In later years as Interstate 55 replaced US Highway 66 as the primary route between Chicago and Saint Louis a bevy of fast food restaurants and hotels sprung up on the west side of town, and Litchfield now serves as the primary stop between Springfield and Saint Louis.
After being relocated here from the western Carlinville Alignment in 1930, Route 66 original followed two-lane Sherman Street through town, bypassing most of the community to the west. In 1940 the four-lane alignment was built less than a block to the west. Frontage roads line most of the four-lane alignment allowing access to the businesses along the US highway, though the service roads are truncated at the intersection with Illinois 16. Downtown Litchfield lies to the east of Route 66 on Illinois 16 a few blocks past the Norfolk Southern rail line.
The two alignments of Route 66 separate just under a mile outside of town as the four-lane curves to the left of the original alignment and a T-intersection allows traffic access to the old two-lane. The roads hug each other through town until just north of the Sky View Drive-In where the four-lane curves east to rejoin the 1930 corridor, again with a T-intersection to terminate the modern two-lane alignment. The four-lane road between the north of Litchfield and the overpass at 16th Avenue was one of the last sections of four-lane highway left open in the state, still operating into the mid 1990s.
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County: Montgomery,IL
While Route 66 just touches the western edge of town, the road still managed to feature a number of famous attractions, none moreso than the Ariston Cafe. Founded in 1924 by Pete Adam, the business was originally located in Carlinville along State Route 4, which would two years later become Route 66. The restaurant would proceed the road's move eastward, shuttling off to Litchfield in 1929, and six years later the business moved across the road to its current location on the west side of the two-lane alignment. When the four-lane bypass opened in 1940 the cafe was convienently located between the two highways and traffic along the newer Route 66 were greeted by signs on the backside of the Ariston. Believed to be the longest operating restaurant on US 66, the business and the Adam Family were inducted into the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame in 1992.
At the north end of town along the older two-lane alignment is the SkyView Drive-In theatre which dates back to 1951 and still operates to this day. The only active drive-in cinema along the Mother Road in Illinois features flicks only Friday through Sunday and, of course, only April through October, but admission is ridiculously affordable at $2 a head for a double feature, and locals and tourists alike flock to the grounds each summer to take in new releases. The theatre was inducted into the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame in 1998 and embraces its unique and historic place along American's Main Street.
After being relocated here from the western Carlinville Alignment in 1930, Route 66 original followed two-lane Sherman Street through town, bypassing most of the community to the west. In 1940 the four-lane alignment was built less than a block to the west. Frontage roads line most of the four-lane alignment allowing access to the businesses along the US highway, though the service roads are truncated at the intersection with Illinois 16. Downtown Litchfield lies to the east of Route 66 on Illinois 16 a few blocks past the Norfolk Southern rail line.
