The new Route 66 Neon Park in St. Robert, Missouri, officially debuted on Friday, giving a chance for signs orphaned from long-defunct Route 66 businesses to glow again.
It took the Route 66 neon park more than 10 years to become a reality, but it’s here.
Here are scenes from the lighting ceremony:
The park is inside George M. Reed Roadside Park, in the median of Route 66 in St. Robert.
The park contains these reborn signs:
- AlPac Motel sign, east of Pacific
- Alura Motel, later known as the Lin-Air Motel, near St. Louis
- D & G Liquor sign in St. Robert
- Modern Cabins sign in St. Robert
- Motel St. Louis sign in St. Louis
- Scully’s Restaurant & Motel sign in St. Clair
- Skyline Garage Auto Service in St. Robert
- Stanley Cour Tel in St. Louis
- Tri-State Bonding sign in Carthage
All signs, collected and refurbished by private collectors, were once used to advertise businesses along Route 66 in Missouri, stretching from St. Louis to Joplin. The park lights up nightly around sunset.
The park in the weeks ahead will feature storyboards to provide visitors with the backstory of each sign.
The signs were donated to Route 66 Neon Park by entities and individuals, including Friends of the Mother Road, Inc., Missouri State Parks, the Chmura family, Kenneth and Susan Bassett and the Route 66 Association of Missouri.
Discussions and efforts to establish the Neon Park began in 2014 with a meeting between Beth Wiles, executive director of the Pulaski County Tourism Bureau, and the Route 66 Association of Missouri’s Neon Heritage Preservation Committee.
Fundraising efforts commenced in 2015, during which the Pulaski County Preservation Organization acquired nine neon signs and raised more than $12,000.
In October 2020, the City of Saint Robert took over development, making the vision a reality.
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Did the Joplin hotel neon sign get saved from its 2012 (?) removal?