Kip Welborn of Friends of the Mother Road reports that the wonderful old Chain of Rocks Motel sign (above), located off Illinois 3 and Chain of Rocks Road (old Route 66) in Granite City, Ill., has been replaced by this snoozer sign (below).
No word on what has happened to the sign. More than likely, it’s headed to the landfill.
That pretty much eliminates any reason for Route 66 travelers to stay at the motel. It was already a dicey proposition to do so, because years of bad management had allowed it to be a hangout for drug dealers and prostitutes.
It is too bad that this sign couldn’t be saved. I’ve really enjoyed looking at it the times I have been through there. It would have looked great at Rich Henry’s place.
Did anyone know about this ahead of time?
I sure didn’t. Kip didn’t, either.
I knew management of that hotel and they did thier best to keep drugs and prostitutes out. We had mostly truck drivers and traveling construction workers. Just for your information. Other motels in area did that but we tried our best not to. Manegement was the same for 30 years. then the hotel sold in mid 90’s or so. That hotel was not what you described.
I grew up at the Chain of Rocks,. My folks bought the place two weeks before I was born. It was a wonderful place to live. It served many families as a vacation destination, in addition to the truckers and other workers. It was sad to see the decline after my folks sold.
Does anyone out there remember a place on Route 66 with the word “Southern” in its name? I just know it was a blue and white motel in southern Illinois that did a lot of their business with truck drivers. A friend of mine remembers staying there in November of 1963. It might have been in Southern View, IL, which is a suburb of Springfield, or it may have been on Chain of Rocks Avenue in Granite City. Please let me know. Thanks.
So is it gone. I lived there a yr n it wasnt bad ad othwrs around.
My dad stayed at Chain of Rocks in the Early 90s when he worked at the refinery. We spent many summer days and spring breaks there too. Played too much pinball in the arcade and I remember there was a Labrador dog at the office, sweet dog.
We grew up in that area, owners were great people. It has deteriorated. The sign is still around just not there.