Time Out Chicago has produced a list of the 24 best neon signs in Chicagoland, and one Route 66 restaurant made the list.
Even better, the article includes 44 photos of noteworthy neon signs in the Windy City.
The Mother Road business that made the list was Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket in Willowbrook:
The Chicken Basket opened in 1938 in a gas station on now-defunct Route 66, and the sign went up in 1946. When then-well-known hotel manager and Chicago Convention Bureau executive director Dell Rhea bought it in 1963, he added his name to the marquee. It was restored in the ’90s to its original colors, which had faded, and is currently being repainted to match.
I didn’t know the sign was being repainted. Bonus.
I’m a bit surprised Lou Mitchell’s didn’t make the cut. But, then again, the other neon signs listed are great. No complaints.