The co-owner of Route 66 Wedding Chapel, Mother Road Old Time Photos and Christmas Shop of Tucumcari in Tucumcari, New Mexico, announced Monday those shops closed and possibly will move to Tennessee because of health issues and family obligations. The three businesses were housed in one storefront across the street from the historic Blue Swallow … Continue reading Route 66 Wedding Chapel, two related businesses close
Category: Businesses
Spivey Building in East St. Louis may be doomed
Residents are running out of patience with the historic but long-abandoned Spivey Building of East St. Louis -- the tallest skyscraper in the metro-east -- and it seems demolition will come sooner than later. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch filed a report last week about failed attempts to rehabilitate the 12-story skyscraper and how bricks and … Continue reading Spivey Building in East St. Louis may be doomed
The man behind many of Tucumcari’s murals
The Route 66 town of Tucumcari, New Mexico, boasts so much public artwork, it's proclaimed itself the "City of Murals" in one of its \brochures. What many don't realize is one man -- Doug Quarles -- was responsible for creating about 85 percent of those murals. And he will create more murals in Tucumcari in … Continue reading The man behind many of Tucumcari’s murals
Route 66 Motorheads bar offered sales-tax rebate for being annexed
Route 66 Motorheads Bar, Grill and Museum may receive up to a $25,000 sales-tax rebate in exchange for being annexed into the city of Springfield, Illinois. The bar part of the business, which opened Friday, will open its restaurant next month. Route 66 Motorheads sits at 600 Toronto Road and would use the rebate money to … Continue reading Route 66 Motorheads bar offered sales-tax rebate for being annexed
State aims to minimize effect of closing I-40 exit at Seligman
The Arizona Department of Transportation today is closing an exit from Interstate 40 on the west side of Seligman for 10 months to repair three old bridges. However, the agency is going out of its way to tell travelers of another nearby I-40 exit to Seligman and its historic stretch of Route 66. According to … Continue reading State aims to minimize effect of closing I-40 exit at Seligman
Inspector general’s report criticizes ART project
Albuquerque's inspector general on Thursday issued a scathing report about the troubled Albuquerque Rapid Transit project along nine miles of the city's Route 66 corridor. The report, in effect, repudiates former mayor Richard Berry, who championed the project and shepherded ART through a divided city council. Berry said ART, which caused 18 months of construction … Continue reading Inspector general’s report criticizes ART project
Coffee shop in St. Louis uses 70-year-old auto-repair shop
Blueprint Coffee this month is opening a second St. Louis site in a 1940s-era auto-repair shop not far from the Route 66 landmarks Ted Drewes Frozen Custard and Donut Drive-In. Blueprint Coffee opened in 2013 in the Delmar Loop area of west St. Louis. The second place, opening in June, sits at 4206 Watson Road … Continue reading Coffee shop in St. Louis uses 70-year-old auto-repair shop
Galena to redevelop more of its downtown
The city of Galena, Kansas, soon will begin a redevelopment of the rest of its downtown -- which includes Route 66 -- after a similar project about six years ago helped revitalize the area. KSNF-TV filed this report about the project: Most of the work will be installing new sidewalks and street lights. The station … Continue reading Galena to redevelop more of its downtown
Painted Desert Trading Post, John’s Modern Cabins get some TLC
The ruins of two Route 66 landmarks -- the Painted Desert Trading Post in Arizona and John's Modern Cabins in Missouri -- received a bit of a new lease on life when volunteers helped stabilize the long-abandoned structures. Several members of the Route 66 Co-op, which purchased the Painted Desert Trading Post a few weeks … Continue reading Painted Desert Trading Post, John’s Modern Cabins get some TLC
Grand Canyon Caverns transformed into multitiered business
Grand Canyon Caverns has become an example of a classic Route 66 business that not only has survived, but thrived amid an expansion of its offerings in the last 15-plus years. Over the Memorial Day weekend, the complex west of Seligman, Arizona, introduced scenic helicopter flights, now offers river-rafting tours and finished a modernization of bathrooms … Continue reading Grand Canyon Caverns transformed into multitiered business