The city of Springfield, Illinois, seems more likely to implement at tax-increment financing district on its declining north side -- which features a prominent alignment of Route 66 -- after a hearing on the matter last week. TIF districts are where taxes from rising property-tax values are used to pay part of renovation costs or infrastructure improvements. … Continue reading Springfield’s north side inches closer to TIF district
Category: Businesses
Cardinal Route 66 Memorial Park in Webb City dedicated
Dozens of residents gathered Thursday to dedicate the new Cardinal Route 66 Memorial Park on the east edge of Webb City, Missouri. The park sits on a formerly grubby triangle of land near Cardinal Scale Manufacturing Co., which was a major driver of the project, including a $25,000 donation from the company's president. The park … Continue reading Cardinal Route 66 Memorial Park in Webb City dedicated
Fire damages Redmon’s Candy Factory
A fire Tuesday believed caused by a cigarette damaged Redmon's Candy Factory in Phillipsburg, Missouri, but the business reopened less than 24 hours later. The building sustained fire, smoke and water damage. A woman answering the phone at Redmon's said the popular roadside stop reopened about noon Wednesday. The cleanup after the fire apparently went well. The … Continue reading Fire damages Redmon’s Candy Factory
Plan would demolish Oklahoma City’s Classen Circle
A chain restaurant submitted plans to the city of Oklahoma City to tear down all the buildings in Classen Circle, which includes Classen Grill and other historic businesses. OKCTalk.com broke the news Wednesday. Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy Stores, a popular chain in Oklahoma, wants to build a store there. They have filed to rezone .48 … Continue reading Plan would demolish Oklahoma City’s Classen Circle
Fanning 66 Outpost soon will reopen
The closed Fanning 66 Outpost, best known for the formerly World's Largest Rocker on its premises, will reopen later the summer after a local businessman bought it. Ryan Thompson, owner of Route 66 Mercantile in nearby Cuba, Missouri, closed on the purchase of the property this week. Route 66 Mercantile is part of the former … Continue reading Fanning 66 Outpost soon will reopen
More about the reopening of Wrinks Market in Lebanon
KY3 in Springfield, Missouri, recently produced a story about the reopening of the long-closed Wrinks Market along Route 66 in Lebanon, Missouri. The general store closed in 2005 after the death of its founder, Glenn "Wrink" Wrinkle, at age 83. His son, Terry, reopened it for about two years in 2007, but it shuttered again … Continue reading More about the reopening of Wrinks Market in Lebanon
More 1990s videos from a Route 66 journey in 1959 Cadillac
Anthony Reichardt has uploaded more videos from when he traveled Route 66 during the early and mid-1990s in a 1959 Cadillac. Reichardt's YouTube channel for the videos is here. The clips are notable for historical reasons, as many of the places he visited have vanished or changed drastically. The first video is when Reichardt and a … Continue reading More 1990s videos from a Route 66 journey in 1959 Cadillac
Route 66 has spawned many “new” places
A reader over the weekend asked me what are some of the "new" businesses or attractions on Route 66 in the past 10 years or so. Naturally, this sort of question sent me down a rabbit hole of research for hours. I set the "new" criteria as the post-"Cars" era -- since the 2006 release … Continue reading Route 66 has spawned many “new” places
Business owners say ART work will hurt Route 66 festival
Businesses along the Nob Hill sector in Albuquerque say next month's Route 66 Summerfest will be hampered by ongoing Albuquerque Rapid Transit construction. In a featured guest column signed by 16 other business owners in the Albuquerque Journal, Stone Mountain Bead Gallery owner Robert Steinberg said a recent article about how crews will be finished with … Continue reading Business owners say ART work will hurt Route 66 festival
‘Blight’ designation may boost Springfield’s Kearney Street
It sounds counter-intuitive, but the city of Springfield, Missouri, is considering declaring Kearney Street blighted so it can improve it in the future. Kearney remains a prominent Route 66 alignment once known as a car-cruising corridor during the 1970s and '80s, until city fathers cracked down on it. Since then, Kearney has declined into a … Continue reading ‘Blight’ designation may boost Springfield’s Kearney Street