The Pontiac-Oakland Museum & Resource Center, open only for a few months in Pontiac, Ill., soon will have the first-ever Pontiac race car on display at the museum. According to a news release today from Pontiac Tourism: The car is the earliest known Pontiac race car, successfully competing for the first time in August 1926, Pontiac's introduction … Continue reading First Pontiac race car will be displayed at Pontiac museum
Category: Museums
Route 66 makes a financial impact on Illinois towns
The Chicago Tribune tonight has posted a remarkable article about how Route 66 has financially impacted the towns along it. (The story's print edition will be on newsstands Saturday.) The report contains eye-popping data: While many small towns across the country are struggling to keep their downtowns afloat, Pontiac and a string of other Illinois … Continue reading Route 66 makes a financial impact on Illinois towns
Short, but sweet
A little news item in the Desert Dispatch of Barstow, Calif., caught my eye: Council approves a 20-year-lease for Route 66 Museum -- The City Council voted unanimously to extend the lease for the Route 66 Museum in the Harvey House for 20 more years. The museum will pay $1 annually for the space. I didn't … Continue reading Short, but sweet
Man plans Route 66 bicycle ride for Litchfield museum
The city manager of Litchfield, Ill., plans a bicycle ride down Route 66 in spring 2012 to raise money for a Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center, according to the Springfield State Journal-Register. Andy Ritchie will use a recumbent bicycle, and will attempt to take on all 2,400 miles of the Mother Road, if … Continue reading Man plans Route 66 bicycle ride for Litchfield museum
City Museum founder dies in industrial accident
Bob Cassilly, founder of the popular City Museum in St. Louis, died in an apparent construction accident Monday on the north side of town, reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The newspaper reported that Cassilly died while operating a bulldozer at the construction site of his Cementland amusement park, formerly the Missouri Portland Cement Co., in north … Continue reading City Museum founder dies in industrial accident
Bill Shea named grand marshal for Route 66 festival parade
I don't know whether this has been reported, but the prominent owner of a gas station museum has been named grand marshal of the cruise at the International Route 66 Mother Road Festival in Springfield, Ill., this weekend. The Springfield State Journal-Register reports today: Bill Shea, owner of Shea’s Gas Station Museum, 2075 Peoria Road, will be … Continue reading Bill Shea named grand marshal for Route 66 festival parade
Notes from the road
I've got a few short items that I need to pass along. One is that the 100th Meridian Museum in Erick, Okla., received a new paint job a few weeks ago. The museum can be seen pre-face-lift here. Locals told us it was repainted by Jimmy Webb -- a local painter, not the famous songwriter who … Continue reading Notes from the road
Requiem for The Coliseum
A story today by Jason Nevel in the Springfield State Journal-Register all but confirms what we've suspected -- that the historic Coliseum Ballroom in Benld, Ill., won't be rebuilt after a fire destroyed it a month ago. The story instead serves as a sort of requiem for the former music venue, which opened in 1924 … Continue reading Requiem for The Coliseum
Pinto Bean Museum opens soon in Edgewood
The Historic Pinto Bean Museum opens next weekend during the annual Harvest Festival inside the Wildlife West Nature Park complex just off Route 66 in Edgewood, N.M. The museum was funded in part by a grant from the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area. The Harvest Festival weekend starts the evening of Friday, Aug. 26. Roger Alink, … Continue reading Pinto Bean Museum opens soon in Edgewood
KUAF’s Route 66 stories, all in one place
KUAF-FM, a National Public Radio affiliate based at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, posted daily reports from Route 66 in Missouri, Oklahoma and Kansas this week. Here's the complete set of broadcasts, which you can hear at the link: Monday, a report from Vintage Iron Museum in Miami, Okla. Tuesday, a report from the … Continue reading KUAF’s Route 66 stories, all in one place