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: Preservation
A short history of Soulsby Station
Here's a video about Soulsby Service Station, which has sit on a corner of old Route 66 in Mount Olive, Ill., since 1926. https://youtu.be/yP4qtCjhivw According to the description of the video, it was for a class project. It turned out pretty well.
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
Free business advice
BusinessesForSale.com, based in the United Kingdom, posts interviews with entrepreneurs. This one is an interview with Kumar Patel, owner of the Wigwam Motel on Route 66 in Rialto, Calif. https://youtu.be/1rMZ8VcJiQk If I were any business owner, I'd listen more closely to Patel. He and his family turned a laughingstock into one of the best-restored and … Continue reading Free business advice
Molly’s Landing saves part of old Route 66 bridge
A portion of the Bird Creek Bridge, dismantled to make way for a new bridge, has been preserved by the nearby Molly's Landing restaurant in Catoosa, Okla., reported Channel 6 in Tulsa. The owners of Molly's Landing contracted with Manhattan Road and Bridge, along with Oklahoma Department of Transportation, to have the section of the … Continue reading Molly’s Landing saves part of old Route 66 bridge
Lake Overholser Bridge reopens to traffic
The historic Lake Overholser Bridge that once carried Route 66 in western Oklahoma City reopened today after a $4 million repair project, reported News9.com in Oklahoma City. The bridge dates to 1924, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The TV station had a few details about the repairs: The nearly two … Continue reading Lake Overholser Bridge reopens to traffic
Snuffy’s Grill will become a Steak N Egger cafe
Snuffy's 24-Hour Grill, a restaurant in McCook, Ill., and an Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame member, was purchased a few weeks ago and will be converted into the newest member of the small, 24-hour Steak N Egger restaurant group. Snuffy's was put up for sale a few months ago. Steak N Egger bought the … Continue reading Snuffy’s Grill will become a Steak N Egger cafe
Former Firestone station will be reborn
The Bristow Firestone Service Station that dates to 1930 on Route 66 in Bristow, Okla., is being restored and soon will reopen as a body shop. The building once was owned by Bolin Ford Inc., but recently sold to Jack Longacre to expand his body-shop business. Longacre has been diligently restoring the building at 321 … Continue reading Former Firestone station will be reborn
Bolin Ford adds new with the old
Completion remains weeks away, but the rebuilding of Bolin Ford Inc. in Bristow, Okla., is far enough along that I decided to take a tour of the facilities on Saturday before an open house in early December. A fire heavily damaged Bolin Ford in December 2008. The owners could have rebuilt in a mundane way. … Continue reading Bolin Ford adds new with the old
Another new gas-station paint job in Tucumcari
Volunteers in Tucumcari, N.M., have been repainting abandoned gas stations in a classic, old-fashioned style to dress up the Route 66 corridor through town. The latest isn't an abandoned station, but one that has been converted into a smoke shop, across the road from the Lowes grocery store. The smoke shop now looks like a … Continue reading Another new gas-station paint job in Tucumcari