Aldermen for the City of Eureka, Mo., passed a resolution on Tuesday urging the repair or replacement of the Meramec River Route 66 Bridge at Route 66 State Park, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Missouri Department of Transportation closed the historic but deteriorating bridge in late 2009 because of safety concerns. Park visitors … Continue reading Aldermen urge saving or replacement of bridge
Category: Preservation
Pay a visit to Waldmire’s VW
If you miss seeing the late Bob Waldmire's Volkswagen minibus, you'll have a chance to pay it a visit this weekend at the International Route 66 Mother Road Festival in Springfield, Ill. According to the Springfield State Journal-Register: The 1972 Volkswagen bus has been through three engines, approximately 300,000 miles and one unique owner. The … Continue reading Pay a visit to Waldmire’s VW
Webb City readies new tourism center
The new Route 66 Center in downtown Webb City, Mo., isn't set to open until Oct. 1, but it's already received visitors, reported the Joplin Globe. It even had its first official visitors this week — tourists from London who were traveling the famous highway from Los Angeles to Chicago, said Chuck Surface, director of … Continue reading Webb City readies new tourism center
Glimmer of hope over Route 66 bridge
St. Louis Route 66 enthusiast Joe Sonderman said he felt considerably more optimistic about the fate of the deteriorating Meramec River-Route 66 Bridge near Eureka, Mo., after a public hearing Wednesday with Missouri Department of Transportation officials and Route 66 stakeholders. Sonderman said on his Facebook account later that night: I have to say after … Continue reading Glimmer of hope over Route 66 bridge
Arcadia Round Barn awarded a grant
The Round Barn on Route 66 in Arcadia, Okla., was awarded a $2,500 grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, according to a news release today. The seed grant funds will be used to develop a preservation plan for the historical Round Barn. This report contains data, historical facts, photographs, drawings, structure assessment, video, … Continue reading Arcadia Round Barn awarded a grant
Agency will honor restoration of two Illinois Route 66 landmarks
The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program soon will honor groups' work to two historic landmarks along Route 66 in Illinois, according to news releases from the agency. The landmarks are Soulsby Station in Mount Olive and Sprague's Super Service station in Normal. The ceremony for Soulsby Station Society will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. … Continue reading Agency will honor restoration of two Illinois Route 66 landmarks
Observations from a preservation project
Here are a few random thoughts about the sign preservation project that volunteers with the Oklahoma Route 66 Association completed this past weekend at the Lincoln Motel in Chandler, Okla.: 1. Don't use household latex paint on an outdoors sign. This advice may seem elementary, but it became apparent during prepping that the Lincoln Motel's … Continue reading Observations from a preservation project
Missouri holds new meeting for Route 66 bridge
(Note: see time correction below) Norma Bolin, who's best-known for her "Route 66 St. Louis Cookbook" and the recently released "Route 66 St. Louis," dropped me a note over the weekend to let me know that the Missouri Department of Transportation made a last-minute change on a public meeting regarding the Route 66 bridge at … Continue reading Missouri holds new meeting for Route 66 bridge
Historic sign gets a partial face-lift
The sign at the historic Lincoln Motel in Chandler, Okla., received half a face-lift Saturday from Oklahoma Route 66 Association volunteers. I say "half," because we only had time to scrape and repaint the sign's west side. Volunteers are going to finish the sign's east side tomorrow, starting at 8 a.m. until it's done sometime … Continue reading Historic sign gets a partial face-lift
Bringing back the Illinois prairie
I didn't know this existed, but the Montgomery County Natural Area Guardians have been diligently trying to restore an 8-acre tract off of Route 66 north of Litchfield, Ill., into its original prairie state. According to the Journal-News in nearby Hillsboro, Ill., the group will hold an annual free education day at 4 p.m. Thursday … Continue reading Bringing back the Illinois prairie