The honors keep coming for the city of Joliet, Ill., and its Route 66 promotion efforts. According to the Joliet Herald-News, the Publicity Club of Chicago gave a Gold Trumpet award. The award recognizes the Joliet Visitors Bureau's 2007 Joliet Kicks-Off on Route 66 Event and celebration for creative planning and implementation of a special … Continue reading Another honor for Joliet
Category: Towns
Miami seeing spike in hotel rooms
The town of Miami, Okla., has made ambitious (and welcome) plans to play up its Route 66 connection in recent months. If all those additional Route 66 tourists show up, they'll need a place to stay. Miami has that covered, too -- the number of hotel rooms in the city are projected to nearly double … Continue reading Miami seeing spike in hotel rooms
Berdoo Bikes festival will return
The first Berdoo Bikes & Blues Rendezvous in San Bernardino, Calif., was declared a success, and will return next year, organizers told the San Bernardino County Sun. it was estimated optimistically that it would draw 3,000 registered motorcycles and 12,000 paying spectators. The actual number was 1,500 bikes and 7,000 spectators. Despite the shortfall, organizers … Continue reading Berdoo Bikes festival will return
Design proposed for downtown Miami
The Miami (Okla.) News-Herald reported that landscape architecture students have made their recommendations "Miami Beautiful" -- a revamped downtown area. The students clearly took the "Miami Beautiful" name from the historic Coleman Theatre Beautiful in downtown. According to the project material, the concept features Main Street as “center stage,” while the parking lots and alleys … Continue reading Design proposed for downtown Miami
Rail and road attractions
The Victorville (Calif.) Daily Press published a feature called Sunday Drive, for folks who want explore the high desert without shelling out a lot for gasoline. This one focuses a lot on the Harvey House in Barstow (which houses the Barstow Route 66 Mother Road Museum) and another restored railroad station in the settlement of … Continue reading Rail and road attractions
Frigid weather suppresses crowds at Red Carpet event
A report by the Morris (Ill.) Daily Herald indicates that attendance at the second annual Illinois Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival was hurt by cold weather on Saturday, but it rebounded somewhat when the temperatures improved on Sunday. And there's sentiment to push the festival deeper into the summer months: Several community members said … Continue reading Frigid weather suppresses crowds at Red Carpet event
A visit to the Elk City museum
Here's two videos of a family's visit to the National Route 66 Museum in Elk City, Okla. Legend has it that the museum was started because Elk City was miffed that a rival town, Clinton, landed the internationally famous Oklahoma Route 66 Museum. Clinton still has the best overall Route 66 museum. Elk City's is … Continue reading A visit to the Elk City museum
Rolling out the red carpet
Tomorrow and Sunday is the Illinois Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor Festival, which is a 90-mile-long celebration hosted by a dozen or so small towns along the Mother Road. Here is a preview by the Morris (Ill.) Daily Herald. It's a fairly lengthy story, but it has to be because there's so much going on.
In praise of a public official …
Bill Farnham, a commissioner for the Pulaski County, Mo., board, appears to be doing his darnedest to repair the deteriorating Devil's Elbow Bridge in the Route 66 settlement of Devil's Elbow. From the Waynesville Daily Guide: Pulaski County Commissioner Bill Farnham has made restoration of the Devil’s Elbow Bridge on the original path of Route … Continue reading In praise of a public official …
Atlanta buying decorative lampposts
The beautification of Route 66 through Atlanta, Ill., continues. The Bloomington Pantagraph reports that the town has bought at least six decorative lampposts and may buy up to 10 if enough locals sponsor them. The lampposts will be installed on the alignment of Arch Street, aka Route 66, through downtown. Sponsorships to help the town … Continue reading Atlanta buying decorative lampposts