The parks director of Lebanon, Missouri, unveiled a plan to build a $500,000, Route 66-themed park in the city that already has received a $25,000 commitment from the Laclede County Board. However, the parks board balked at the project's price and the fact no one from the Route 66 Committee showed up at the meeting, … Continue reading Lebanon proposes $500,000 Route 66 park
Category: Towns
Route 66 tourism draws Hampton Inn to Pontiac
Pontiac, Illinois, doesn't have a Hampton Inn hotel. However, that soon will change, and much of that is because of the surge in Route 66 tourism in that town. Hampton Inns is building a 79-room hotel near Deerfield Road and Interstate 55, reported the Bloomington Pantagraph. The hotel chain projects it will be open by … Continue reading Route 66 tourism draws Hampton Inn to Pontiac
Reporter wants to track down Phillips 66 cottage stations on OKC area
A reporter for The Oklahoman newspaper in Oklahoma City wants to track down all of the old Phillips 66 cottage-style gas stations in the Oklahoma City metro area. Business writer Brianna Bailey wrote about that quest during a recent column: With their jaunty gabled roofs, chimneys, and arched entryways, there’s something that draws me to … Continue reading Reporter wants to track down Phillips 66 cottage stations on OKC area
Joplin city council OKs architectural study on century-old garage
The city council of Joplin, Missouri, voted 6-3 to approve a $14,000 architectural study on a circa-1920 garage that's envisioned as a Route 66 welcome center, according to the Joplin Globe. The money for the study will come from motel tax money and be used by the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau. The dilapidated garage is … Continue reading Joplin city council OKs architectural study on century-old garage
Cars on the Route owner, Galena mayor embroiled in indictments
The mayor of Galena, Kansas, and six current or former city councilors recently were notified they've been indicted on a felony charge of misuse of public funds in a case that involves one of the town's most prominent Route 66 property owners, according to stories in the Joplin Globe and Cherokee County News-Advocate. Among those … Continue reading Cars on the Route owner, Galena mayor embroiled in indictments
Test your ability to Hit the Road
The folks in Atlanta, Illinois, unveiled a deceptively simple but unusual new attraction in their Route 66 town -- a Hit the Road game modeled after an old strongman contest commonly seen at county fairs many years ago. The Hit the Road game is next to the Bunyon Statue in downtown Atlanta. More details: The … Continue reading Test your ability to Hit the Road
Vandals damage ghost town of Spencer
Vandals damaged portions of the semi-restored ghost town of Spencer, Missouri, on old Route 66 last week, according to a report by KYTV in nearby Springfield. Quentin Stockman is the caretaker for the complex. Spencer lies on a 1928 alignment of Route 66, and the buildings were renovated to look like that era. “That used … Continue reading Vandals damage ghost town of Spencer
Scenes from Rockabilly on the Route
If there's a big Route 66 event, there's a good chance Frank Kocevar, former owner of Historic Seligman Sundries in Seligman, Arizona, will be there. During last weekend's Rockabilly on the Route in Tucumcari, New Mexico, he took his video camera and got plenty of footage at the festival -- and some familiar faces to … Continue reading Scenes from Rockabilly on the Route
Movie being filmed in Tucumcari
A major film, "Comancheria," starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and Ben Foster, is being filmed in and around the Route 66 town of Tucumcari, New Mexico, this week, according to the Quay County Sun newspaper and other accounts. CBS Films is producing. Here are some of the details from Hitfix.com: ... The film tells the … Continue reading Movie being filmed in Tucumcari
Get your hits on Route 66
A story in the State Journal-Register caught my eye -- a groundbreaking ceremony June 6 for a large medical marijuana facility that will be built on old Route 66 north of Lincoln, Illinois. The Cresco Labs facility at Old Route 66 and 1800th Street on the north edge of town is a new thing in … Continue reading Get your hits on Route 66