Route66 Illinois - NOSTALGIA

13 June 2013: Day 30 of 43 – Wilmington, Pontiac, Atlanta, Springfield ILLINOIS. 

Route66: Day 1 of 13. 

Overnight in Springfield ILLINOIS. 

Period 348km, Route66: 323 for 323km, Total 11,634km. 

According to a lady named “Rose” running the “Route 66 Hall of Fame” in Pontiac ILLINOIS, Route 66 is all about “Nostalgia”. That’s what makes it special. That’s what makes it great. The town of Pontiac may be small and only 98 miles (158km) south east of Chicago but it is the most complete and rich account of the Route 66 saga. The folks here say that as you travel farther away from Chicago and closer to Los Angeles over the much debated 2,448 miles (3,940 km) of Route 66 glory, the less people are interested… so this means that Illinois is a BIG fan and California a much smaller fan of the famous Route 66.

The original Route 66 was also known as the “Will Rogers Highway” and colloquially known as “the Main Street of America” or the “Mother Road” (from the movie “The Grapes of Wrath”). Today, “Historical Route 66” is not one road. It started as one long road back in 1926 made entirely of red bricks or pavers but was quickly upgraded and then replaced by other roads and fragmented into many numbered roads. Over the years, highways and freeways were then built mostly next to (and in many cases on top of) the original Route 66 or its upgraded equivalents thereby severely fragmenting it.

Route 66 as an official single highway was deregistered in 1985. Nowadays Route 66 is several roads guided by special small brown or blue signs bearing the classic emblem of Route 66 – once you are on a Route 66 road then you simply follow the signs. It is not always that easy since people take the signs for souvenirs and you can easily get lost. I had several stop gap measures. The main one was a 40 page internet download of the exact roads making up Route 66 with detailed instructions on how to travel from one road to the next. The second stop gap was my trusty atlas and the third my mouth – I would simply stop at gas stations or knock on people’s homes to double-check if the road we were on was still a Route 66 road since there are many homes along Route 66.

Our first Route 66 day took us 348km from downtown Chicago to Springfield, the Capital of Illinois and home town and resting place to Abraham Lincoln. About 90% of the Route 66 roads in this segment were not buried under the current highways/freeways. About 40% actually retained their original Route 66 name – all the others go by various numbers since they were upgraded. The other terrific thing about traveling Route 66 is all the small townships that you pass. Some are ghost towns – relics of the past still bearing original signs 

and rusted cars and buildings from the 1950s, left there by the Route 66 Historical Society to engender that nostalgia that characterises this route. Others are alive and well, sporting original shop fitouts and even staff uniforms. Our first stop, Wilmington ILLINOIS was a good example of a ghost town. At its centre was a closed down café surrounded by car spots that were served by outdoor attendants – the first drive up dining experience of its time. It was themed as a space launching pad and called “The Launching Pad Drive In”, complete a 28ft fibreglass spaceman called the “Gemini Giant” which is still there and a popular photo stop.

Our second stop was Pontiac ILLINOIS, a fine example of a working town but preserving 50s fitout. It contains the famous “Route 66 Hall of Fame” with tons of memorabilia and headquarters of the Route 66 Historical Society. 72 yr old Rose told us all about it and walked us through the museum. Route 66 roads are now classified as a national heritage monument meaning you cannot destroy them but the upkeep is still with the county that they pass through – there is no special federal funding to maintain them.
Rose also showed us a genuine section of the original road set up outside at the rear of the museum with the original red bricks. 
Our third stop was Atlanta ILLINOIS where we stopped at the famous “Palms Grill Café”, a working original from the 50s serving home cooked sweet pies. Inside it is a time machine. Stools and benches. Original juke box. Original coke dispensing machine. Ladies serving coffee in original replica uniforms complete with hats. The pies were delicious – Gooseberry, Strawberry, Raspberry, Apple & Cinnamon and the list goes on. Opposite the café is “Tall Paul”, another 30ft fibreglass statue of Paul Bunyan clutching a hot dog. 

Paul is a fictional lumberjack figure in North American folklore and tradition. Finally we arrived in Springfield ILLINOIS which is the place where Route 66 was officially “born” on 30 April 1926. We headed to Oak Ridge Cemetery, 7 miles (11km) outside Springfield to visit the Tomb of Abraham Lincoln. It was extremely impressive. You walk into a large mausoleum and through a number of internal marble passages until you arrive in a central darkened room with a large red granite sarcophagus surrounded by all the flags of the states that Lincoln was governor of before becoming President and at the end, a flag of the Seal of the President of the United States of the time since he died as a sitting President. Lincoln’s remains are not in the sarcophagus but behind it and 10 feet underground in a vault to prevent theft. Opposite the sarcophagus in the world lie the remains of his wife Mary Todd Lincoln (1818-1882, 63yrs) and 3 of his 4 children: Edward (3yrs), William (11yrs) and Thomas (18yrs).

Tragically these kids died of diseases that can be cured today. Only the eldest son, Robert, lived to 83 but is buried in Arlington Cemetery in Washington at the request of his wife since he was an accomplished soldier and lawyer and she did not want his accomplishments to be eclipsed by his famous father. We also visited the 12 room, two storey, home of the Lincoln’s, about 4 miles from the centre of Springfield. Abraham lived here from 1844 until he became President in 1861 and practiced law in Springfield.

Even though Lincoln was born in a tiny log cabin near Hodgenville Kentucky, he always considered Springfield as his home town. Springfield itself is a compact town and like most capitals has an impressive Capital Building and Corinthian column government buildings all around. On reflection, our first day on Route 66 was a jammed packed day and very satisfying as we felt that we were in the groove of this nostalgic experience that is Route 66!!!