Illinois Route 66 - Litchfield

LITCHFIELD, ILLINOIS. The Ariston Cafe first appeared in Carlinville, Illinois, in 1924, on old State Route 4, two years before that road was replaced by a newly commissioned Route 66. The cafe was moved to Litchfield, another 66 town, in 1929, and the old road supplied it with a steady flow of customers for many years. The Ariston was founded by Pete Adam, a Greek immigrant, and it has been run by his family ever since. A classic Route 66 story. Oh, and the cafe was packed during my visit - that's something we always like to see when it comes to 66 businesses.

Illinois Route 66 - Litchfield

LITCHFIELD, ILLINOIS. The Sky View Drive-In Theatre opened in 1950 and is still a wonderful place to spend a summer evening, whether with family, girl friend, or trunk full of high school buddies. After years of corporate ownership, it is now a family run business, owned and operated by Norman Paul and his wife Del. Located on the older alignment of 66 through town - just check out all the farm stuff - it is the last surviving drive-in on Route 66 in Illinois.

Illinois Route 66 - Litchfield

LITCHFIELD, ILLINOIS. The older alignment of Route 66 in Litchfield runs by some corn fields. Of course.

ILLINOIS ROUTE 66. The stretch of old 66 through Divernon, Farmersville, Waggoner and Raymond is mostly a straight run, with Interstate 55 and its much heavier traffic on your left. I prefer to concentrate on the right hand scenery, with its long line of telephone poles and Illinois Central railroad tracks, and pretend it's 1940.

Illinois Route 66 - Raymond

"Mary, Loving Mother of Jesus, Protect us on the Highway."

RAYMOND, ILLINOIS. For all the romance we attach to the pre-interstate highways of the 1940's and 50's, they were always a dangerous drive. "Bloody 66" applied to many stretches of the old road. Some warmhearted youngsters from St. Raymond's Parish recognized this, and took it upon themselves to raise the money necessary to erect the Our Lady of the Highway shrine, which has a prayer of safety engraved on the stone. These farm kids had the marble statue shipped all the way from Italy, and a priest helped lay the little cobblestone path. Francis Marten, whose daughter Loretta was part of the group, donated some land out by old 66, and the shrine was dedicated in 1959. It is still there today, and in wonderful condition.

Illinois Route 66 - Farmersville

FARMERSVILLE, ILLINOIS. Art's Motel and Restaurant, founded by a Mr. Art McAnamey on Route 66 in 1937. Art and his family started out with six cabins, a restaurant and a gas station, and old Art made sure he got his name up there on the big sign. In 1960, they converted to the current L-shaped motel complex. It is still a family run business, operated now by Barry Limbachia with his wife and three children. In the old days on Route 66, the motel didn't have to suffer the indignity of a tall interstate sign in the parking lot, right outside someone's door! That's I-55 running on top of the hill.
       The Route 66 Association of Illinois restored Art's rusty old sign back in 2007. Thanks again, folks, for making my Route 66 trip that much more enjoyable.

Illinois Route 66 - Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. The cozy dog, or hot dog on a stick, was perfected by Ed Waldmire in the 1940's, when he and a friend came up with a way to prepare them quickly enough for a fast food restaurant. Officially announced to the world in 1946 at the Lake Springfield Beach House and the Illinois State fair, cozy dogs have been sold in Springfield at this location since 1949. This is the Cozy Drive-In today, on South Sixth Street (old Route 66).

Illinois Route 66 - Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. Having covered most of the Springfield sites in previous trips, I did not stop for a downtown walkabout. From my 2005 trip, this is the Old Statehouse, where Lincoln (and later Barack Obama) announced his candidacy for president.

Illinois Route 66 - Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. Bill Shea stands by the old pumps of his gas station at the time of our first meeting in 2005. Bill was one of the first business owners I met on 66, after he spotted me wandering around all the stuff the station has accumulated since it opened in the 1940's. I took his famous $2 tour and was delighted to be treated to Bill Shea's version of old 66, as he showed me some of the antiques he had on display, recounted his own family history, described what the Springfield area was like when he first opened up for business after WWII, then posed for me in his Marathon Gas overalls out by the pumps. I have to say that Bill was as nice a fellow as I would meet on the old highway, even though he never came even close to a smile during our conversation, lengthy as it was. And that was just fine with me. Small businessmen have no time for such niceties.

Illinois Route 66 - Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. One of the antique Route 66 signs at Shea's Gas Station. Watch out for that Illinois desert!

Illinois Route 66 - Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. The orange Phillips 66 pumps at Shea's Gas Station.

Illinois Route 66 - Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. They say Bill Shea never threw anything away. Here's proof.

Illinois Route 66 - Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. Where to find Bill Shea on a sunny day on Route 66 - in the shade of the old Mahan's Filling Station. Shea's Gas Station Museum has some classic service station architecture, and loads of antiques and memorabilia. And 90 year old Bill Shea himself!

Illinois Route 66 - Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. Bill Shea, 90, is a World War II veteran who saw action on D-Day, was a small business proprietor on Route 66 for over 35 years running his Texaco and Marathon gas stations, and has been a Route 66 ambassador greeting visitors from all over the world at Shea's Gas Station Museum since 1982. And he looks the part, bless him.

Illinois Route 66 - Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS. A neon sign and a modest L shaped motel facility - pretty much what you would have seen had you pulled up to the Pioneer Motel in the 1940's.

Illinois Route 66 - Williamsville

WILLIAMSVILLE, ILLINOIS. Can't decide which alignment of old Route 66 to take? Just slow down and take a leisurely look in both directions - you're not likely to a hear an impatient horn honking behind you on this old fashioned highway. And thanks to the efforts of many 66 enthusiasts in Illinois, you can find your way along the two-lane by following the modern Route 66 road signs. These updated shields stretch from end to end on Illinois 66, and one only occasionally has to refer to maps and directions in this 66 friendly state.

Illinois Route 66 - Williamsville

WILLIAMSVILLE, ILLINOIS. Can't miss this old pump, not painted bright yellow, nor the Route 66 era gas prices. There's no shortage of 66 stuff at the Old Station in Williamsville, but better kick those tires first if you're looking for a used car.

Illinois Route 66 - Broadwell

BROADWELL, ILLINOIS. A road crew was repaving Route 66 just a short distance from the Pig Hip site that morning in Broadwell. The generations come and go, but Route 66 goes on.

Illinois Route 66 - Broadwell

Ernie Edwards in 2005, full of life and with a lifetime of stories of old Route 66

Pig Hip Restaurant Museum in 2005

BROADWELL, ILLINOIS. The Pig-Hip Restaurant was my all time favorite stop on Route 66, and not just for the photo friendly restaurant and sign. The main attraction at the Pig-Hip was the proprietor, Ernie Edwards, who ran the restaurant from 1937 to 1991 before turning the place into a museum. In his late eighties when I met him in 2005, Ernie ambled out of his adjacent house after I had rudely arrived after closing time, opened up, and was nice enough to give me a personal tour. He made sure not to leave out any of his legendary tales of old 66, even after his wife, Frances, stopped by to join us, obviously with dinner waiting on the stove back at the house. I politely took my leave a few minutes later, but made it my business to stop by a couple of times in later years just to say hello to the Edwards', with one final visit in 2008 to see how they were coping after the museum burned to the ground in 2007. I found that Ernie, with his sense of humor intact and the stories still flowing, was now entertaining visitors on his back porch. He was even gracious enough to invite me into his home that day. Sadly, Ernie passed on in the spring of 2012, a huge loss for all of us.

Illinois Route 66 - Broadwell

BROADWELL, ILLINOIS. This early morning on Route 66 was a bit sad for me. All that was left on the site of Ernie Edward's Pig Hip Restaurant Museum, always a special stop on old 66, was a memorial stone and a tattered flag flying at half staff. The famous old restaurant sign was missing, and the grounds were a bit overgrown, even around Ernie's adjacent back porch. I knew that the restaurant had burned to the ground back in 2007, and the stone explained the particulars of that marvelous Route 66 attraction. But it was Ernie that I missed, and the lowered flag in his honor was a reminder that he had passed on just a few months before. I was thinking that it would have been nice to hear Ernie tell the story of how the Pig Hip got its name, just one more time.