Route 66 from Chicago to St. Louis

We began the Route 66 road trip in Davenport, Iowa and drove to the starting point of Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois.

There we visited the Buckingham Fountain before heading out along the Route 66 path.

I understand that there is a great light show at the fountain in the evening.

The next stop was the Castle Car Wash (not in service). There was no parking available and the Castle Car Wash building was much smaller than we anticipated.

There are a couple of chicken restaurants that are recommend in the Chicago area. The Dell Rheas Chicken Basket in Willowbrook, Illinois, is noted for its great chicken dinners. The White Fence Farm in Romeoville, Illinois, is also noted for its chicken dinners and was also supposed to have an antique car museum. We decided to eat at the Dell Rheas Chicken Basket since it was about lunch time anyways.

The Chicken Basket was established in 1946 and has been in continuous operation since then.

At one time had ice skaters on the roof to attract customers.

We opted for the buffet which was delicious.

The restaurant is decorated with (what else?) chickens!

Their salt and peppers shakers carried the Route 66 theme.

We next went to the White Fence Farm restaurant hoping to see the Antique Car Museum.

Unfortunately, the restaurant does not open until 4:00 pm and there was no antique auto museum in the area. Good thing we ate at Dell Rheas!

Next on the agenda was the Joliet Historical Museum in Joliet, Illinois. On the way there we saw a mural for a Chevy dealership.

The museum is well marked and well worth the trip.

There were a lot of displays giving suggestions of where to visit.

They had a movie about Route 66 and unique seating.

Their map went from CA to IL, but we simply chose to read it backwards.

That was the end of the first day. The next day started with a trip to The Launching Pad Drive In restaurant located in Wilmington, Illinois. The restaurant is closed; however, they have a large Gemini Giant outside holding a rocket.

The inside of the restaurant looks pretty good and it is in a nice neighborhood. Maybe we should buy it!

The next stop was the Polk-A-Dot Drive In located in Braidwood, Illinois. It was closed when we got there; however, it looks like it is still in business.

They had some interesting characters positioned on the outside of the restaurant. I am not talking about the two in the middle.

There were a couple more on the opposite side of the restaurant.

And one out by the road.

The stop on the trip is the Two Cell Jailhouse in Gardner, Illinois.

What? No cable TV?

Next to the Two Cell Jailhouse was a relocated streetcar diner.

A view inside.

The next item on the list was the Ambler Texaco Station in Dwight, Illinois.

Apparently the garage is home to an antique Ford.

Surprisingly, outside of the antique gas station is an electric vehicle charging station.

Across the intersection is the Old Route 66 Family Restaurant,

with a nice mural on the outside.

Clearly they are still in business.

The next stop was supposed to be the Stone Railroad Depot and Historical Society Building in Dwight, Illinois. However, the historical museum is only open alternating Saturdays.

We were able to look at a bank designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

We also saw the Fox Development Center,

with some interesting stained glass windows.

Next we found an old Mobile service station in Odell, Illinois,

with an antique car parked outside while on our way to...

. . . the Standard Oil Service Station in Odell, Illinois.

This service station had lots of goodies inside.

By now it was lunch time again, so we stopped at the Old Log Cabin Restaurant in Pontiac, Illinois.

Then a quick photo op at the Jones House in Pontiac, Illinois.

The last stop of the day is the Illinois Route 66 Museum in Pontiac. Outside of the museum were some pedal cars that had been decorated.

Inside of the museum were a lot of items relating to Route 66.

That wrapped up day two of the trip. Day three started with a trip to Atlanta, Illinois to view the Paul Bunyon Hotdog Man.

Then we traveled to Lincoln, Illinois to see the Lincoln Museum located on Lincoln College. Wow, a lot of Lincolns there. It was well worth the one hour, fifteen minutes that it took to view the automated biography presentation as it was very well done.

Then it was on to the Williamsville, Illinois Historical Museum. Unfortunately, the museum was closed for renovation. A librarian at the nearby library indicated that the Historical Museum has little to offer regarding Route 66. There was, however, a monument made from the original Route 66 pavement outside of the museum.

We were also disappointed at the Die Cast Auto Sales just down the road (Old Route 66) as it was also closed.

Finally, we tried to visit the Dream Car Museum in Williamsville, Illinois, only to find that it had closed years ago. A salesperson at the nearby antique store indicated that all of the antique cars were sold with one of the report bidders being Jay Leno.

Our next stop was Judge David Davis Home is Springfield, Illinois. The tour was very informative about the life of the affluent during early days of Springfield, Illinois.

We also walked by the Lincoln home and made a quick stop in the Lincoln visitor center in Springfield. We tried to locate a 30 foot statue of Lincoln in Springfield; however, we were not able to find it. So as a consolation prize, we stopped at the Cozy Dog Drive In located in Springfield.