July 6 2024

What to See on Route 66 – Illinois – Part 3 (Springfield to Granite City)

Jen Illinois, National Parks, Route 66, Travel By State

THE FINAL LEG OF ILLINOIS

Thanks for joining us on this final installment of the Illinois Route 66 series! Illinois had the most things to see of the 5 states we were in so I separated them into 3 posts. I hope you check out the 2 prior to this (part 1 is Chicago to Pontiac and part 2 is Lexington to Williamsville). Let’s get going, we still have a lot to see!

SPRINGFIELD, IL

I visited Springfield a few years ago went to the Lincoln Home National Historic Site and highly recommend it. Its a step back in time as you walk around Abraham Lincoln’s historic neighborhood and home. The 4 block neighborhood has been restored to its 1860 appearance and contains 12 historic structures that date back to Lincoln’s time. There is also the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site located in Oak Ridge Cemetery and is the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary and 3 of their sons. On this trip we skipped the neighborhood and only did a drive by of the Tomb (since we are genealogists, we couldn’t pass up a cemetery visit, even if it was quick!)

There are other great gems to see in Springfield.

The Illinois State Fairgrounds has the Route 66 Experience that is open year round (not just when the fair is running) and is free. This experience has recreated some of the famous icons on Illinois Route 66 in a small, paved walk through exhibit. It’s definitely a must see!
Abe Lincoln Rail Splitter giant is just inside the entrance to the fairgrounds. This statue of a young Abraham Lincoln is 30 feet tall and is holding an axe.
A restored Phillips Service Station and Fulgenzi’s Pizza & Pasta restaurant are just across the street from the fairgrounds. The restaurant opened in 1979 and is known for their pizza and signature thin crust and their family recipe Italian sauce.
Cody Dog Drive-In. The Cozy Dog is a one family owned restaurant dating to 1946 and still serves its famous “corn dog on a stick.”
Route 66 Hotel & Conference Center. This is a uniquely designed complex located on the original Route 66 and was the first Holiday Inn located on Route 66. The hotel features over 100 rooms, a 50s style diner restaurant, a bar, and a comedy club. It also features lots of Route 66 artifacts and memorabilia throughout the hallways and lobby. To be honest, this is where I wanted to stay as it was the first historic hotel with merit I could find on the trip. It does seem as though they are renovating it but it also seems that its hit or miss if you end up in a new room or an old room. Recent reviews left a lot to be desired so I chose not to stay there. I sincerely hope they get this restored nicely and it rises back to its full potential! Reviews of the restaurant are good though, so you should still consider stopping for a bite to eat and checking out the old decor.
Route 66 Motorheads sign is supposed to be the world’s largest Route 66 sign at 32 feet by 32 feet. Its pretty hard to miss!

: Route 66 Experience at Illinois State Fairgrounds

: The beginning of the walking trail

: First stop - Welcome to Illinois

: Inside the Welcome silo - Where the Mother Road Begins

: The path takes you to buildings that have info about each city represented at it

: Overall view of the experience

: In the center are displays and murals

: Another stop on the path

: A shield with all the different 66 shields

: Billboards in the center

: Billboards and vintage sign replicas

: A view of all the replica signs

: Replica sign

: A giant sculpture holding a flag

: Harley Man and Left Field Louie

: The Bunyan Giant and Gemini Giant

: Southeast Spartan and The Guardian

: Lauterbach Man and Frankenmuffler Man

: Uniroyal Gal and Carl's Soda Jerk

: The Brave of Pulaski Rd

: a view of the inside

: Chain of Rocks Info

: End of the trail crosses the bridge

: A last view from the outside

: Giant Route 66 slide in the fairgrounds

: Abe Lincoln Rail Splitter giant

: Phillips Service Station and Felgenzi's Pizza & Pasta

: Lincolns Tomb

: Lincolns Tomb

: Lincolns original internment site

: Lincolns original internment site

: Cozy Dog Drive In

: Route 66 Hotel & Conference Center

: Route 66 Hotel & Conference Center

: Route 66 Motorheads

: Motorheads - largest 66 sign in the world

LITCHFIELD, IL

Maybe my expectations were too high after Springfield, but we went thru several little towns and I didn’t find too much that was photo worthy. I still enjoyed the drive and took in the towns, but I didn’t document anything via a camera. Litchfield was the next town where we found photo worthy opportunities.

Skyview Drive-In. This theater opened in the spring of 1950 and is the only original drive in theater operating along Route 66 in Illinois.
Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center – this is supposed to be a great museum, but it was closed when we went through. The outside does look like it has the typical neon lights that will shine at night. It also had a neat distance sign to various landmarks or destinations on Route 66.
Found a fun billboard mural that your family could put their faces in and have a great photo op.

: Skyview Drive-In Theater

: Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center

: Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center

: Fun photo op mural for the family

MT. OLIVE, IL

The Soulsby Service Station opened in 1926 and operated until 1993 when they could no longer keep up with the interstate a mile away. Its been preserved to its post-WWII era and is on the National Register of Historic Places and is one of the oldest filling stations still standing on Route 66.

: Soulsby Service Station

: Soulsby Service Station

STAUNTON, IL

Henry’s Rabbit Ranch is all about rabbits…apparently both live ones and ones manufactured by Volkswagen. They also have on display some trucks from Campbell’s Route 66 Express, a once famous trucking company.

: Henry's Rabbit Ranch

: At Henry's Rabbit Ranch - Humpin to Please

HAMEL, IL

Weezy’s was originally a home in the late 1930’s but was later converted to a restaurant. Its had many owners and names over the years, but the current owners recognized a large interest in travelers rediscovering Route 66 so they updated it with diner themed decor, vintage signs, and Route 66 memorabilia.

: Hamel mural

: Weezy's Restaurant

MITCHELL, IL

The Luna Cafe was built in 1924 with a cafe on the main floor, gambling operation in the basement, and a house of ill repute upstairs. Well established rumors suggest gangsters frequented this establishment, including the infamous Al Capone. Back in the day, the neon sign’s ruby red cherry was lit to indicate when the “working girls” were available.

: Luna Cafe

GRANITE CITY, IL

Granite City is the last main city on Route 66 in Illinois. The road used to go across the Chain of Rocks bridge but since it is no longer open to automobile traffic you have to backtrack around to the interstate to cross the Mississippi and pick up Route 66 in Missouri.

*Mr Twist Ice Cream parlor has been twisting their house made ice cream for 47 years.

*The Chain of Rocks Bridge was built in 1929 as a St. Louis bypass toll bridge. This cantilever through truss bridge crosses the Mississippi River and is 5,353 feet long, 93 feet high and has a 22 degree bend in the middle. In 1936 Route 66 was rerouted to use the bridge and continued to do so for almost 20 years, until 1955. In 1967, the I-270 bridge was completed a half mile upriver and the Chain of Rocks bridge was closed. The bridge has been renovated for use by bicyclists and pedestrians linking over 300 miles of trails and bike paths on each end of the bridge. The bridges name comes from the rock ledges just under the rivers surface that made this part of the river extremely dangerous to navigate. This “chain of rocks” spans to the north of St. Louis for about 17 miles and narrows the river. The bridge appears in the 1981 movie ‘Escape From New York’ starring Kurt Russell.

: Smurf-vette at the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge

: Crossing the Mississippi Info

: Old Chain of Rocks Bridge Info

: Walking on the bridge

: Lots of fish and turtles (see the red mark?)

: 3 big fish

: Clearing the island and seeing the Mississippi

: The I-270 bridge to the North

: Can see the 22 degree bend in the bridge

: Structures on the downstream side - current is moving fast

: A view of people fishing down below - look at the log on the pier

: Looking downstream

: St. Louis and the Gateway Arch in the distance

: A view from the fishing area

: The log on the fishing platform dwarfs the people

: A pretty scene in the park by the bridge

ON TO MISSOURI

This ends the Illinois portion of Route 66. From here you work your way back to the highway and cross over into St. Louis and pick up Route 66 again over there. I hope y’all enjoyed all we got to capture pictures of! There were many more things we didn’t (or couldn’t) get a photo of so this certainly isn’t an all inclusive list of sights.

We’ll see you on the next post when we explore Missouri!