Glacial Deposits.indd - Department of Geography - Geology - Illinois ...

ROUTE 66: DOWN THROUGH THE YEARS
By Anthony D’Anza
M
y first recollection of United States Highway (Route) 66 goes back to my college days
at Illinois State Normal; that is what they called it back ‘62. I traveled from Bellwood (a
Chicago suburb) to school several times every year of college, about 120 miles. There
were always important reference points as we drove along to let us know how far we
had gone and how long it would take to the next point, points like the Des Plaines River and
Coal City with its earth mounds shaped like Diamondhead in Hawaii. Route 66 would take us to
Joliet and then through towns such as Dwight, Odell, Pontiac, Chenoa, Lexington, Towanda,
and finally into Normal. Dwight had the Coffee House, which was about halfway to Normal or an
hour away. Odell had a gas station and a place where tires were fixed as an old German
shorthair dog watched. Pontiac had the prison and the Log Cabin Café, famous for pancakes.
Chenoa was the crossroads of 66 and Route 24, and had signs for Meramec Caverns in
Missouri. The endless rows of corn were prominent as you reached and saw the grain towers at
Lexington. Then Towanda always had state police hovering for speeders.
Sometimes we would drive down the even older version of Route 66, to see towns like Gardner,
Braidwood, Wilmington, and Godley. Many of these towns had some old buildings with ads and
signs along the way, like the Burma Shave signs. Gardner had the Riviera roadhouse.
Wilmington had the Launching Pad, a restaurant with a big tall Gemini Giant. Braidwood had the
Polka-a-Dot Drive In and statues of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and Betty Boop.
Route 66 had some old parts and newer parts, as the highway system was being transformed to
the Interstate System. In the 1950s, the Interstate system was promoted and authorized by
President Eisenhower. Much of the country became a crisscross of new highways to allow
better movement of goods from coast to coast and north to south.
I have made the trip west a half dozen times on Route 66 past St. Louis. Each time there were
side trips that we took. Sometimes the destination was for a purpose; sometimes it was for
adventure. In most cases, it was for the interest of the highway and what was along the way as
we traveled west. This reflective essay is about my long-running and affectionate affair with 66.
I will begin at the original starting point, Lou Mitchell’s restaurant in Chicago. At a recent
seminar at the Oak Park Library, I learned that many people started at this point, though
Buckingham Fountain is for some the traditional starting point as it is the farthest point east.
Dining at Lou Mitchell’s is still a quaint experience, with its 1950s styles dining area, not much
room, and greasy food.
Traveling south and west down Ogden Avenue you come to the Castle Car Wash. According to
brochure, it was built by Al Capone. It was just one of the many attractions along the route.
Down the road is Castle Buick where I bought my first Buick, a great vehicle for cruising the
Route.
In Countryside was the Wishing Well Motel, where many of the big bands would stay when they
came in town to play, usually at the Willowbrook Ballroom, on Archer Avenue, in Willow Springs.
Also in that area was the Chicken Basket, famous for its cuisine of chicken, fries, coleslaw, and
a drink since the 1930s.
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