 U.S. Route 66 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Rogers Highway Main Street of America | ||||
 Route 66 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byIDOT | ||||
| Length | 301 mi (484 km) | |||
| Existed | November 11, 1926 (1926-11-11)–June 25, 1974 (1974-06-25)[1] | |||
| Tourist routes | .svg)  Historic Route 66 | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  US 66 at theMississippi River towardsSt. Louis, MO | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| East end |  US 41 in Chicago | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Illinois | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
U.S. Route 66 (US 66,Route 66) was aUnited States Numbered Highway inIllinois that connectedSt. Louis,Missouri, andChicago,Illinois. The historicRoute 66, known as theMother Road orMain Street of America, took long distance automobile travelers from Chicago toSouthern California. The highway had previously beenIllinois Route 4 (IL 4) and the road has now been largely replaced withInterstate 55 (I-55). Parts of the road still carry traffic and six separate portions of the roadbed have been listed on theNational Register of Historic Places.
When US 66—first known as the Main Street of America and later dubbed the Mother Road by novelistJohn Steinbeck in 1939—was designated on November 11, 1926, the original path used mostly pre-existing roads. It was meant to minimize any needed construction and to get the entire path of the route open to traffic as soon as possible. In fact, because Illinois had already paved most of the roads that would comprise US 66, Illinois was the first of the eight states through which the route ran to have its segment of US 66 completed at a time when much of Route 66 was still a gravel-and-dirt road.[2][3]
In Illinois and theMidwest in general, the construction of US 66 was important to the economies of small, rural towns, which saw a burst of activity when the road finally passed through.[4] However, those communities in Illinois were already profiting from a paved highway that preceded Route 66 by a few years. In 1916, the Federal Aid Post Road Act, known as the Shackleford Bill, passed Congress and appropriated $75 million to be distributed to the states over the next five years. Funding was provided on an ongoing basis, over the period of five years, and the law made the federal government an active partner in road building for the first time.[4] Five roads in Illinois were designated to receive federal money under the legislation; they were: the National Old Trails Road (National Road, present-dayUS 40),Lincoln Highway,Dixie Highway,Sheridan Road from Chicago toWaukegan, and the road from Chicago to East St. Louis, including portions of IL 4, which was the actual predecessor to US 66 in Illinois.[4]
The earliest known Chicago-to-St. Louis road was a former Native American Indian trail and stagecoach road that was renamed the Pontiac Trail in 1915. Route 66 began in Chicago and, once outside the metropolitan Chicago area, traveled down the Pontiac Trail through many cities and towns on its way southwest, includingJoliet,Odell,Bloomington,Lincoln,Springfield,Edwardsville and East St. Louis.[4]
IL 4 coincided with most of the Pontiac Trail and closely paralleled theChicago and Alton Railroad tracks running from Chicago to East St. Louis. The roadbed for IL 4 was prepared in 1922 by teams of horses dragging equipment behind them. Laborers received 40 cents per hour for performing backbreaking labor on the roadbed.[4] In 1923 inBloomington-Normal, concrete was poured along the road's path along much the same route US 66 would take on its original route through the area. By 1924, IL 4 was almost entirely paved between Chicago and St. Louis.[4] Construction on the few remaining parts of US 66 in Illinois began in 1926.
By the 1930s, US 66 extended from Chicago through Springfield to St. Louis; much of the original pavement was still in use by the early 1940s. The dangers of the original pavement were recognized by the nickname "Bloody 66," which reflected the frequently deadly road accidents along the mostly rural route. WhenWorld War II erupted, Route 66—already the heaviest trafficked highway in Illinois—saw an increase in military traffic and importance to defense strategy. The aging road's deterioration was hastened by the increase in military truck traffic. The Defense Highway Act of 1941 provided Illinois with about $400,000 in funding, and by 1942, plans were in place to make much needed road repairs that were also intended in part to make the road safer for traffic.[5]
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EnteringIllinois fromSt. Louis,Missouri, the highway originally crossed theMississippi River at theMcKinley Bridge. This first alignment passed throughVenice andMadison, eventually becomingIL 203 in northeastGranite City. In 1930, theChain of Rocks Bridge was opened onBypass US 66, allowing travelers to circumvent St. Louis. This route met the original Route 66 inMitchell. The Luna Cafe, Bel-Air Drive-In sign, and the Old Greenway Motel can be found along this stretch of road, as well as The Mustang Corral, aFord Mustang shop, just beforeIL 157 on the right hand side eastbound. Route 66 joined IL 157 throughHamel viaEdwardsville.
Congestion at the McKinley Bridge was reduced in 1951 with the construction of theVeterans' Memorial Bridge. Route 66 joinedUS 40, traversingEast St. Louis andFairmont City. Shortly after Fairmont City, Route 66 passedCahokia Mounds, later aUNESCO World Heritage Site. It joined IL 157 on the western end ofCollinsville, later navigating to modern day I-55 viaIL 159. This stretch of Route 66 met the main route in Hamel.
Poplar Street Bridge was opened in 1967 to facilitate I-55,I-64, andI-70. US 66 and US 40 were both simultaneously rerouted over this newer bridge instead of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge.
U.S. Route 66 originally followed IL 4 north of Hamel. This alignment navigated throughStaunton,Sawyerville,Benld,Gillespie, andCarlinville toNilwood. The section of US 66/IL 4 from Nilwood toGirard was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 23, 2002.[6] Route 66 continues along IL 4 north throughVirden,Thayer, toAuburn. A section of IL 4 north ofAuburn and south of Springfield, which was also part of the original span of US 66, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 6, 1998.[6] This is the last brick alignment in Illinois. Route 66 then passed throughChatham, and enteredSpringfield. Breaking off of IL 4, the route passed theIllinois State Capitol and theOld State Capitol.
An alternate route northward from Hamel was opened in 1930. It followed IL 4 for three miles (4.8 km), then branched off to the east, bypassing Staunton. The road moved northeast throughMount Olive past theSoulsby Service Station. The alignment fromLitchfield toMount Olive was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 2001.[6] This segment is a 9.35-mile (15.05 km) stretch that begins northwest of Mount Olive in southeasternMacoupin County and ends about one mile (1.6 km) north of the intersection of US 66 andIL 16 in Litchfield. This alignment passed throughNorth Litchfield,South Litchfield,Cahokia, andMount Olive townships. The terrain through the area is mostly flat. Unlike other sections of Route 66 in Illinois that are listed on the National Register, the segment from Litchfield to Mount Olive does not include anycontributing structures such as bridges or culverts.[7] TheAriston Café in Litchfield is the longest-operating restaurant along the former US 66. TheBelvidere Café, Motel, and Gas Station also provided services to travelers. This alternate alignment continued north pastWaggoner,Farmersville,Divernon,Glenarm, andCotton Hill, and joined the original path in Springfield near the Old Capitol Building.
The increased military traffic along US 66 duringWorld War II and the consequent extreme demands put on the road bed caused parts of the road to be replaced along this stretch during the 1940s. This stretch of US 66 became a four-lane road with two lanes in each direction; the new lanes became the southbound lanes. For 2.15 miles (3.46 km) south of Litchfield, the southbound lanes still carry two-way traffic.[7] A new alignment of Route 66 headed northeast of Hamel throughLivingston. This new section bypassed Mount Olive to the northeast, later running west of the old route through Litchfield before rejoining the original path. Sections of the older alternate route were destroyed during the 1930s whenLake Springfield was created; the fragments of the old route that remain were added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 2009.
From Springfield toGardner, Historic US 66 is now a parallel frontage road for I-55, except forbusiness loops forLincoln and theBloomington-Normal area. US 66 originally continued north through Springfield past theIllinois State Fairgrounds and theLazy A Motel. The route rejoined IL 4 and continued alongsideCarpenter Park; a small section of this route is listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 2002.[6] Route 66 continued north throughSherman andBroadwell, enteringLincoln. From there, the route veered northeast through the towns ofLawndale,Atlanta,McLean,Funk's Grove, andShirley.McLean is home to the famousDixie Travel Plaza, a truck stop that was established as the Dixie Truckers Home in 1928.[8] To the north isFunks Grove, settled by the Funk family in 1824 where pure "maple sirup"[a] is made.
From there, Route 66 entered Bloomington, passing through theCentral Business District and theMcLean County Square. Further north as Bloomington gave way toNormal, the route passedIllinois State Normal University. From Normal, Route 66 continued northeast throughTowanda, where there is now a parkway and bike trail along a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) stretch of the abandoned highway, with exhibits that highlight all eight states through which Route 66 travels. There are also classic "Burma Shave" signs displayed along the trail.[8]
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Route 66 traveled throughLexington andChenoa toPontiac. Passing by theIllinois State Police Office, the route continued northeast throughCayuga andOdell toDwight. A restoredStandard Oil Gasoline Station still stands in Odell, as doesAmbler's Texaco Gas Station in Dwight.
The 18.2-mile (29.3 km) stretch from Cayuga to Chenoa was added to theNational Register of Historic Places on July 23, 2007.[6] This section of US 66 was commissioned in 1926. The road segment travels from the northeast to the southwest and begins in the southeast corner of Odell Township in Livingston County and ends in the northwest corner ofChenoa Township inMcLean County. US 66 passes throughOdell,Esmen,Pontiac,Eppards Point, andPike townships, on its stretch from Cayuga to Chenoa. The road is paralleled on its east by theUnion Pacific Railroad tracks and on its west by I-55.[5] Portions of the northbound and southbound lanes still carry traffic; in spots where one of the sections is still in use the other section is abandoned but still extant.[5]
Along this stretch of highway, there are 14 structures and buildings. Insofar as the National Register andhistoric preservation are concerned, eight of those are considered contributing structures to the listing and six are considered non-contributing. There are also 12 highway bridges found along the segment and a box culvert; six of the bridges are considered contributing to the National Register listing, as is the box culvert. Six of the bridges have been replaced since the historic period, and all of the bridges are constructed fromconcrete. The bridges have various lengths and support structure. The box culvert along the segment of road measures 15 feet (4.6 m) by 6 inches (15 cm) wide and was built as part of the road's foundation. This particular box culvert, like many, usually went unnoticed by travelers along the road.[5] The section of pavement between Pontiac and Cayuga was part of a larger section of the roadway that began north of Cayuga in Gardner. This entire section was built in 1943 after large parts of Route 66 became badly deteriorated during the mid-1940s. The portion of the roadway that extended 27 miles (43 km) south of Pontiac to the newly constructed bypass at the Bloomington-Normal area was constructed during the early 1940s.[5]
The route again split as it enteredGardner. These three alignments reunited at Welco Corners, which is located in present-dayBolingbrook.
The original eastern path of US 66, most of which is currently designated asIL 53, served Gardner,Braceville,Godley, andBraidwood before enteringWilmington. The section of Route 66 from Wilmington toJoliet was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 5, 2006,[6] and travels through mostly agricultural land, although the area also includes theformer Joliet Arsenal. This segment of Route 66 runs 15.9 miles (25.6 km) throughJoliet,Jackson,Wilmington andFlorence Townships inWill County. It begins in Wilmington and ends just short of theI-80 interchange in Joliet.[9]
Several structures along this section are included in a National Register listing. Contributing structures to the listing include one bridge, one overpass and four concrete box culverts. The three-span, continuous steel multibeam bridge, in the northbound lanes, dates to 1950 and features concretebalusters and top rails. The box culverts were built as part of the 1926 road's foundation and range in width from five to nine feet (1.5 to 2.7 m). There are also four non-historic bridges constructed during the 1970s and 1980s along this stretch of US 66.[9]
Currently, IL 53 coincides with Route 66 through Joliet. North of Joliet, the early roadbed was four lanes wide by 1936.[10] It passed by the notoriousStateville Penitentiary, then in unincorporated Joliet but now inCrest Hill ever since that suburb was created. After IL 53 splits to the north inRomeoville, the road is signed only as Historic US 66. The later alignments rejoin this original path at Welco Corners, an early crossroads now part of Bolingbrook that by the 1920s had added a truck stop and other motorists' services.
When this path was bypassed by the redirected US 66 in 1940, it became Alternate US 66, following Chicago Street through the central city on the east bank of theDes Plaines River and Broadway on the west bank. Decades later, even this business route split through the central city into northbound lanes on Scott Street and southbound lanes on Ottawa Street, with the split rejoining on Chicago at Columbia Street before crossing the Ruby Street Bridge to the west bank and onto Broadway, going north toward Crest Hill. All three of these north–south downtown streets offer a number of important historical structures for travelers to visit.
From south to north, these include theBeaux Arts styleJoliet Union Station byJarvis Hunt; the historic Church of St. Anthony, the oldest public building still in use in Joliet; the endangered St. Mary Carmelite Church by Patrick Keely; the Joliet Public Library, designed byDaniel Burnham; the restoredRialto Square Theatre, one of the few surviving movie palaces of the more than 400 designed byRapp & Rapp; the Georgian RevivalLouis Joliet Hotel, transformed into apartments but still an unfinished renovation project; the NeoclassicalOld Joliet Post Office; the Auditorium Building block by G. Julian Barnes, a classic Joliet limestone building; theJoliet Area Historical Museum, which occupies another Julian Barnes building, the former Ottawa Street Methodist Church; the Italianate style Joliet Chamber of Commerce Clubhouse, now the JJC Renaissance Center, and the oldJoliet YMCA across the street, both designed by Burnham Brothers; two Art Deco structures, the Public Service Building on Ottawa and the KSKJ Building on Chicago Street further north; and the magnificent Bedford limestone St. Joseph Church, designed by Burnham protegeWilliam J. Brinkmann and the largest church in the city, whose twin spires could be seen for miles around when Route 66 was new.
There are also at least two pop-culture points of interest. One is just north of downtown Joliet, not far from the city center campus ofJoliet Junior College. Sherb Noble opened the firstDairy Queen on June 22, 1940, at 501 N. Chicago Street in Joliet. Although the shop closed and the lastsoft serve ice cream was sold in the early 1950s, the building was designated a local landmark in November 2010.[11] Across the river at the south end of Route 66 Park is the Rich & Creamy ice cream stand on Broadway, easily recognized by the statues of Elwood and Jake Blues, theBlues Brothers, posed on the roof. This classic stand is open for business from mid-spring through late fall, depending on the weather, and is a welcome stop on the tour.
The new western route was opened in 1940 and began in Gardner on the other (west) side of the Southern Pacific railroad tracks, taking over portions ofIL 59 andIL 126.[12][13] Its main purpose was to bypass Joliet. This route also served Braceville, Godley, and Braidwood but then curved north toChannahon,Shorewood, andPlainfield, rejoining the original route at Welco Corners. In Plainfield, this new route overlappedUS 30 (Lincoln Highway) for a short distance. After this road was opened, the original route through Joliet was redesignated as Alternate US 66. Between Gardner and Braceville, a magnificent through-arch bridge carried this alignment of Route 66 over railroad tracks; unfortunately it deteriorated beyond repair and was demolished in 2000. Beyond Braidwood, motorists can follow this 1940 alignment onIL 129, I-55, IL 59, IL 126, and I-55 again.
In 1957, a newfreeway, which is today's I-55, was opened as US 66 between Gardner and Welco Corners, bypassing both Braidwood and Plainfield. Most portions of the 1940 western alignment that were not incorporated into the new freeway reverted to their previous state routes, except for the section from Gardner through Braidwood, which became IL 129.[14] This freeway was originally designated only as US 66 and was then also designated as I-55 in 1960,[15] becoming the first complete section of I-55 in Illinois. It served as mainline US 66 for 19 years, from 1957 to 1976, longer than either of the two previous alignments.
Between 2007 and 2008, the section of I-55 between I-80 and Welco Corners, originally built as the redirected path of US 66 in 1957, was rebuilt and widened to three lanes in each direction to accommodate modern traffic loads.[16] However, between I-80 and Gardner, I-55 today remains mostly as it was as US 66 in 1957. This heritage is evident, with fully mature trees in interchange medians, several 1957-era motels and gas stations still in operation, and several original bridges still in use, such as the Smith Bridge[17] over theDes Plaines River and the nearby Blodgett Road overpass.
From Welco Corners in Bolingbrook toIndian Head Park, I-55 was built on top of much of old US 66. Here, Route 66 passed through what is nowWoodridge,Darien,Willowbrook, andBurr Ridge—none of which were in existence in 1926 when the route was created and did not come into existence as suburbs until the late-1950s through late-1960s. The stretch from Darien northeast through what is now Countryside andHodgkins was then part of a large rural farmland collectively known as Lyonsville, as the eastern end of it was located inLyons Township inCook County. This section of mainline I-55 is today signed as Historic US 66, though inconsistently so, making it difficult for travelers to follow along the original 1926 path; however, a section of the original highway that now serves as the two-way north frontage road in Darien, Willowbrook and Burr Ridge retains the old Route 66 feel. The original path is slightly difficult to follow here, due to swings north around the I-55 interchanges between Lemont Road and County Line Road, but not impossible, and taking the north frontage road leads travelers past several sites of historic interest, including Cass Cemetery and the former Martin B. Madden mansion known as Castle Eden (now aCarmelite priory) in Darien as well as theInternational Harvester experimental fields in Burr Ridge (once known as Harvester, Illinois after the plant located there).
Near the Cass Avenue instersection, Route 66 and I-55 pass by the northern edge of theArgonne National Laboratory campus. A mile or so further east near the IL 83 interchange,Dell Rhea's Chicken Basket in Willowbrook is still a popular stop for motorists on the route, although being cut off from the Interstate did cost it a significant amount of business after I-55 was built and during the 1960s through 1980s. At theIndian Head Park interchange withI-294 (Tri-State Tollway), I-55 separates from US 66 to follow a more southerly route as the Stevenson Expressway while Historic US 66 continues eastward on Joliet Road, passing by the historic Lyonsville Congregational Church at Wolf Road and traversingCountryside, Hodgkins, andMcCook.
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The original path of Route 66 on Joliet Road intersects the overlappingUS 12/US 20/US 45 at LaGrange Road in Countryside before touching the edge of Hodgkins near East Avenue. A brief stretch of Route 66 in McCook between East Avenue and 55th Street west of First Avenue has been permanently damaged by a local quarry and was closed in May 1998, and Historic US 66 detours onto East Avenue north to 55th Street east before intersecting again with Joliet Road. The detour around the quarry is well marked. In McCook, the route passes by the former Snuffy's 24-Hour Grill, now restored and transformed into the Steak N Egger on Route 66.[18][19]
The route continues northeast on Joliet Road through McCook andLyons, then jogs north briefly ontoHarlem Avenue toOgden Avenue inBerwyn, where it meetsUS 34. From Berwyn, Route 66 continues northeast on Ogden Avenue past theBerwyn Route 66 Museum, passing throughCicero before entering Chicago on a diagonal and progressing through the Greater Lawndale area, where it dividesNorth Lawndale fromSouth Lawndale before moving throughDouglass Park, the Tri-Taylor Historic District and theIllinois Medical District on theNear West Side.
Turning due east from Ogden Avenue once north of theI-290 (Eisenhower Expressway), Route 66 moves through theJackson Boulevard Historic District toward theChicago Loop via Jackson Boulevard. After a construction project during the early- to mid-1950s temporarily designated Jackson Boulevard as one-way east, Jackson Boulevard became one way eastbound permanently in 1955; thus, Route 66 from the West Loop through the downtown area was split, with the westbound lanes relocated to Adams Street.[20]
The eastern endpoint of US 66 was always atUS 41. The original 1926 terminus was at Jackson Boulevard andMichigan Avenue, as Michigan Avenue was designated US 41 in 1926.[10] However, when US 41 through most of Chicago was relocated toLake Shore Drive in 1938, Route 66 was extended an additional two blocks east on Jackson Drive throughGrant Park, pastBuckingham Fountain, to end at Lake Shore Drive on the shore ofLake Michigan. This last two-block section on Jackson Drive is two way; consequently, when Jackson was designated a one-way street in 1955, westbound Route 66 made a one-block long jog northbound on Michigan Avenue before continuing west on Adams.[20]
The current "End Historic Illinois U.S. Route 66" markers are located on Jackson (eastbound) and the "Start Historic Illinois U.S. Route 66" markers are on Adams (westbound) at Michigan Avenue, in the Chicago LandmarkHistoric Michigan Boulevard District, in recognition of the original eastern terminus of US 66 at Michigan and Jackson. The historic eastern terminus is marked by the southwest corner of theArt Institute of Chicago and theFountain of the Great Lakes in the Art Institute's South Garden along Michigan Avenue; both the museum and the fountain were already there long before the route's inauguration at that intersection in November 1926 and remain there today.[21]
Distances listed are based on entering Illinois via theVeterans Memorial Bridge and following an alignment throughPlainfield, using the last known non-freeway route where drivable.
| County | Location | mi[22] | km | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Clair | East St. Louis | 0 | 0.0 |     US 40 west /US 50 west /US 66 west –St. Louis | Missouri state line (Veterans Memorial Bridge over theMississippi River) |
 IL 3 (8th Street) | |||||
      US 40 Truck west /US 67 Alt. south (9th Street) toUS 460 –MacArthur Bridge | Western end of US 67 Alt. concurrency | ||||
 IL 15 (State Street) | |||||
 US 50 east (St. Clair Avenue) | Eastern end of US 50 concurrency | ||||
| |  US 67 Alt. north –Granite City | Eastern end of US 67 Alt. concurrency; nowIL 203 north | |||
| Fairmont City |  IL 111 north –Roxana | Western end of IL 111 concurrency | |||
| St. Clair–Madison county line | IL 111 south (Kingshighway) –Washington Park | Eastern end of IL 111 concurrency | |||
| Madison | Collinsville |   City US 40 east (St. Louis Road) /IL 157 south (South Bluff Road) –Collinsville,Centreville | Western end of IL 157 concurrency | ||
| | IL 157 north (North Bluff Road) –Edwardsville | Eastern end of IL 157 concurrency | |||
| Collinsville |  City US 40 west /IL 159 south (Vandalia Street) –Collinsville | Western end of IL 159 concurrency | |||
| Troy Crossing | IL 159 north –Maryville | Eastern end of IL 159 concurrency | |||
| | US 40 east –St. Jacob,Highland | Eastern end of US 40 concurrency; interchange | |||
| |  US 40 Byp. –Maryville,Troy | Interchange; nowIL 162 | |||
| |  IL 143 –Edwardsville,Marine | Interchange | |||
| Hamel |  US 66 Byp. west /IL 140 –Alton,Greenville | Interchange | |||
| |  IL 4 –Staunton,Lebanon | Interchange | |||
| Macoupin | |  IL 138 –Benld,Mount Olive | |||
| Montgomery | | 51 | 82 |  IL 16 –Gillespie,Litchfield,Hillsboro | |
| |  IL 108 west –Carlinville | ||||
| |   IL 48 north /IL 127 south –Raymond,Hillsboro,Decatur,Taylorville | ||||
| Sangamon | Pawnee Junction |  IL 104 –Auburn,Pawnee | Interchange | ||
| |  US 66 Bus. east (6th Street) –Springfield | ||||
| Springfield |  IL 29 (Singer Avenue) –Mason City,Pekin,Taylorville,Pana | ||||
| 96 | 154 |   US 36 /US 54 west (Niccolls Road) –Jacksonville,Decatur | Western end of US 54 concurrency | ||
 IL 125 (Clear Lake Avenue) –Petersburg | |||||
| | US 54 east (Sangamon Avenue) –Clinton | Eastern end of US 54 concurrency | |||
| | US 66 Bus. west (Peoria Road) | ||||
| |  IL 124 west (Old Tipton School Road) –Andrew,Athens | ||||
| Logan | Lincoln |   IL 10 (Woodlawn Road) /IL 121 south –Mason City,Lincoln,Clinton,Decatur | Western end of IL 121 concurrency | ||
| IL 121 north –Hartsburg | Eastern end of IL 121 concurrency | ||||
| McLean | |  US 136 –McLean,Heyworth | Interchange | ||
| |  US 51 /US 66 Bus. east (Main Street) –Bloomington,Decatur | Interchange | |||
| Bloomington |  US 150 (Morrissey Drive) –Champaign | ||||
| |  IL 9 (Empire Street) –Pekin,Gibson City | ||||
| | US 66 Bus. west –Normal | Interchange | |||
| |  US 24 –El Paso,Chenoa,Fairbury | ||||
| Livingston | |  IL 116 –Flanagan,Pontiac | |||
| |  IL 23 north –Streator | ||||
| |  IL 17 –Streator,Dwight,Kankakee | Interchange | |||
| |  IL 47 –Morris,Dwight,Forrest | ||||
| Grundy | | 225 | 362 | US 66 Alt. east –Gardner | NowIL 53 north |
| Will | Braidwood | 229 | 369 |  IL 113 (Main Street) –Diamond,Coal City,Kankakee | |
| |  US 6 –Morris,Joliet | Interchange | |||
| Troy |  US 52 –Mendota,Joliet | ||||
| Plainfield |  US 30 east (Joliet Road) –Joliet | Western end of US 30 concurrency | |||
| US 30 west (Lockport Street) –Aurora | Eastern end of US 30 concurrency | ||||
  IL 59 north (Division Street) /IL 126 west (Main Street) –West Chicago,Yorkville | |||||
| | 263 | 423 |  IL 53 (Bolingbrook Drive) –Lisle,Romeoville | ||
| Welco Corners | 264 | 425 | US 66 Alt. west –Joliet | ||
| DuPage | Darien | 274 | 441 |  IL 83 (Kingery Highway) | Interchange |
| Cook | | 275 | 443 |    US 12 /US 20 /US 45 (LaGrange Road) | |
| McCook |  IL 171 (Lawndale Avenue) | Now1st Avenue | |||
| Lyons–Stickney line |  IL 42A south (Harlem Avenue) | Western end of IL 42A concurrency; nowIL 43 | |||
| Lyons–Berwyn line | 280 | 450 |  US 34 west (Ogden Avenue) /IL 42A north (Harlem Avenue) | Eastern end of IL 42A concurrency; western end of US 34 concurrency; now IL 43 | |
| Cicero |  IL 50 (Cicero Avenue) | Interchange | |||
| Chicago |  IL 55 west (WestCermak Road) | ||||
| US 30 Alt. (WestRoosevelt Road) | |||||
 US 14 /US 54 west /US 12 Bus. /US 20 Bus. (SouthMichigan Avenue) | One-block concurrency (westbound only) | ||||
| 291 | 468 |  US 41 (SouthLake Shore Drive) | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
| |||||
Filling stations were essential to the success of a trans-national road such as Route 66. Stations evolved their own unique design types and filling station architecture varied by period, at one time or another all major design types were represented along US 66 in Illinois. The existence of Route 66, and its alignment which ran parallel to much of the Chicago–St. Louis-running Chicago and Alton Railroad, itself madegasoline distribution simpler.[23] The earliest gas stations were curbside but these were quickly rendered obsolete because of their tendency to back up traffic when a customer used the roadside pumps. The curbside filling station was the first type of business to use the actual term "filling station". Other types of gas stations evolved such as the house or cottage type, the house and canopy, the house and bays, and the oblong box type.[23] Examples of extant filling stations along Route 66 in Illinois can be found in varying states of disrepair, and a few have been fully restored.[23]
In the early years of Route 66, many motorists brought their own food along with them and cooked it on the road. Constrained by tight finances and a mistrust of the unknown quality of road food, these earliest travelers were often reluctant to eat out. By the 1930s, this attitude had eased somewhat, and more motorists were eating out along the road. As drivers and automobiles on the road increased, so too did opportunities for fast food. One pioneer in this field was theWhite Castle chain, founded in 1921; the oldest White Castle restaurant on Route 66 is still in business in Berwyn.[24]
The road food trend was aided by entrepreneurs such asHoward Johnson who provided predictable, simple dishes—comfort food for the weary traveler. Many of the first roadsidecafés were part of motor camp complexes, but others, such as Johnson's started explicitly as cafes and evolved further from there.[25] Large companies, such as Johnson's, or theSteak 'n Shake chain which began inNormal and was based on the pioneering idea of curbside service at the car, enjoyed success alongside what were mostly "mom-and pop" eateries dotting the Mother Road.[25][26]
Some locations along Route 66 in Illinois became known for their cuisine. One example is the state capital, Springfield. The city has long had an affiliation with food. Thecorn dog on a stick was invented in the city under the name "Cozy Dog", although there is some debate to the actual origin of the popular snack.[27][28] TheCozy Dog Drive In has been a Springfield Route 66 staple since 1950.[29] One of the first U.S.drive-thru restaurant windows is still in operation in Springfield on Route 66 at theMaid-Rite Sandwich Shop.[30]
The oldest restaurant still in operation along the entire stretch of US 66, nationwide, is theAriston Café in Litchfield.[31] The Ariston is an excellent example of the type of mom and pop operation that flourished along Route 66 in Illinois, as is thePalms Grill Café in Atlanta.[25] Two others are the upstate fried-chicken rivals,White Fence Farm in Romeoville andDell Rhea's Chicken Basket in Willowbrook. The former is a large, rambling, old-style farmhouse, the latter more like a cozy, neon-lit roadhouse where one can hear live blues on weekend nights; the farm offers an antique-filled gallery for visitors, the roadhouse a spate of Route 66 memorabilia, a neon fowl as its emblem, and loads of knick-knacks celebrating chickens. Each has its fans; both offer the traveler the comfort of a relaxed sit-down meal, and both continue to flourish as unique experiences on the route.
Motorists along Route 66 during the 1920s usually carried the essentials with them and often simply set up camp on a rural roadside. Eventually, tourist camps began to spring up along the highway. At first, these campsites and cabins, offered for 25¢ and 50¢ apiece, were unfurnished; the tourist camps offered few amenities. As amentities such as communal toilets began to appear, travelers began to demand them. The camps gave way to motor courts that consisted of a row of cabins, then motor hotels, long buildings with individual rooms side by side and parking in front of them—the name for which was in time shortened to simply "motel".[32]
Nearly all bridges along old Route 66 in Illinois are constructed from concrete, with very few exceptions. These concrete bridges are simple, lack ornamentation, and all of their major components—abutments, piers, floor beams, decks, stringers, and railings—were constructed from concrete. The only ornamentation is found in the railings, which sometimes containedbalusters. Between 1926 and 1940, most of the Route 66 bridges in Illinois were built as two-lane spans. Later incarnations built after 1940 had two lanes in each direction.[33]
One exception to these simple bridges was the now-demolished, magnificent steel bowstring arch bridge atBraceville. There are three notable exceptions that remain. All three are in the greater metropolitan Chicago area: theJackson Boulevard andAdams Street Bridges over the South Branch of theChicago River, and theRuby Street Bridge over theDes Plaines River in Joliet. The Jackson, Adams and Ruby Street bridges are the only three remaining movable span bridges on the entire length of Route 66 in eight states, and they are marvels of modern engineering: Chicago-style double-leafbasculetrunnion bridges. The bridge at Adams Street and its neighbor at Jackson Boulevard are the only two single deck bridges in the city that represent the Plan of Chicago's ideal" downtown river bridge.[34] The Jackson and Adams bridges are also among the oldest spans still in use along Route 66 and two of the busiest in Chicago—therefore probably in the state—due to their heavy volume of weekday pedestrian and commuter traffic crossing the bridges to and from nearbyUnion Station.
Illinois is home of variousmuseums devoted to the history of US 66, such as theBerwyn Route 66 Museum inBerwyn, theJoliet Area Historical Museum's Route 66 Welcome Center, the Illinois Route 66 Association Hall of Fame and Museum inPontiac, and the Cruisin' with Lincoln Visitors Center,[35] inside theMcLean County Museum of History inBloomington, Illinois.[36] Vehicles used by late Route 66 travelling artistBob Waldmire, including aVolkswagen Type 2 minibus that inspired the creation ofPixar animated characterFillmore in the filmCars, are part of the museum collection in Pontiac. Two other museums of interest in Pontiac are the International Walldog Mural and Sign Art Museum[37] and the Pontiac–Oakland Museum.[38] The newest Route 66 museum is the Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center, which opened in 2012 across from theAriston Cafe. This museum houses an extensive history of the city of Litchfield and offers guided tours and special events.[39]
Route 66 in Illinois is also famous for some very quirky jumbo-size attractions, such as the former Bunyon'sPaul Bunyan statue, a 19-foot (5.8 m) "Muffler Man" giant originally from a Berwyn hot dog shack that now stands in the quaint downstate community of Atlanta; the similarGemini Giant in Wilmington; the largest wind farm East of the Mississippi River,Twin Groves Wind Farm, just east of Bloomington, with more than 240 turbines across 22,000 acres (8,900 ha); the Railsplitter Covered Wagon in Lincoln, the world's largest according to Guinness Book of World Records; the Route 66 mural in Pontiac that depicts the world's largest US 66 shield; and the Tall Bunny at Henry's Ra66it Ranch in Staunton.[40]
There are a number of other attractions along Historic US 66 that are in the process of being restored, such asSprague's Super Service gas station in Normal[41] and The Mill on 66 restaurant in Lincoln.[42] Both sites have received numerous grants and philanthropic donations, but are still in need of project funding to complete their restoration.
The central Illinois section of Route 66 includes some of the territory that Lincoln the lawyer covered on the 8th Judicial Circuit.[43] Here, visitors can see several Abraham Lincoln attractions as part of their Route 66 experience. In Springfield, there is theAbraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum,[44]Lincoln's Tomb,[45] and theLincoln Home National Historic Site[46] with a brand new exhibit of items from the Steven Spielberg movieLincoln.[47] In the town of Lincoln, which was named for the 16th president and christened by him in 1853,[48] visitors can see the newly expanded Lincoln Heritage Museum on the campus ofLincoln College.[49] Also, visitors can stop in at theDavid Davis Mansion in Bloomington to learn the story of how Davis became manager of Lincoln's presidential campaign and later was appointed by him to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[50] This section of Route 66 also offers two other interesting side trips: Illinois Amish Country[51] and theShelbyville State Fish and Wildlife Area.[52]
US 66 has come to stand for the collective, Americantourist experience and holds a special place inAmerican popular culture. There is a certainnostalgic appeal to Route 66 that is associated with the thrill of the open road that has contributed to its popularity.[53] Looking at the historic roadway through Illinois from a different perspective, it reveals a unique history that tells the story of movement and road building across theprairie. Study of the highway in Illinois also reveals the evolution of theInterstate Highway System and the growing popularity of automobiles.[53]
Aside from the six sections of the route in Illinois that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the entire stretch of US 66 through Illinois has been declared aNational Scenic Byway and is alternatively known as the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway.[6][54] The 436-mile (702 km) stretch of road was declared the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway on September 22, 2005 by theU.S. Department of Transportation.[54][55]
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