Preservation Efforts

Mark your calendars! Springfield has declared December 30 Bill Shea Day!

Click to read all about this celebration for long time association member and Hall of Famer, Bill Shea on Route 66 News!

Click here to read Shea's attraction page here on our website!

We thank Jim Thole for providing the following information about the relighting of the neon Luna Cafe sign!

Greetings to all of you Illinois Route 66 Association Board Members!

Folks, you don't want to miss this one!

Please join your fellow roadies on Saturday evening October 22, 2011 for the special relighting event of the classic neon sign at the historic Luna Cafe in Mitchell, Illinois.

Please find attached for your reference and review the official announcement that I sent to various media sources.

We thank John Weiss for the following announcement:

Attention all Route 66 volunteers. There is a work day scheduled on October 15th, 2011 at the historic Mill in Lincoln, Illinois at 9:30 AM. The motto for Illinois Preservation members is, "We work for food". So the famous Schnitzel sandwiches will be served. That's better then money!!!!!

For more information - John Weiss - 815-458-6616

We thank Pontiac Tourism for providing the following press release about the Strevell House Progress.

Progress on the exterior restoration of the Jason W. Strevell house has now reached a critical point. Plans were to have the windows and doors refinished, the front porch replaced, the foundation repaired, and the exterior walls painted by the end of this year. As of today, all of that work has been done and paid for except for the paint preparation and application. According to Tom Ewing, Chair of the Livingston County Historical Society’s Strevell House Committee, progress cannot continue until additional funds are raised.

After many years of waiting, and frustration, and anticipation... it finally happened today! The Luna Cafe neon sign was taken down, and moved to a sign restoration shop in St. Charles, MO where the long-awaited restoration will begin immediately, and will take an expected 6 to 8 weeks.

The relighting ceremony and celebration event is estimated to be mid-October, but the exact date is not yet finalized - although we do know that the owner is planning to throw a big party.... You won't want to miss this one!

Here are photos of the sign as it begins the restoration process:

We recently received this distinct honor from RoadsideAmerica.com:

Congratulations!

The Illinois Route 66 Association Hall of Fame and Museum has been chosen as the Sight of the Week by RoadsideAmerica.com, the travel guide to America's unique and most original attractions.

The Illinois Route 66 Association Hall of Fame and Museum is featured as the lead attraction on the RoadsideAmerica.com home page during the week of August 14-20, 2011: http://www.roadsideamerica.com
Afterward it will have a permanent place on the RoadsideAmerica.com site here:
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/14537

Again, congratulations on having one of America's top attractions. Only 52 a year are chosen. You are one of the best of the best.

Ken Smith
senior editor

The National Park Service is collaborating with archival institutions along historic Route 66 (including the Illinois State Library) to develop the Route 66 Archives and Research Collaborative, or “Route 66 ARC.” The mission of Route 66 ARC is to stimulate the collection and preservation of historical records related to Route 66, and increase their accessibility to the public. The State Library is proud to be one of the ten founding Route 66 ARC institutions. A new website has just been unveiled.

We thank Ellie Alexander at Pontiac Tourism for providing the following press release to us:

The restoration of the Jason W. Strevell house will take another step towards completion in the coming week. The finials which rise at the roof peaks of the house have been reproduced and are ready for installation. The Strevell home, which stands at 401 W. Livingston Street in Pontiac, Illinois, is the only remaining structure in Livingston County visited by Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln spent an evening at the home of Pontiac attorney Jason Strevell in 1860. Lincoln had given a speech to the Pontiac Young Men’s Literary Association at the Presbyterian Church earlier that night, and went to Strevell’s home to await the early morning train to Bloomington.

The Strevell house is in the Carpenter Gothic style. This type of home is distinguished by a steeply pitched roof, decorative bargeboards (also known as “gingerbread trim,”) and other architectural features. At the highest point on the roof is a miniature spire or finial. The finials on the Strevell house have been replicated by two local craftsmen, Mike Ingles and Mark Van Hoveln.