Route 66 Association of Illinois

Where The Road Begins

Handicapped Accessible

McLean County Museum of History

200 North Main Street, Bloomington, IL, United States

From their website: “The McLean County Museum of History traces it roots back to 1892, the year the McLean County Historical Society was founded. The original Museum opened in 1904 when Historical Society members had collected enough material, in the form of presented papers, transcribed reminiscences, and donated objects, to share the collection with the public.”

Admission is free on Tuesday.

Phone: 309-827-0428

http://www.mchistory.org/

Monday - Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday - 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Sunday - 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum

We hope you’ll visit us soon for a complete Route 66 Experience all under one roof!

The Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame and Museum features thousands of artifacts and memorabilia related to Route 66 – The Mother Road.

Our Museum boasts:

  • Friendly and knowledgeable guides
  • Route 66 memorabilia from Hall of Fame members!
  • Route 66 artist and icon, Bob Waldmire’s bus and van!
  • Travel resources – explore the highway by visiting Route 66 towns on our flip-rack library!
  • A great photo op with the largest Route 66 shield mural, painted on our museum’s outside back wall!*
  • SO much more!

Testimonials:

Lyn Dennis (via our Facebook Fan page) says,

Gotta say that we just returned from spending time on The Mother Road and Illinois has done itself proud in trying to maintain the history of Rt 66. Pontiac deserves a medal. We would like to have spent HOURS there. We’ve promised ourselves a return trip. 🙂

We’re so glad we stopped here on our Route 66 trip! I can’t wait to visit again and see and meet more nice people. This Museum is truly a vibrant, changing tribute to the road.

View a slideshow of our fabulous museum – the next best thing to seeing it in person (and we hope you will!)

Museum mini

If you’d like to loan or donate Route 66 items to the Museum, please bring them in on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.

Thanks to everyone for your support!

110 W Howard St.
Pontiac, IL 61764
(815) 844-4566

Our Hall of Fame and Museum is handicapped-accessible. A wheelchair is available for use during your stay. An elevator to the second floor is available as well.

Open 7 Days a Week!
(Holiday exceptions: Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.)

Winter Hours (start November 1st)
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Summer Hours (start April 1st)
9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

Bob Waldmire Bus
Third Saturdays from 11:00 AM – 4:00 PM
(Note that limits may be in place for number of people on the bus at a time due to its close quarters.)

The Quintessential Route 66 Photo Op

*The Route 66 Shield mural on the back of our Hall of Fame and Museum, created by Diaz Sign Art of Pontiac, IL is the largest painted Route 66 Shield in the world. Since its creation in 2007, it has become a huge tourist attraction of its own merit and is an extremely popular photo op for visitors to Pontiac.

To celebrate the popularity of this quintessential Route 66 photo op located literally in our own back yard, we’re compiling a slideshow of photos of it taken by visitors to the mural. It’s an ever-growing collection – is your photo included?

Click to submit your photos of/with our pride and joy, the Route 66 Shield.

Route 66 Mural, Pontiac, IL