The National Road was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the 620-mile (1,000 km) road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main transport path to the West for thousands of settlers. When improved in the 1830s, it became the second U.S. road surfaced with the macadam process pioneered by Scotsman John Loudon McAdam.
Springfield is the capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois and the seat of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh-most populous city, the second-most populous outside of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the most populous in Central Illinois. Approximately 208,000 residents live in the Springfield metropolitan area, which consists of all of Sangamon and Menard counties. Springfield lies in a plain near the Sangamon River north of Lake Springfield. The city is on historic Route 66.
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km).
Sangamon County is a county located near the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 196,343. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital.
Seligman is a census-designated place (CDP) on the northern border of Yavapai County, in northwestern Arizona, United States. The population was 456 at the 2020 census. It is one of the stops on historic U.S. Route 66.
Litchfield is a city in Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,605 at the 2020 census. It is located in South Central Illinois, south of Springfield, the state capital.
Auburn is a city in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,771 at the 2010 census, and 4,681 in 2018. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Chatham is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. It is located 2.8 miles (4.5 km) south of Springfield and has a retail trade area that extends into four other municipalities, including Springfield. The population was 11,500 as of the 2010 census and estimated to be 13,008 as of 2019. The village lies along the original alignment of historic U.S. Route 66.
Blairsville is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States, located 42 miles (68 km) east of Pittsburgh, and on the Conemaugh River. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 3,252.
Illinois Route 4 is a major north–south highway that runs south from the Interstate 55 business loop around the state capital of Springfield, south to Illinois Route 13 just north of Murphysboro. This is a distance of 170.44 miles (274.30 km).
Maid-Rite is an American casual dining franchise restaurant chain. Before it became a restaurant chain, it was a single restaurant, opened in 1926 by Fred Angell. By the end of the 1920s, four franchises were granted; these four restaurants are still in operation.
U.S. Route 66 is a former east–west United States Numbered Highway, running from Santa Monica, California to Chicago, Illinois. In Missouri, the highway ran from downtown St. Louis at the Mississippi River to the Kansas state line west of Joplin. The highway was originally Route 14 from St. Louis to Joplin and Route 1F from Joplin to Kansas. It underwent two major realignments and several lesser realignments in the cities of St. Louis, Springfield, and Joplin. Current highways covering several miles of the former highway include Route 100, Route 366, Route 266, Route 96, and Route 66. Interstate 44 (I-44) approximates much of US 66 between St. Louis and Springfield.
U.S. Route 66 was a United States Numbered Highway in Illinois that connected St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The historic Route 66, the Mother Road or Main Street of America, took long distance automobile travelers from Chicago to Southern California. The highway had previously been Illinois Route 4 and the road has now been largely replaced with Interstate 55 (I-55). Parts of the road still carry traffic and six separate portions of the roadbed have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Robert Waldmire was an American artist and cartographer who is well known for his artwork of U.S. Route 66, including whimsical maps of the Mother Road and its human and natural ecology. Being the son of Ed Waldmire Jr., he is often associated with the Cozy Dog Drive In restaurant in Springfield, Illinois, the elder Waldmire having created the Cozy Dog.
There have been 22 special routes of U.S. Route 66 Historic Highway
Ambler's Texaco Gas Station, also known as Becker's Marathon Gas Station, is a historic filling station located at the intersection of Old U.S. Route 66 and Illinois Route 17 in the village of Dwight, Illinois, United States. The station has been identified as the longest operating gas station along Route 66; it dispensed fuel for 66 continuous years until 1999. The station is a good example of a domestic style gas station and derives its most common names from ownership stints by two different men. North of the station is an extant outbuilding that once operated as a commercial icehouse. Ambler's was the subject of major restoration work from 2005 to 2007, and reopened as a Route 66 visitor center in May 2007. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Canteen Lunch in the Alley is a restaurant located in Ottumwa, Iowa. The original five-stool Canteen Lunch was opened in 1927 in a different location, and moved to its current address in 1936. The “Canteen Lunch” was originally established in 1927. In 1936, the business relocated to its present location under the second street parking ramp in Ottumwa, Iowa. It has since been a local institution known for its loose-meat sandwiches and homemade pies. The restaurant's design is a horseshoe-shaped counter-top surrounded by 16 stools. It remains an example of an early to mid-20th-century lunchroom. The Canteen Lunch reflects on this type of eating establishment that gained popularity in the 1920s and 1930s as social and economic challenges were felt by the Great Depression.
Sprague's Super Service is a historic independent gas station on Route 66 in Normal, Illinois. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Town of Normal Local Landmark, and is in the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame.
White Oaks Mall is a shopping mall in Springfield, Illinois, United States. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 4 and Wabash Avenue. With 928,772 square feet (86,285.7 m2) of retail space, it is the largest shopping mall in Central Illinois. The mall's anchor stores are Macy's, Michaels, LA Fitness, and Dick's Sporting Goods. There are 2 vacant anchor stores that were once Bergner's and Sears.
