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.
Broadwell is a village in Logan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 136 at the 2020 census.
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.
Horton Smith was an American professional golfer, best known as the winner of the first and third Masters Tournaments.
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.
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's center in May 2007. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Cozy Dog Drive In is a restaurant located at 2935 South Sixth Street in Springfield, Illinois, United States.
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.
Graceland Too was a tourist attraction and shrine dedicated to American singer Elvis Presley. It was located in Holly Springs, Mississippi, forty miles south of the original Graceland, to which it had no affiliation. Graceland Too was operated out of the two-story home of Paul MacLeod, a Presley fanatic who collected hundreds of pieces of Elvis memorabilia. The shrine cost $5 to enter and operated 24/7-year-round. The bizarre nature of the attraction, as well as MacLeod's eccentricity, made it a local landmark over its twenty-five years of operation.
The Dixie Travel Plaza, previously known as the Dixie Truck Stop and Dixie Trucker's Home, is a large trucker and travel plaza located in McLean, Illinois, on Interstate 55. It was established by J.P. Walters and John Geske in 1928 on old US Route 66 as a small sandwich stand in a truck mechanic's garage. By 1930, quickly growing demand had necessitated expansion into a full-size restaurant. The restaurant was expanded several times afterwards, and rebuilt once after a fire in 1965. Walters, Geske and the Dixie Trucker's Home have been recognized by the Route 66 Association of Illinois for their contributions—from 1926 to 1977—to the character of Route 66. They were inducted into the association's hall of fame on June 9, 1990. Dixie was previously home to the Route 66 Hall of Fame when it opened in 1990. In 2003, after Dixie changed ownership, the museum was moved to a new, larger location in Pontiac, Illinois.
Reiff's Gas Station Museum was a museum of American car memorabilia in Woodland, California. It was founded in 2000.
Afton Station Packard Museum, a privately owned automotive museum on U.S. Route 66 in Afton, Oklahoma, was situated in a restored 1930s Eagle D-X filling station. It housed a showroom, 18 Packards & other vintage automobiles plus a collection of Route 66 memorabilia, including items from the now-demolished Buffalo Ranch Trading Post.
The Pontiac City Hall and Fire Station is a historic building located at 110 W. Howard St. in Pontiac, Illinois, which served as both Pontiac's city hall and fire station. The building was constructed in 1900 to replace an 1883 building which also served as both a city hall and a fire station. Architect John H. Barnes designed the building in the Romanesque Revival style. Though built as a single building, the city hall and fire station are separated on the interior; a bell tower connects the two buildings. The building housed both Pontiac's city government and fire protection services until 1986.
