Some of my lost and obscure Rte 66 sights over the years...
Discussion
There have been quite a few excellent postings lately about trips on Route 66 and next year will be big given the 100th anniversary. I have made many trips on to from end to end over the years.
There is always something new to attract the punters, and these days that means having something instagrammable and photo-friendly. However, the new has also brought with it the decline and death of the old.
66 itself has had many incarnations, from the very dangerous migrations to California during the depression in the thirties to the huge rise in vacation travel in the fifties, the first motels, and then the gradual dying of many towns as the interstate highway infrastructure was built. These highways were designed with a secondary military purpose and as such were planned to avoid going thorough the towns and cities that were such a feature of Route 66. As traffic moved to the interstates the old tourist towns of 66 withered and many died. By the seventies life was grim along 66 when the final part was decommissioned.
There is always something new to attract the punters, and these days that means having something instagrammable and photo-friendly. However, the new has also brought with it the decline and death of the old.
66 itself has had many incarnations, from the very dangerous migrations to California during the depression in the thirties to the huge rise in vacation travel in the fifties, the first motels, and then the gradual dying of many towns as the interstate highway infrastructure was built. These highways were designed with a secondary military purpose and as such were planned to avoid going thorough the towns and cities that were such a feature of Route 66. As traffic moved to the interstates the old tourist towns of 66 withered and many died. By the seventies life was grim along 66 when the final part was decommissioned.
However, there are ghosts on 66, places that have gone, are fading away, or are too obscure for the casual traveller to bother with.
I have dug through my files for a few that may be of interest to those who have caught the Route 66 bug. I will describe them briefly from East to West.
I’ll start with the Ariston Café in Litchfield Il.It was found in 1935 on Route 66 and remains to this day. It remained in unbroken ownership by the Adam family unit 2018 the it passed to local ownership, and still exists. The photo below of the owner at the time was taken in 2012. Good simple traditional American 66 food is still served even though the family has gone
.
Also in Illinois stood Henry’s Rabbit Ranch in Staunton , an eccentric place owned by Rich Henry. He had a collection of live rabbits and a load of VW Rabbits ( as the Golf was known in the US) as well as a Route 66 souvenir shop.
Rich has passed on and the place was run for a while by his widow, but I understand that it has now closed.
I have dug through my files for a few that may be of interest to those who have caught the Route 66 bug. I will describe them briefly from East to West.
I’ll start with the Ariston Café in Litchfield Il.It was found in 1935 on Route 66 and remains to this day. It remained in unbroken ownership by the Adam family unit 2018 the it passed to local ownership, and still exists. The photo below of the owner at the time was taken in 2012. Good simple traditional American 66 food is still served even though the family has gone
.
Also in Illinois stood Henry’s Rabbit Ranch in Staunton , an eccentric place owned by Rich Henry. He had a collection of live rabbits and a load of VW Rabbits ( as the Golf was known in the US) as well as a Route 66 souvenir shop.
Rich has passed on and the place was run for a while by his widow, but I understand that it has now closed.
In Wilmington Ill stood the Gemini Giant from 1965 to 2024 at the
Launching Pad restaurant . The owner was highly eccentric and decided to close the restaurant and destroy the giant. However, the local community worked out a deal and the giant has been reinstalled elsewhere locally but not directly on 66 any more. My pic below from 2011 is the original position on 66.
Launching Pad restaurant . The owner was highly eccentric and decided to close the restaurant and destroy the giant. However, the local community worked out a deal and the giant has been reinstalled elsewhere locally but not directly on 66 any more. My pic below from 2011 is the original position on 66.
In St Louis Mo. had one for my favourite old line restaurants, Charlie Gitto s. Charlie had his own chair at the corner of the bar,-nobody dared to sit in it.; the place was beloved by cops and nuns and there were always few there. It had great Italian food and good wine and beer.
When Charlie died the family sold up and and moved the restaurant to the suburbs but it is not the same.
When Charlie died the family sold up and and moved the restaurant to the suburbs but it is not the same.
The Gay Parita gas station in Ashgrove Mo is actually a replica of the original built about 20 years ago by Gary Turner, ( pic below). He built of about 20 years ago and it is an accurate replica. Gary (pic below)and his wife Lena ran the place with great hospitality and he daughter still runs it. Worth a stop.
Lebanon Mo had the Munger-Moss motel which has a great sign. Accommodation was clean and basic and the owner Ramona had endless stories about the place It was a very early motel with the cars parked beside each room which was a separate cabin originally. The motel has recently closed and is being redeveloped, but the developer has offered the sign to the city.
Lebanon Mo had the Munger-Moss motel which has a great sign. Accommodation was clean and basic and the owner Ramona had endless stories about the place It was a very early motel with the cars parked beside each room which was a separate cabin originally. The motel has recently closed and is being redeveloped, but the developer has offered the sign to the city.
In Newburgh Mo stand a very tricky place to access, on a closed section of 66 only accessible by a feeder road. Here stood a motel, but also the remains of John’s Modern Cabins, a Juke Joint. 66 was originally very segregated so only white people could safely use the motels.. There was a separate Green Guide for the non- white motorists. John;s was a Juke Joint where there was one larger central building where music would be played, and food and drink would be served . It was surrounded by very small cabins where people could stay. It s a very evocative place and a little of it still exists-efforts have been made to preserve s part of it, but there is much less there now than then I took the pics below.
The shortest part of 66 is in the state of Kansas, only a few miles. Nowadays it has adopted all of the iconography of the Cars movies which used a lot of 66 lore.There are replica of most of the cartoon cars in places like Galena KS. However on an early visit none this existed. Weirdly in the town of Baxter Springs there was a Renault breakers!..Why this existed is a mystery to me, but it is gone now.
The town of Erick OK is a quiet place with a very wide main street. When I first visited it had the Roger Miller Museum., ( he performed King of the Road and was a local), but it also had a wile shop called the Sand Hills Variety store which sold…nothing. The owner and his wife would perform dances of songs for a few bucks though. He carried on after he death but last time I visited the store appeared to be closed but still intact.
Also in Erick stands the closed West Winds motel.listed as one of the most endangered buildings on 66. The old Ford has been there for as long as I have been driving 66.
Also in Erick stands the closed West Winds motel.listed as one of the most endangered buildings on 66. The old Ford has been there for as long as I have been driving 66.
Crossing Texas was always a vista of endless flatness and remoteness dotted with very small towns. One of the big changes now compared to my first visits is a massive wind farm with the windmills stretching for miles down to the horizon so the vista is very different. -originally it looked like this.
In Conway Tx stood the Bug Ranch, a response to the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo with a small collection of VWs. The owner got into a dispute over the land and was eventually forced to remove the cars after many years. At tie writing an independent group is building much larger Bug Ranch real the Big Texan Steak house, larger but not the same atmosphere. Original first and new build below
Near Amarillo stands the great cross of Groom ( still there) but it is now dwarfed by the wind farms which are much bigger so this type of photo is no longer easy to get.
There used to be a truck stop called “Jesus Christ is Lord not a Swear Word”in Amarillo but it no longer exists. I did grab a pic of one of their trucks in 2012.
In Conway Tx stood the Bug Ranch, a response to the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo with a small collection of VWs. The owner got into a dispute over the land and was eventually forced to remove the cars after many years. At tie writing an independent group is building much larger Bug Ranch real the Big Texan Steak house, larger but not the same atmosphere. Original first and new build below
Near Amarillo stands the great cross of Groom ( still there) but it is now dwarfed by the wind farms which are much bigger so this type of photo is no longer easy to get.
There used to be a truck stop called “Jesus Christ is Lord not a Swear Word”in Amarillo but it no longer exists. I did grab a pic of one of their trucks in 2012.
Passing into New Mexico the first truck stop was called Russells and had a large collection of restored vintage America cars including a Corvette with delivery mileage. The truck stop has recently sold so the collection is going away if it has not done so already.
Tucumcari NM is a great stop with some wonderful motels; one thing that has disappeared is the mural on the side of the Safari Motel which has now been painted over, sadly.
Tucumcari NM is a great stop with some wonderful motels; one thing that has disappeared is the mural on the side of the Safari Motel which has now been painted over, sadly.
The small town of Grants NM was originally a major uranium extractor; It had a café called the Uranium Café which served good food . Now gone, as is the Grant s Café.
The town of Moriarty NM almost doesn t exist, though it has a Glider Museum. It also has a very eccentric collector of old cars and trucks the sit both inside a huge barn and outside in a vast yard. He does not sell anything. If you like vintage cars this place is superb.
The town of Moriarty NM almost doesn t exist, though it has a Glider Museum. It also has a very eccentric collector of old cars and trucks the sit both inside a huge barn and outside in a vast yard. He does not sell anything. If you like vintage cars this place is superb.
Edited by RDMcG on Wednesday 23 July 02:39
Coming into AZ leads you to the Painted Desert. 66 diverged here from the current 1-40 and the road was abandoned and gradually was absorbed by the desert.
Almost.
On some private ranch land behind a locked gate stands the Painted Desert Trading Post which served gas along 66. There is no signage to get there and it is really only accessible in dry weather. There is an electronic lock on the gate and a phone number. You can you get instructions and drive down a featureless track to reach the destination.
It is a very lonely place.
Almost.
On some private ranch land behind a locked gate stands the Painted Desert Trading Post which served gas along 66. There is no signage to get there and it is really only accessible in dry weather. There is an electronic lock on the gate and a phone number. You can you get instructions and drive down a featureless track to reach the destination.
It is a very lonely place.
RDMcG said:
In Wilmington Ill stood the Gemini Giant from 1965 to 2024 at the
Launching Pad restaurant . The owner was highly eccentric and decided to close the restaurant and destroy the giant. However, the local community worked out a deal and the giant has been reinstalled elsewhere locally but not directly on 66 any more. My pic below from 2011 is the original position on 66.
Some great stuff here, shows the extent of what there is to see along the whole of R66 when you start digging.Launching Pad restaurant . The owner was highly eccentric and decided to close the restaurant and destroy the giant. However, the local community worked out a deal and the giant has been reinstalled elsewhere locally but not directly on 66 any more. My pic below from 2011 is the original position on 66.
We spoke to the guy running the petrol station over the road last year about the Gemini Giant because we couldn't find it. Apparently the local historical society had bought it and were having it restored so it could be installed in a new location about a mile down the road. From what I've read this has now happened so should be there for everyone to enjoy.
Sadly we'll likely never see it in the flesh.
We spoke to Gary at Gay Parita last month. He's still in rude health and happy to chat away the day. Really nice guy
Edited by Voodoo Blue on Wednesday 23 July 15:21
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