View Nostalgic Artifacts And Memorabilia At The Route 66 Association Of Illinois Museum
By Melissa Mahoney|Published July 09, 2021
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Melissa Mahoney
Author
I'm an east coast girl living in a west coast world. I grew up in New England before moving to SoCal for several years. I then lived in NYC or a year before moving to AZ in 2009. I worked in the entertainment industry for many years of my adult life and I love photography, writing, and traveling around the U.S. as well as to far-flung locations around the world! Travel is my life and writing about it is a dream.
Back in 1926, a roadway was established to connect the Midwest to the West Coast, from Chicago all the way to Los Angeles. This was Route 66, the Mother Road, which attracted thousands of road trip warriors each year and today remains among the best road trips in the USA. Over the decades, motels, roadside attractions, and communities sprang up along the route. After it was decommissioned in 1985, Route 66 was no longer considered a major roadway, and travel started to wane.
There's no doubt that Route 66 evokes a sense of nostalgia. Driving around what remains of the historic route and seeing old roadside attractions, motels, and small communities may remind us of simpler days.
To educate visitors on the history of the Mother Road, the Route 66 Association of Illinois established the Hall of Fame & Museum in the small city of Pontiac. Pontiac itself had experienced a growth in population during the advent of Route 66 in 1926.
Inside the Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum, you will have the opportunity to see thousands of artifacts and pieces of memorabilia from the historic route's heyday.
A visit to this museum is like a trip back in time that will evoke a sense of nostalgia. You'll learn about what traveling along this route was like back in the day.
The Route 66 Museum is one of several small museums within the same complex. You may also want to visit the War Museum, Life in the 1940s Exhibit, and Life on the Titanic Museum, among others while you're here. Head to the Visit Pontiac website to learn more.
Have you visited the Illinois Route 66 Association Hall of Fame & Museum? If so, what was your favorite part about it? Let us know about it in the comments!
For more information, visit the Route 66 Association of Illinois website and Facebook page. If you’re traveling along portions of the old Route 66 and need a place to eat, we recommend Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket in Willowbrook or Doc’s Soda Fountain in Girard.
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