Welcome to Roadside Wonderland

The Greenway Motel sign must have once been a shining beacon in the small town of Mitchell Illinois. It seems to have way oversold the nondescript mid century beige brick motor court style motel it proudly heralded. The neon is now gone, but the epic arrow style sign remains, complete with (non working) light box that once highlighted the Motels Route 66 pedigree. We also love the tiny tacked on sign advising there are now telephones in every room. It had the look of perm

This sweet little sign is all that remains of the circa 1940’s Apple Valley Motel. The adorable 11 room motor court was destroyed by fire in 2016. It was just one of hundreds of roadside motels that opened during the motor court boom of the post-war 40’s and 50’s as American families took to the roads for family road trips. The Apple Valley Motel had a little wooden front office and covered driveway that led to 11 first floor rooms, arranged in a U shape, with parking s

They’re modern, they’re retro, and their design even gives a passing nod to Mondrian. They’re the matching set of small-town murals that make up the Route 66 postcard trail. Often, they’re located near the 6 on 66 monuments, giant Route 66 shields, and this one is across the road. Each of the Route 66 postcard murals depict things that are unique to their location. In Hamel these include a cross from the circa 1931 St Paul Lutheran church, the Hamel water tower, a bicycle f

The Welcome to Hamel billboard is a double whammy - it’s painted on both sides! It stands in a pretty little garden and has the same classic car / retro license plate / road trippin’ theme that so many billboards along Route 66 have. Is it a rule or something? Anyhoo .. it is fun to see the same theme interpreted in so many different ways as you drive along. Standing right next to the billboard is a 6 on 66 monument. These are dotted along Route 66 and we love them, they ar

Wheezies???? ... as in the asthmatic penguin from Toy Story!??? No … Weezy’s, as in the historic roadhouse on Route 66 in Hamel Illinois. This Weezy’s opened in 1937 as a roadhouse named Tourist Haven. Over the decades it has had quite a few name changes, from Village Inn to Earnie’s Roadhouse, to Scotty’s Bar & Grill. Brilliantly, each time the roadhouse was re-christened and re-christened again, the new owner would keep all its predecessors' signage, and it is all displ

We love the Route 66 Postcard trail - a series of giant postcard style murals depicting local highlights. The Welcome to historic Livingston mural sits in the perfect spot on the wall of the former Livingstone High School building, now an antique mall…. and it’s the perfect spot because the local highlights depicted on the mural, a pink elephant and a Futuro house - are right there on the grounds of the antique mall. The mural also depicts classic cars, and an ice cream c

The Livingston Muffler Man stands alone in a field beside The Livingston Antique Mall (where you’ll find many other giant things, from a giant tricycle to a giant pink elephant) He is a Paul Bunyon style muffler man, standing at around 15 feet tall, but he is missing his axe, so his jazz hands look a little lonely. The Livingstone Antique Mall owners found this muffler man in Kentucky and shipped him to Illinois. He lived inside the antique mall before being moved into th

The Pink Elephant Antique Mall, along Route 66 in Livingstone Illinois, is one of the greatest stops we have ever made. It’s a roadside wonderland all by itself. Housed in the old circa 1929 Livingston High School Building, the antique mall hosts more than 50 dealers, a little diner, and a 1950’s themed ice cream shop. (if you get ice cream you can sit outside in a giant ice cream cone to eat it) Inside the antique mall, keep your eyes out for the two GIANT kit kat cloc

Ok, this is an iffy one … technically Henry’s Rabbit Ranch has now closed to the public after the death of its creator Rich Henry. However, part of it, including the vintage gas station and pumps can be seen from the street. (but the store and little museum are closed) Also sadly, the live bunnies (in its heyday there were more than 50 of them!) no longer reside here, and the collection of Volkswagen rabbits cannot be seen from the street. This is private property so we d

Here is something we have learned travelling across America - gas stations can be adorable - who knew!? They can be modern day Buc-ees style adorable, and they can be retro and vintage style adorable - who knew we would look forward to visiting a gas station!? The Soulsby Shell service Station in Mt Olive Illinois is a perfect example - ADORABLE!! This circa 1926 “house with canopy” style of service station was designed by the original owner, Henry Soulsby. He designed it

Any time’s a good time for pie…. so even though we weren't really hungry, and in the name of Roadside Wonderland research, (yes, we did it for YOU), we stopped at The Ariston Cafe - and if you’re passing by, you should too! We sat at the very vintage counter and had very modern baklava pie - recommended! The beautiful neon clad Ariston cafe is the oldest along Route 66. It began its life in 1924 in Carlinville Illinois but followed the mother road and moved to Litchfield

The Saga Motor Hotel, along old route 66 in Pasadena is a mid-century classic. It was designed in 1959 by Harold Zook in a beautiful mix of Moorish fonts and details and mid-century clean lines and breeze blocks. Its huge neon sign has been designated as a Pasadena Historic Sign. Our first retro delight upon checking in was to be given an actual key to access our room. There are adorable rooms around the pool, with tiny private terraces and breeze block privacy screens. We

We brake for neon signs, and the Litchfield Museum is the home of the fabulous Vic Suhling Gas For Less neon sign. The museum was literally built around the Gas for Less sign, which still stands in its original 1961 location. The museum is worth visiting too, and entry is free. There are lots of displays and artifacts in and around the building - there is a hand drawn fire wagon, vintage cars and gas pumps, vintage signs, a windmill from the Litchfield Windmill Factory

Cool neon sign alert, and it’s kind of a miracle this one is still standing. Vic Suhling’s gas station was built in 1961, complete with this epic googie style neon sign. The business was sold in 1968, and even though the new owner was named Paul Stewart, and not Vic Suhling, the sign remained.In 1973 the gas station closed for good, but the property was not sold until 1989. The new owner demolished the gas station in 1990, but the sign survived. Twenty years later, what was

In 2022 the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau created The Mural Trail, a series of 12 giant postcard murals dotted along the last hundred miles of Route 66 in Southwest Illinois. Each mural celebrates the local roadside wonders and vintage highlights of that town. They are wall sized tourist information works of art and stop the car Instagram moments. We stopped the car for this one in Litchfield Illinois. ---------------------------------------------------------- Midw