The Land of Lincoln’s stretch of the Mother Road readies for a surge of travelers eager to relive America’s most iconic highway in 2026
By Randy Mink
Though it was replaced as a major thoroughfare by superhighways decades ago, Route 66 continues to captivate nostalgia buffs, conjuring up images of mom-and-pop diners, cozy motels and kitschy roadside attractions. Communities along Illinois’ 300 miles of the historic ribbon of asphalt are polishing up their signage and attractions as they prepare for an onslaught of road trippers expected during Route 66’s centennial in 2026.
Commissioned in 1926, the linear corridor, nicknamed the “Mother Road” and “Main Street of America,” stretched some 2,400 miles from Chicago to California, A pop culture icon immortalized in literature, music, TV shows and movies, Route 66 symbolized freedom of the road for generations of travelers in the mid-20th century.
From the Chicago area, cruise down Interstate 55 to Pontiac, a stop on old Route 66, and arrive at the free-admission Pontiac Museum Complex. Inside the former city hall building are the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum, and the exhibit Life in the 1940s: A Traveling Tribute to the Greatest Generation and Livingston County War Museum, a treasure chest of military uniforms, photos and artifacts representing conflicts from World War I to Afghanistan. The huge Route 66 shield mural on the building’s exterior makes a good photo op. If time allows, check out the free Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum, a shiny showroom displaying vintage Pontiac- and Oakland-brand cars.
Enjoy lunch at Edinger’s Filling Station, a restaurant themed around Pontiac’s Route 66 heritage. Or take the group to the Old Log Cabin, a historic eatery dating back to the early days of Route 66.
The place of pilgrimage for Route 66 fans in Bloomington-Normal is Ryburn Place. Formerly Sprague’s Super Service, the 1931 Tudor-Revival landmark survives as the largest of the few remaining two-story gas stations left on the old thoroughfare; the owner’s family and an attendant lived upstairs. The restored building functions today as a gift shop/information center.
The town of Atlanta, Illinois last year welcomed the American Giants Museum, which chronicles the story of the 20-foot-tall Muffler Man statues once used as advertising characters by automotive and other highway businesses. Several of these towering fiberglass figures stand outside the museum, a replica of a 1960s Texaco gas station. The town’s landmark for many years has been the Bunyon Giant, a 19-foot man holding a hot dog.
The town of Lincoln hosts several photo-worthy Route 66 attractions, including Railsplitter Covered Wagon, the largest covered wagon in the world. Sitting in the driver’s seat is a statue of Abraham Lincoln as he might have appeared when traveling around the state as a circuit lawyer.
In Springfield, the Illinois State Fairgrounds Route 66 Experience is an outdoor walk-through exhibit with little red sheds highlighting businesses and attractions, past and present, in 92 Illinois communities. The garden courtyard brims with replicas of billboards and neon signs that once advertised motels, a drive-in movie theater and other places along the fabled roadway. Illuminated at night, the signs cast a magical glow.
The Springfield area’s new Route 66 Mural Trail provides plenty of photo ops. In 2024, 12 wayside exhibits were installed in and around Springfield, and some have audio stories.
For lunch in Springfield, stop at Cozy Dog Drive In, famous for its cornmeal-battered hot dog on a stick and loaded with Route 66 lore. Or eat at Motorheads Bar, Grill & Museum, a Route 66-themed eatery filled with car-culture nostalgia.
In Livingston, a giant pink elephant visible from I-55, plus other larger-than-life sculptures, beckons wayfarers to Pink Elephant Antique Mall, housed in a former high school. Next door is the 1950s-style Twistee Treat Diner, whose whimsical ice cream cone-shaped building whets your appetite for burgers, fries and fountain creations.
Collinsville is home to the restored Brooks Catsup Bottle Water Tower, the world’s largest catsup bottle. A great photo op a bit off 66, the quirky, 170-foot-tall tower was built in 1949 to supply water to the catsup plant. It is roadside Americana at its finest.
West End Service Station in Edwardsville, which served Route 66 motorists for nearly four decades, was recently transformed into a visitor information center with attractive displays on the road’s lore. In nearby Granite City, the past comes to life at It’s Electric Neon Sign Park, where restored neon signs from local businesses, plus large murals, celebrate the town’s place on America’s Mother Road. The signs are turned on from dusk to dawn.
At the Mississippi River in Madison, the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge was built in 1929 as part of Route 66. Featuring a 30-degree turn midway across, the one-mile span today serves as one of the world’s longest bicycle and pedestrian bridges.
From Illinois, Route 66 continued west across Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before reaching Southern California. Encompassing the road’s easternmost leg and some of its most colorful sights, Illinois is truly the place for kicks on 66, especially in 2026.
