Archive for April, 2010

Route 66 Walking Tour Special — 66%!

Wednesday, April 28th, 2010

Lion Statue, Art Institute of Chicago

Many of our Walking Tours meet next to the Lions at the Art Institute of Chicago

I have conducted walking tours in Chicago since 2005, mainly focusing on the history and architecture to be seen along the Route 66 corridor in Chicago’s Loop. Although these Route 66 walking tours have become my specialty, I have conducted all sorts of custom tours as requested as well. Some recent custom tours have included:

  • A walking tour that traveled from the Tribune Tower to Millennium Park highlighting the Burnham Plan of Chicago
  • An architecture tour of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in Chicago’s Loop
  • A driving tour of vintage Chicago movie theaters and studios, from the location of the old Essanay Studios, to the Biograph and Chicago Theaters.

All of the tours, whether focusing on Route 66 or a custom topic or theme, generally include some discussion of Chicago’s history, transportation, culture, and architecture.

A brochure describing my tour offerings is available by clicking here

The cost for a 2-hour walking tour is usually $15 per person. However, in light of the ongoing economic woes, I have decided to offer a special price for a limited time. For parties of four or more, you will be able to take a walk on Chicago’s Route 66 for just 66% of the normal price–that is just $10 per person!

Anyone who would like to take advantage of this special price can contact me via email:

dave@windycityroadwarrior.com

or by telephone at 312-432-1284. All tours are by appointment, so write or call to get your kicks on Chicago’s 66 for 66%!

Posted in Chicago, Events, Highway Links, Tours, US, Wanderings | No Comments »

More on McCook and the Route 66 Detour

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Snuffy's 24 Hour Grill

Snuffy's 24 Hour Grill, a McCook institution since 1964, a 2010 inductee into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame

Following up on yesterday’s blog post about the pending lawsuit IDOT v. Vulcan Materials, I have resurrected the two articles I wrote back in 2006 about the damaged portion of the Mother Road in McCook and some related historical information.

McCook Sante Fe Depot

The McCook Sante Fe Depot of 1925 handled westbound passenger traffic as a flag stop until Amtrak took over U.S. rail service in 1971. The tracks now handle freight traffic only. From History and Progress: Village of McCook.

Over the last several years on this website I have been assembling an archive of my articles previously published in the Route 66 Federation News, the quarterly publication of the National Historic Route 66 Federation. For the Spring 2006 issue, I wrote an article titled “Of Romance and Finance; Of Marriage and McCook.” Click here to read some background on the article and to download or view a .pdf of the article as originally published.
1938 Aerial Photo of Stinson Airport and Quarries

From the 1938 USDA Aerial Photography Project, along the now-closed section there were two quarries south of 66/Joliet Road: Consumers Company to the northeast, and Dolese & Shephard to the southwest. North of the road most of the property is Stinson Airport, with a plant for Standard Lime and Refractories in the northeast section.

I wrote another article around the same period that appeared in the Spring 2006 issue of The 66 News, the quarterly journal of The Route 66 Association of Illinois. This article was title “A Look at McCook.” I have placed this article on a blog page along with color versions of all of the photos (black and white in the published version). Click here to read “A Look at McCook.”

Posted in Highway Links, History, US | 2 Comments »

Court Date Set for IDOT v. Vulcan

Monday, April 26th, 2010

In May 1998, a one-mile section of Historic Route 66 (Joliet Road) in McCook, Illlinois was closed due to pavement faults.

Looking northeast from just east of East Avenue, the barricades and chain-link fence close off the damaged section of the Mother Road

Looking northeast from just east of East Avenue, the barricades and chain-link fence close off the damaged section of the Mother Road

The Illinois Department of Transportation alleged in a lawsuit filed in 2001 that quarrying activities of Vulcan Materials on either side of the road damaged the state right-of-way. Vulcan has consistently denied any liability for damage. After nearly nine years, the case is now scheduled to be heard in court starting May 10th. (Full disclosure: I have been retained by lawyers for IDOT to provide expert testimony on the history of Route 66 and the specific history of this section of Joliet Road through McCook).
From the Township Maps of Cook County, published by the County Department of Highways, 1974. 66/Joliet Road runs diagonally across the center, from top left to lower right.

From the Township Maps of Cook County, published by the County Department of Highways, 1974. 66/Joliet Road runs diagonally across the center, from top left to lower right. The Santa Fe railroad is shown below Joliet Road, and southwest of 55th Street three of the quarries later owned by Vulcan Materials are also noted.

Since the closure of Joliet Road, traffic has been detoured onto a two-mile detour following 55th Street and East Avenue. I wrote an article concerning the road closure for the Spring 2006 issue of the Federation News, the quarterly publication of the National Historic Route 66 Federation. Here is an excerpt from that article:

In the Autumn 2002 issue of the Federation News, then-Mayor of McCook Patrick Gorski wrote, “In May of 1998 a one mile stretch of Historic Route 66 was closed due to damage to the roadway…the road basically split in half and was actually moving, therefore causing certain sections of the roadway to sink, causing areas to crack, and concrete jersey walls to explode from the pressure of the movement…Limestone in the area was mined right up to about fifteen feet on the north and south sides of the Historic Highway 66 corridor. This type of mining, and excavating, along with other acts committed by the quarry operators, caused the roadway to be damaged.”

A Chicago Tribune article from January 26, 2001 stated, “Vulcan blames Mother Nature: The company says the rock cracks and slippages that ultimately ruined the roadway extend 400 feet down, much farther than Vulcan has ever mined.” According again to former Mayor Gorski, “On September 21, 2001, the People of the State of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Transportation, filed suit in the Circuit Court of Cook County, seeking injunctive relief and damages against the local quarry involved in the mining and excavation of the area surrounding the Historic Route 66 corridor.”

Closed section of Route 66 in McCook

Closed section of Route 66 in McCook

The lawsuit should determine whether or not Vulcan Materials is legally liable for damage to the IDOT right-of-way; however, it may have little bearing on the question of whether the road can ever be safely reopened.

Posted in Highway Links, History, Illinois, US | 2 Comments »

Jackson Blvd Viaduct Re-opened

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

The Jackson Boulevard (eastbound Route 66) viaduct over the Union Station Railroad tracks in Chicago re-opened to traffic last week. It had been closed since June 2009. The old failing structure was demolished and completely replaced.

I posted up about the closure last year. The viaduct is located between Canal Street and the Jackson Bridge over the Chicago River. The closure had required detours, but did give pedestrians a rare 10-month chance to walk in the middle of the bridge without getting run over by traffic.

There are now no detours along Historic 66 in Cook County that I am aware of. In fact, portions of the highway alignment are being used for traffic detoured off the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290). Major repair work is in progress on the Congress Parkway bridges over the river as well as along the entire length of the expressway. Commuters have been advised to find alternate routes, and Jackson Boulevard, Ogden Avenue, and Adams Street have all been marked as I-290 detours.

Old Route 66 come to the rescue again!

Posted in Chicago, Highway Links, Illinois, Interstates, US | No Comments »

2010 Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

The Route 66 Association of Illinois has announced its 2010 inductees into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame. I have served several years on the Hall of Fame committee, (but not currently), so I know that the work of the committee is interesting and rewarding when deserving recipients are honored thanks to your efforts. It can also be contentious and difficult.

So, with this insider knowledge of how difficult and also rewarding the process can be, I have to applaud the current Hall of Fame committee for a strong and well-deserving group of inductees. The committee did a great service to the Illinois Association, the Hall of Fame, and to helping to preserve and protect the Route 66 historic legacy.

The details of the inductees are well documented on the Illinois Route 66 Association website. 817 Hillsboro in Edwardsville, known for years as Halley’s Cash and Carry Market; Lewis A. Barrick, founder Barrick Transfer & Beverage Co. in Lincoln, IL; the Deck Family of Girard and their Deck’s Drug Store and Museum; Snuffy’s Grill in McCook; and the Ambassador award to Bob Waldmire–all excellent choices.

Route 66 was always most importantly a vehicle for spreading commerce along the corridor through which it passed. If the highway failed to so spread commerce, it would not have been worth the cost in taxpayer money spent to finance the hard road’s construction. All of the Hall of Fame inductees are examples of the success of Route 66 in spreading commerce, from the business owners, to the bricks and mortar of businesses, to places still going strong (such as Snuffy’s), and to an artist who literally made his living on the road.

A hearty round of applause for the Illinois Hall of Fame committee! Job well done!

Posted in Awards, Highway Links, Illinois, US | No Comments »

Route 66 goes to Lowell Indiana!

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

This coming week represents a first for me, as I cross the state line out of Illinois to bring Route 66 to Lowell, Indiana. This is the first time that one of the PowerPoint presentations we offer will be seen at a library outside of Illinois. The Lowell Public Library at 1505 E. Commercial Avenue (Indiana Rt. 2) will host my presentation of Historic Route 66: A Journey Through History at 7 p.m. on Tuesday April 13, 2010. To register that you are coming (most libraries like to have a head count) call 219-696-7704, or go to their website: http://www.lowellpl.lib.in.us

It is also kind of a homecoming for me, since Lowell is where I attended three years of high school, sophomore through senior years, and where I graduated in 1975 (yes, way back in the last century). My ties to Lowell have nothing to do with why I am going to their library for this presentation, because the folks there had no idea that I was a former resident of the town when they contacted me about the program.

When I lived in Lowell, it had a population of about 4,000 people, and I see that as of the last census it has grown to over 7,500. It was always a rural area in the southern part of Indiana’s Lake County, dominated by farming. There was train service in the 20th century from the Monon and nearby from the New York Central, and in the auto era it was (and still is) on Indiana state highway 2 between Indiana 55 and US 41. Not far to the east, superslab I-65 cuts its swath–the less said about that, the better.

In my school days from 1972-75, there were at first no franchise restaurants. That changed with the opening of a Dairy Queen. There was a very good restaurant named Dante’s that had pizza and Italian fare and it was an outlet for Broasted Chicken as well.

Over on US 41, just south of the intersection with Indiana 2 leading into Lowell, for most of my youth long before we moved there we often passed by and saw a barn with a painted sign advertising Look Out Mountain “In Rock City, near Chattanooga Tennessee. See Seven States!” I used to drive my parents crazy asking them when we could go down to Look Out Mountain!

I look forward to returning to Lowell, provided my passport and visa is in order for the border crossing from Illinois and Indiana. I hope any Hoosiers with an interest in Route 66 will come on down to the Lowell Public Library, 1505 E. Commercial Avenue (IN Route 2), at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13, 2010. To register that you are coming (most libraries like to have a head count) call 219-696-7704, or go to their website: http://www.lowellpl.lib.in.us

Posted in Events, Highway Links, Indiana, Presentations, US | 2 Comments »

Postcards from the Ledge

Monday, April 5th, 2010

Route 66 Magazine, Spring 2010 Issue

Click above to see a larger image of the cover of the Spring 2010 issue of Route 66 Magazine

I just received my copy of the Spring 2010 issue of Route 66 Magazine. I knew that Sandi and Paul Taylor intended to use my article as the “cover story,” but did not know they would actually put a photo of me and my better two-thirds on the front of the magazine!
The article is titled “Postcards from the Ledge,” and it discusses the Sears Willis Tower Skydeck in Chicago, and its newest feature: The Ledge. The Skydeck is the observatory on the 103rd floor of North America’s tallest building (located right on Route 66 between Jackson Boulevard and Adams Street). The Ledge is comprised of four cantilevered glass boxes that protrude 4.3 feet out from the west side of the building.
Looking Down at Route 66 from the Ledge

Click above for larger view down on Route 66 from the Ledge

Eastbound Route 66–Jackson Boulevard–is 1,353 below and just to the left of my left foot in this picture. Westbound Route 66–Adams Street–is just in front of Carol’s shoes on the right.
Route 66 Magazine continues to publish excellent articles and information about the road culture of this country. Get yourself a copy of the magazine (or subscribe) and enjoy!

Posted in Chicago, Highway Links, Illinois, Magazines, Route 66 Magazine, US | No Comments »