It’s only right that the Mother Road roars through Illinois. Route 66 is part of American pop culture, along with rock ’n’ roll and drive-ins. Attractions along Route 66 were just as unique and individual as Americans themselves, and that spirit remains today.
One new attraction captures that wild and free Route 66 spirit: the Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum & Resource Center (http://pontiacoaklandmuseum.org) in Pontiac opened in 2011 with a stunning collection of Pontiac and Oakland cars along with other related memorabilia. Groups can take the regular tour or ask for the behind-the-scenes tour and see all the cars not currently on display, since the museum regularly rotates the exhibits.
The world has changed, but Doc’s Soda Fountain remains the same. Located in Girard, the business started as a drugstore in 1884, and when the newfangled craze of sodas hit in the 1920s, a soda fountain was added. Doc’s is under new ownership in this new century, but the sodas are still old-fashioned and ready for the Mother Road’s thirsty travelers, along with lunch, ice cream and pie. Groups are welcome.
How often does a bottle of ketchup land on the National Register of Historic Places? When it’s 170 feet tall, of course. Route 66 is known for wonderfully odd photo ops, and the World’s Biggest Catsup Bottle is no exception. The bottle is actually a water tower built in 1949 in downtown Collinsville and meant to serve the Brooks catsup manufacturing plant. Saved by a dedicated group of fans and restored to its original luster, this landmark is a Route 66 legend. Groups can stop for a photo or swing by in July for the bottle’s annual festival and birthday party. For an amazing amount of roadside oddities and attractions on Route 66, visit Illinois Route 66.
