Illinois

Beginning the trip in Chicago the first problem is deciding where the start of Route 66 is as it has moved around over the years (see the books and web sites for the discussions).

I drove along Lake Shore Drive past the Buckingham Fountain (which was at full power when I stopped to take its photo)

Then I turned left into Monroe then left again into Michigan Ave and headed for the junction with Adams Street.

And suddenly there it was.

A quick turn into Adams Street and the journey has begun!

The first part of the journey down Adams Street is typical big city stuff, traffic, pedestrians, police, elevated railways etc. The photograph above is a the view from the junction with Michigan Ave and, if you have good eyesight, there is a tiny “Begin Route 66” sign there. I never saw it when I was driving, it was only while looking at the photographs it was revealed (Clue: look to the right hand side by the red banner).

Once you get out of central Chicago it is surprising how quickly the traffic and hustle disappears and, if not quite in the country, things are more relaxing.

I took the routing through Joliet and Elwood (the Blues Brothers!) and on to Wilmington for a well earned break at the Launching Pad Drive In.

Quite apart from good food and friendly service they boast one of the Route 66 giants outside (the Gemini Giant).

There are a number of giant figures all along Route 66 but, as far as I know, this is the first one you encounter going west.

Refreshed and revived (and slightly boiled as it was in the 90’s) it was back on to Route 66 and slowly the signs of a major city disappeared.


	A short way down the road you reach Odell which boasts a wonderfully restored 1930’s Standard Oil service station. It also features a picnic area so if you are already car sore you can take a break

Route 66 is now running through open country with an older (and narrower) alignment of the road on your right running parallel with you for mile after mile.

Before you get to the town of Pontiac there is the Meramec Caverns Barn (the actual caverns are in Missouri, this is an advert for them which has been painted on a barn here since around when Route 66 was created).


	There is a pull in to allow you to view the barn in safety which actually allows you to drive a short distance on this older alignment of the road.

While there is a long stretch of the old road in front of you you can’t actually drive very far before you encounter a ditch dug across the road making you turn around and get back on the new roadway.

There are similar ditches all along the old road, they’ve done their best to make sure you don’t drive on it.


	The next major place on the road is Springfield which is largely given over to the memory of Abraham Lincoln. Some of it is done in rather a “heavy” commercial style but I found the Lincoln Museum and the restored streets around Lincoln’s house well worth a visit.


	Some of the restored houses in the area around the Lincoln House, note the wooden sidewalk.


	This is the Lincoln House, tours of it are managed by the National Park Service.

Further down the road at Mt Olive there is another splendidly restored gas station, this time a Shell one.

These are a pleasure to see because in may cases the only trace of a gas station is a square stone shape with two stone pillars in front of it.


	I was now nearing the western edge of Illinois and there are several possible routes to follow. I decided to try out the famous Chain of Rocks Bridge that has been reopened for pedestrians only.


	As I drove towards the bridge there were some heartening signs of new commercial activity in the area. Unfortunately the new Motel did not put up a traditional neon sign to match the older ones behind it. And yes that is my trusty Pontiac GrandAm that I would get to know well over the coming weeks (note that front number plates are optional).

Before you get to the bridge proper you cross over the Chain of Rocks Canal and then there is an unmarked road to the left (it’s also unpaved and rather steep) that brings you to the bank of the Mississippi.

You’re not seeing things, the bridge does have a bend in it! The white building is a very stylish water extraction point, you can see the river is low. The photo may appear hazy in the distance, it was 8:30 in the morning and the temperature was approaching 90 - I think the river was evaporating.

This is the start of the bridge on the Illinois side. If you think it looks narrow it is, according to some local residents I spoke to in its final years there were traffic lights and alternate one way working.

A better view showing just how narrow the bridge is.

Here is the bend in the bridge seen from the inside. Just imagine encountering this in an overloaded Model A at night in the rain with traffic coming towards you! There is a Missouri Highway 66 sign on the central pillar, the border is just about in the middle of the bend.


	A final bit of trivia: the Chain of Rocks Bridge was featured in the film “Escape from New York” standing in for the 69th Street Bridge. There are vestiges of this film still to be found, if you look carefully you can still see “Security” markings on the bridge deck, just keep an eye out for “Snake”.


	Now it’s on to Missouri

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