Seen along historic Route 66 in Illinois. Ambler's Texaco Gas Station, also known as Becker's Marathon Gas Station, is a historic filling station located at the intersection of Old U.S. Route 66 and Illinois Route 17 in the village of Dwight, Illinois. The station has been identified as the longest operating gas station along Route 66; it dispensed fuel for 66 continuous years until 1999. The station is a good example of a domestic style gas station and derives its most common names from ownership stints by two different men. Ambler's was the subject of major restoration work from 2005–2007, and reopened as a Route 66 visitor's center in May 2007. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2001. U.S. Route 66 in Illinois connected St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The historic Route 66, first known as the Main Street of America and later dubbed the Mother Road by novelist John Steinbeck in 1939, took long distance automobile travelers from Chicago to Southern California. Illinois was the first of the eight states through which the route ran to have its segment of US 66 completed at a time when much of Route 66 was still a gravel-and-dirt road. Route 66 in Illinois has now been largely replaced with Interstate 55. Parts of the original route still carry traffic and six separate portions of the roadbed have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.—Wikipedia—This image was processed as an HDR (High Dynamic Range) composition.
Seen along historic Route 66 in Illinois. Located on the outside, back wall of the Route 66 Association of Illinois Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac, Illinois is this Route 66 Shield Mural. It was painted in 2006 by the artists at Diaz Sign Art of Pontiac, Illinois. The bricks you see in front of the mural are original Route 66 bricks. You may drive your car, truck, motorcycle, or other mode of transportation in front of the mural for a photo. U.S. Route 66 in Illinois connected St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The historic Route 66, first known as the Main Street of America and later dubbed the Mother Road by novelist John Steinbeck in 1939, took long distance automobile travelers from Chicago to Southern California. Illinois was the first of the eight states through which the route ran to have its segment of US 66 completed at a time when much of Route 66 was still a gravel-and-dirt road. Route 66 in Illinois has now been largely replaced with Interstate 55. Parts of the original route still carry traffic and six separate portions of the roadbed have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.—Wikipedia—This image was processed as an HDR (High Dynamic Range) composition.
