As the bustle of Chicago, Plainfield and Joliet subsides, you, the roadie, enter the heartland of America.   The breadbasket of the world opens up before you, and the towns pass by like seeds on the wind.  Once necessary stopping points for the roadside traveler, many of the small towns of Illinois 66 have fallen victim, like so many others across the country, to the bypassing of  their vital inner cores by those great interstate arterials around the town's perimeters.  So sit back, and let's take a leisurely cruise through the Illinois countryside...

     
     I've not had the opportunity to explore Chicago.  My Illinois Route 66 excursions have been whirlwind affairs taken while visiting my family over the Christmas/Thanksgiving holidays.  The closest I've gotten is the newer alignment of 66 now relegated to frontage road east of Plainfield.  This little stretch of road (see pic) is still a nice stretch of concrete, paralleling the busy interstate visible to the right.  But I didn't find the newer alignment of Plainfield too interesting.  Becoming an upscale bedroom community to Chicago, I found the area rapidly being overcome by new malls, expensive stores and antique shops.  No room for 'relics' (Ali Baba's in Shorewood just south of Plainfield being a welcome exception).  Thus, I must admit, I personally enjoyed the older alignment coming down through Joliet better.

      Following that older alignment and rolling down highway ILL53, you'll eventually enter the 'City of Stone and Steel'-Joliet.  Circa 1673, the French explorer Louis Joliet came through the area and proclaimed  "...game is abundant, oxen, cows, stags, does and turkeys are found in great abundance...there are prairies, three, six and ten and twenty leagues in length...on the very day of arrival, he could put his plow in the ground...".  His namesake town was incorporated in 1852, and it soon became a major crossroads and industrial center.  The largest  town outside of Chicago on the old I & M (Illinois and Michigan) canal system, Joliet also boasted over 50 quarries and in 1869 became the home of the Union Coal, Iron, and Transportation Company-later to become U.S. Steel.  This heritage lives on-see the pic of this Steel Workers sign on this building (SE corner of Ottawa and Crawley) and check out the many murals and sculptures in the area.   Perhaps many of these hard-working steel men headed on over to Stefanich's pub (since 1933 if the sign is correct) Scott for a cold one after a hard day at the foundry.

     But Joliet wasn't all stone and steel-the Rialto Square Theatre on original Route 66 Chicago St. is proof that there also existed a little velvet and class- "a palace for the people".  Opening in 1926 at the height of the vaudeville era, the Rialto with all of its ornate decor was THE place to be seen.  Eventually becoming a movie house, the Rialto survived until the early 80's-replaced by the multi-theatre mall complexes so common today.  Fortunately, the city and civic leaders recognized the importance of this city treasure.  Listed on the National Historic Register, the Rialto was lovingly refurbished and re-opened as a performing arts center in the mid-80's and still performs this role magnificently today.  Take a look at this pic-it's easy to imagine Model T's, then 32 Fords and 50 Mercury's passing by.  Hopefully, the Rialto will see vehicles passing its doorstep for many years to come.

     South of Pontiac, you are really getting into small town Illinois.  Like forgotten toys in the backyard, the small towns of Illinois 66 were once beloved fixtures of the road but have largely been forgotten by the thousands of travelers just a short hop away on I-55.  Post World War II 4-lane 66 traverses this area, and be sure to check out many of the cut-off segments (some adorned with replica Burma-Shave jingles) and abandoned bridges in this area.  The 'town' of Ocoya appears to be comprised of two small barns and a grouping of silos as depicted in these photos.  Note the unused western lanes of 66.  I find it interesting that even in '46 Rittenhouse makes a comment in his book about silos here.  Time travels a little more slowly off of the interstate...  

    Just south of Ocoya, another sleepy town awaits-Chenoa.  One of the many seedlings that sprouted up along side the now defunct Alton and Chicago railway, Chenoa has long been a rail and highway crossroads (see pic of the old train depot).  In addition to the rails, old 66 met U.S. 24 here so it was only natural that a city should spring up to serve all of these travelers.  Chenoa, today a town of roughly 1800, seems proud of its 66 heritage as evidenced by this great mural downtown, and it should be.  From the very beginning, 66 had passed through town, though not always in the same place.  From the junction of U.S. 24 and newer 66 (ILL53), head east a couple of blocks to the junction of U.S. 24 and Morehead.  Look to the south and you can see how original (now abandoned) 66 paralleled the old Alton and Chicago railroad tracks into town.  Check out this pic of the area.  That slight rise in the distance is an I-55 overpass off in the distance.  On to the capital!  

     Capitol of the Land of Lincoln, Springfield was a natural stop for the traveler.  With all required amenities and many interesting museums, parks and eateries, who could just drive on through?  As was the case in many highway towns, especially those in the west, roadside establishments tended to proliferate on the east side of town-each vying to be the 1st to capture that tourist dollar.  A good example in Springfield is Mernin's Court.  Just across the Sangamon River and as you climb the hill, look to the left up on top of the embankment-there, hidden in the overgrown trees, is the old, forgotten moniker.  Obviously a cute place in its time,  today, Mernin's is rapidly falling apart and returning to the surrounding woodland.  Now private property, be sure ask permission to visit these classic cabins.  Perhaps after unpacking, the early motorist headed downtown to catch a bite to eat and hear some music.  Much like 50 years ago, Saputo's fine Italian food or Coney Island's dogs still pull people off the road with their beckoning neon!  Maybe Sonrise Donuts caught the hungry family on their way out of town in the morning...

     Regardless of whether the traveler took the early alignment down through Chatham and Carlinville or the newer road through Litchfield, both roads hooked back up in Staunton and dumped the roadie in Mitchell for the final run across the Mississippi.  Just west of the intersection of Ill 111, check out the remaining sign for the Bel Air Drive In.  I've seen on the Yahoo Route 66 e-group where this old sign may be in danger.  I hope the town of Mitchell recognizes the cultural importane of this old icon even as the area continues to develop.  
  Author's Addendum: Per a note from Tom DeVrieze, thankfully the Bel-Air sign was still there as of 11/06.  Thanks for the update Tom. 

     You can almost smell and hear the river, but there is still a little strip of old road just east of the Chain of Rocks bridge that is worth exploring first.  Take exit 3 off of I-270 and one block south lies old 66-on this area known as West Chain of Rocks Road.  Hit terribly hard by the bypassing of 270, this area of Mitchell appears a little rough but is still worth exploring.  The Land of Lincoln and Chain of Rocks motels still have great old signage out front (Author's addendum-09/09/03: even before I published this, I read on the 66 e-group where the Land of Lincoln Motel is removing their great sign.  I cannot imagine anyone more short-sighted).   Head due west on old 66, cross the Canal Bridge and take the road as far as you can before having to stop because of the 'Father of Waters'-the Mississippi.  Be prepared to take a little hike, but it's well worth it.  The City of Madison, Trailnet and several other organizations have teamed up to save the old 1929 Chain of Rocks Bridge and in 1999 re-opened the bridge as a walking/biking trail.  Be sure to wander out onto the old bridge deck to marvel at how narrow the old bridge was (24 feet) and to check out that strange 22 degree bend in the middle.  Though many interesting stories exist as to why the bend is there, the main reason for the bend seems to be to ease the river traffic negotiating the bends and tricky currents in this stretch of the river.  It wasn't until the Chain of Rocks Canal was completed in the early 60's that the barge traffic could bypass this danger on the river.

     Just as Lewis and Clark left on their grand journey from very near this spot on the 'Father of Waters', let us bid Illinois a fond 'adieu' and continue our grand journey down the Mother Road on into Missouri! 

--OR--
choose your favorite 66 state to jump to!