LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Enjoy a 90-year-old look at an article titled “The Lincoln Highway—Our Wonder Road” that appeared in the August 1920 issue of Popular Science by clicking HERE.
Archive for November, 2010
Lincoln Highway in Popular Science, 1920
November 23, 2010Indiana LHA holiday gathering at Kimmell B & B
November 19, 2010LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Indiana Lincoln Highway Association will hold a Holiday Gathering and House Tour at the Kimmell House Bed & Breakfast on December 4, 2010, starting at 2pm. The event is open to the public (pre-register by Wednesday, December 1) for only $16, which includes entrée, beverage, tax, and gratuity.
The historic property offers casual dining in addition to overnight accommodations. It is one of several bed and breakfasts along the Lincoln Highway in Indiana. Owners Dean and Deb Stoops will provide a personal tour of the property to attendees. For more information, call (574) 210-6278or visit www.kimmellhouseinn.com/.
Kimmell House Inn Bed & Breakfast
1397 N US Highway 33
Kimmell, IN 46760
Latrobe drive-in theater safe for now
November 18, 2010LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
For years, reports have floated that the Hi-Way Drive-In Theater in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, was to close and be replaced by development. Most recently, Target has been the retailer of choice, but the drive-in along the Lincoln Highway has made clear it’s stance: posted on the marquee is “No Target did not buy us.” Top photo by Kristin Poerschke, bottom by me (Brian) on a recent visit.
Could US 30 in Ohio become a toll road?
November 15, 2010A story in the East Liverpool, Ohio, Review relates a plan to pay for making U.S. Route 30 in eastern Ohio by making it a toll road.
Route 30 is a four-lane road from Indiana to East Canton, where it remains a two-lane road the final 36 miles in Ohio through Columbiana County, except for a portion which runs with state Route 11 from West Point to East Liverpool. For more than 50 years, various people have tried to get the final segment of Route 30 in Ohio completed, to no avail.
The latest attempt involves dividing the project into three sections and doing them in phases as the money comes available. The sections are East Canton to Minerva, Minerva to Hanoverton, and Hanoverton to state Route 11 at West Point. The committee is pursuing the Hanoverton-West Point section first, a distance of 12 miles, which would cost an estimated $118 million to design, acquire the property rights of way and construct, according to Deputy County Engineer Robert Durbin….
Durbin said they believe charging a toll of $1.25 for cars and $2.50 for trucks to travel the 12-mile segment would generate enough revenue to pay for the new road in 40 years based on the increased vehicle traffic they expect to result.
Belle Plaine's Lincoln Cafe Reopening Soon
November 5, 2010LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Van & Bev Becker send good news from Iowa that the Lincoln Cafe in Belle Plaine is about to reopen. The landmark eatery closed a year and a ahlf ago after the owner was murdered as part of a family dispute. Click the image below to watch a video report from KGAN-TV, Cedar Rapids. Check out my previous entries such as this and this.
Above, the remodeled cafe, and below, before its closure.
Lakeview Motel burns, may be demolished
November 1, 2010LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
A fire has left the future uncertain for a vintage motel on the Lincoln Highway south of Plainfield, Illinois. About two thirds of the Lakeview Motel, 15824 S. Joliet Rd. at Renwick Rd., was damaged at a loss estimated at $350,000. The Plainfield Patch reports police believe the blaze started in an unoccupied room and quickly spread into the roof of the 19-room motel. The longtime maintenance manager thinks an unhappy tenant may have been the source, and said, “Out of 19 rooms, 10 of them are pretty much gone.” A photo the paper ran from before the fire (by Kevin Whaley) shows the c. 1950 motel.
The Herald-News reports that even before the fire, the village’s building inspector says multiple code violations made the buildings a dangerous place to live. He has since condemned the motel, house, and mobile homes but the owner would rather rebuild than demolish. The inspector said he’ll give the owner 30 days to figure out how to proceed: “I think people deserve better…. And it’s a prime corner. There’s a lot of potential on this corner.”
Like most mid-century motels, tourists are no longer the primary customers. One online reviewer cried “WHAT A DUMP!!!!!!: This place does not belong in Plainfield. A drug den, where there is nothing but losers & transient people there. Not even safe to park vehicle there. Should be torn down…” but a response said, “It’s not the greatest place on earth, but some people are not as fortunate as others [and] have to stay wherever they can afford and at least they have a roof over their head and not sleeping on the corner.”
Lincoln Highway News 