Archive for the ‘history’ Category

Fun at the Twin Hi-Way Drive-In

July 18, 2008

We spent last night under a rising full moon at the Twin Hi-Way Drive-In, named for the two roads passing by: the Lincoln Highway and Wm. Penn Highway (later US routes 22 & 30). Opened in 1950 in suburban Pittsburgh, the “drive-in capital,” it had closed in 1996 and sat mostly vacant, hosting volleyball tounaments for the adjacent bar and military-themed haunted attractions at Halloween. Three local partners – Jerry Salnoris, Dan Tice, and Jim Torcasi – reopened it last July 3. Business is OK but they have the usual challenge of rainy weather and that most profits go back to the movie distributor, so they depend greatly on snack bar sales. We did our part with endless trips for drinks, ice cream, french fries, and popcorn!

Visit your local drive-in this weekend to experience a movie under the stars. Their land is always tempting to developers so let’s support them while we can. Check the list at right for a LH drive-in near you or send any I might have missed.

Twin Hi-Way Drive-In
5588 Steubenville Pike
Robinson Township, PA
(412) 494-4999
http://www.twinhiwaydrivein.com

Three Sleepy Hollow Tavern updates

July 17, 2008

I have three updates on Sleepy Hollow Tavern near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, a 1939 roadside landmark along the Lincoln Highway that burned in February.

An article in today’s Tribune Review reports that the contractor demolishing and rebuilding the place has found numerous treasures including a couple huge safes. Fred Haeflein says one of the safes is a 100-year-old, 1,000-pound combo-lock model, hand-painted with gold lining and braided metal on the outside. Other items include a popcorn machine, brass lighting fixtures, a Corona metal beer cooler, and objects that hung on the walls such as antique skis, golf clubs, and “various Lincoln Highway road signs.”

The Trib also recently reported that Ligonier filmmaker Andrea Niapas, who produced a 2007 docudrama of Amelia Earhart’s last flight, is documenting Haeflein as he dismantles and rebuilds the tavern. She sometimes stands atop construction vehicles to get better footage of the building’s selective demolition.

Finally, Clinton Piper wrote to say that his mother volunteers to compile obituaries for a local database and was searching the Latrobe Bulletin on microfilm when she came across some interesting references to two buildings on the Sleepy Hollow site:
1. Overland Inn burned prior to 1926
2. Gas station destroyed by fire 10/18/26

A later gas station at the site is pictured in my PA LH book (shown above) but little is known about it.

Road changes close classic Hazen Market in NV

July 15, 2008

Hazen Market, a well-known stop east of Reno, Nwevada, has closed after some 70 years in business. A report in the Lahontan Valley News says the recent widening of US 50A made it difficult for travelers to stop, leading to a decline in business. The store was originally along the old Lincoln Highway but was relocated in 1944 when the railroad and highway were moved to bypass south of the little town. Producer Rick Sebak stopped last year on his first trip for the upcoming PBS special and, like so many, enjoyed his visit.

The market had been spruced up since then (as seen in Rick’s sunset photo above versus one from the article below). It still maintained its classic appearance, but that was not enough according to the article, excerpts of which follow.

Owner Allen Hughes blames the Nevada Department of Transportation for the store’s demise…. “The State of Nevada blocked me off,” he said, adding he was promised three turning lanes, which never materialized.

People traveling from Fernley would have to drive 300 feet past the market and make a U-turn to enter his business and make another U-turn when exiting the store because there is no turn lane when traveling eastbound….

Hughes said he is not sure of what he will do with the building, but has thoughts of turning it into a delicatessen/bar to make it more of a destination business than a convenience. He said people who would not stop for a soft drink might do so for a sandwich.

Hughes said the store is for lease, and is willing to work with interested people who would like to open some type of business there.

Hazen residents said they are being affected by the closing of the market, which is located halfway between Fallon and Fernley.

More shopping proposed for LH east of Lancaster

July 14, 2008

LancasterOnline reports that more retail may be coming to the busy Lincoln Highway/US 30 corridor east of Lancaster, Pa. This stretch was still rural until about WWII, then grew modestly along with interest in the Amish who live in the area. Living history farms, country-style buffets, and other Pennsylvania Dutch-themed businesses dotted the road till the early 1990s when the city pursued businesses that operated beyond daylight hours. Wal-Mart was among the first to open (on the former Amish Homestead attraction) and now outlet malls, strip malls, and fast food chains dominate the multiple-lane highway.

Many of the old hotels are gone, which is apparently what this development would replace — the former c. 1960 Congress Inn, seen above in May.

[Lancaster County Planning Commission[ planners are expected to review plans for the Millcreek Square shopping center proposed for 35 acres on Lincoln Highway East in East Lampeter Township.

Affiliates of High Real Estate Group LLC and Faison Enterprises Inc., of Charlotte, N.C., are planning a 287,000-square-foot center adjacent to Lancaster Host Resort.

The main entrance to the center would be opposite the entrance to the complex where Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and the Italian Villa are located.

Smaller retailers would be located along Lincoln Highway East, while midsize and large stores would form an “L” shape along the east side and rear of the property.

Developers have declined to name any retailers that might occupy the complex.

Buddy & Bob hit Times Square Monday morning

July 11, 2008

After 3,400 miles but just $300 in gas on their Piaggio cycles, Buddy Rosenbaum (71) and Bob Chase (72) are set to reach the eastern terminus of the Lincoln Highway on Monday, July 14. Scooter commuters and the New York Scooter Club will welcome them to Times Square, which will close briefly just for them!

You can greet them too – here’s the schedule:
9 am — Breakfast at Vespa Jersey City.
10 am — Ride via the Lincoln Tunnel (a later LH route) into NYC.
10:30 to 10:45 am — Welcome at Times Square, 42nd and Broadway.
11:45 am to 2 pm — Reception and lunch at Bond 45, 154 W. 45th St.

Above: Bob, Buddy, and their Piaggios in San Francisco at the western terminus. Read more at www.noagelimitpiaggio.us/.

Roadside Attractions today on Sirius Radio

July 11, 2008

I’ll be talking about roadside attractions today (Friday, July 11) on Sirius satellite radio with Meredith Ochs. You can catch it on ROAD DOG 147 / OUTLAW COUNTRY 63 from about 11:15 till noon EDT. Both our roadside books include many Lincoln Highway attractions; in fact, the cover of Roadside Giants features a view looking east on the Lincoln Highway at Fossil Cabin in Wyoming.

You can click the covers if you’d like to order or just learn more about them on Amazon.

New Great Race US-only auto tour announced

July 8, 2008

Great Race Sports, planning to celebrate the centennial of The Great Race from New York to Paris with a commemorative re-run this summer, had to delay the event after the Chinese government revoked travel permits for foreigners following demonstrations in Tibet and along the Olympic Torch Run. New dates are April 25 – June 28, 2009. But scheduled for later this year is an event that will follow much of the Lincoln Highway.

“The Great Auto Race Celebration Tour” will retrace almost the exact route driven by George Schuster and the winning team aboard the 1907 Thomas Flyer a century ago. The 3,700-mile cross-country event will start in New York City on October 18, 2008, and finish in Los Angeles on November 1. It is meant to be a fun and relaxing event with short optional rally sections. Enthusiasts are welcome to join anywhere along the route for 3, 5, 7 or 15 days for an entry fee of $100/day.

Cars of any era are eligible to participate, and teams can travel at their own speeds while previewing next year’s route before it becomes a competitive event. Here’s the tentative schedule of overnight stops — much of the route covers the Lincoln Highway from Indiana through Nevada.

Sat 10/18 Albany, New York – 184 miles
Sun 10/19 Buffalo, New York – 317 miles
Mon 10/20 Cleveland, Ohio – 215 miles
Tue 10/21 Auburn, Indiana – 185 miles
Wed 10/22 Joliet, Illinois – 323 miles
Thu 10/23 Cedar Rapids, Iowa – 292 miles
Fri 10/24 Omaha, Nebraska – 286 miles
Sat 10/25 North Platte, Nebraska – 308 miles
Sun 10/26 Cheyenne, Wyoming – 244 miles
Mon 10/27 Rock Springs, Wyoming – 228 miles
Tue 10/28 Provo, Utah – 220 miles
Wed 10/29 Ely, Nevada – 270 miles
Thu., 10/30 Beatty, Nevada 310 miles
Fri., 10/31 Riverside, California 283 miles
Sat., 11/1 Los Angeles, California 65 miles

Visit The Great Race site for more information.

Buddy, Bob, and their Piaggios tour Illinois

July 4, 2008

Diane Rossiter of the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition sent an update as Buddy and Bob crossed Illinois on their Piaggio cycles:

Here’s a photo of Buddy and Bob (posing as one of the pioneering motorcycling Van Buren sisters) in the Dixon Welcome Center. They stopped here on Thursday, July 3rd, to visit the Lincoln Highway Interpretive Center. We lunched at The Salamander in downtown Dixon with Mayor Jim Burke and Diane Bausman, Executive Director of the Blackhawk Waterways Convention & Visitor Bureau.

This is the signage at the new location of the Dixon Welcome Center on the corner of River and Galena Streets. It houses a Lincoln Highway Interpretive Exhibit. The center opens Mon – Sat at 10 a.m.

Buddy, Bob, and I then stopped in Franklin Grove to visit the LHA Headquarters where they bought a couple of shirts from Lyn Asp. While there, they sat for 5 minutes and conducted an interview via cell phone with a lady named Karin who was reaching them from France. They are making news worldwide now! They are really nice gentlemen and are full of stories from all of their travels of the world.

From here we drove through Ashton, Rochelle, and stopped at the Seedling Mile Marker in Malta, Illinois. We couldn’t stay long, as they had a press conference in DeKalb. There, they were greeted by two legislators, the mayor of DeKalb, and several reporters. They were presented with several area gifts and ILHC gave them each an embroidered shirt with our logo on it. Tomorrow, they drive on to Plainfield and further east. The big trips ends at Times Square on July 14th.

Rare pike milestone to be reinstalled in PA

July 3, 2008

D. Lowell Nissley, author of Lincoln Highway: The Road My Father Traveled, will be replanting one of the rare Lancaster Turnpike mile markers in eastern Pennsylvania this summer. The ceremony is set for Friday, August 8, 2008, subject to change. Location will be the Deerfield Corporate Center on US 30 in Frazer, at the first traffic west of Route 401. The Lincoln Highway follows much of the 200+ year old pike from Philadelphia west to Lancaster.

Lowell explains, “About 40 years ago the property where my wife grew up was sold with a very uncertain future. There was a 1795 marker (21 M to P) on their property so I rescued it and it has served a as bench outside our front door all these years. Now things at the property have stabilized enough for the replanting of this marker.”

The ceremony will commemorate the Lancaster Turnpike, the families who lived on the milestone property, and East Whiteland Township’s role in the revolutionary and transportation history of the United States.

This simple granite milestone once stood at the edge of the Lincoln Highway on the old Brackbill/ Haldeman/ Malin farm, which is now the Deerfield Corporate Center. Marking 21 miles to/from Philadelphia, it was placed along the road soon after the Lancaster to Philadelphia Turnpike opened in 1794, the first hard-surfaced road in America. There were once 64 of these stones, one per mile, but no more than a third of them remain, and not a single one between Berwyn and Downingtown.

Exclusive Premier – PBS Lincoln Hwy promo

July 2, 2008

PBS producer Rick Sebak sent a teaser for his Lincoln Highway program that will air nationally October 29. He was a little shy about it since of course so much had to be left out: “Most of the recent trip isn’t even in the computer yet, so most of the pictures are from last year.” However, I think you’ll agree that a lot IS packed into the 2-minute piece. (Disclosure – that’s me you’ll see a couple times outside the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.) I saw a hi-res version that’s amazing in its detail, which is what the final show will look like. Here’s a lo-res version:

Interest in the LH has been rising the past few years, and I think a wave will hit come Halloween when millions across the US see Sebak’s whimsical take on the road — fun yet informative, full of friendly folks and achingly beautiful roadscapes. Prepare to see a lot more LH travelers and LH roadtrip blogs next Spring.

Learn about Rick’s recent adventures on the LH blog you’re reading or go to Rick’s QED blog for daily road reports and video clips from the trip.

Also today, a nice story is in the Woodbine Twiner about the crew’s visit to Woodbine, Iowa, and its Brick Street Station: find it by clicking HERE.