Archive for the ‘Road trip’ Category
May 27, 2009
The third Roadside Giant sculpture along the Lincoln Highway in western Pennsylvania will be unveiled today. The Community Installation Celebration for the Central Westmoreland Career & Technology Center’s “Packard Car with Driver” will take place at 1 pm at the entrance to the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce and the Mt. Odin Golf Course, on the original Lincoln Highway. Guests will enjoy a “giant” Packard Cake, in the same shape as the giant, but edible! Photos of the installation courtesy Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor.
Tags:Greensburg PA, highway history, highway sculpture, history, Lincoln Highway, PA, Road trip, roadside giants, travel
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May 26, 2009
Parts of New York City’s Times Square, the real and symbolic eastern terminus of the Lincoln Highway, have been closed to traffic to make the busy crossroads more pedestiran friendly. Specifically, portions of Broadway between 42nd and 47th Streets have been closed to cars. The plan, partly inspired by the redevelopment of downtown Copenhagen, was conceived by the city’s transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg says he will decide in December whether to transform the plazas into something more permanent. Click the image below to read more from The New York Times.
As the NYT reports, “So far the pedestrian mall in Times Square is marked by little more than a few wobbly tables and metal chairs. A row of orange barriers frames the mall’s northern edge, where a half-dozen police officers patiently redirect traffic heading down Broadway.”
Tags:eastern terminus, highway history, Lincoln Highway, pedestrian friendly, Times Square
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation | 3 Comments »
May 22, 2009
This Sunday, May 24, Paxton, Nebraska, will celebrate the centennial of its incorporation as a village. The celebration will include a community pageant recalling Paxton’s history and a chuck wagon feed. Paxton, on the Lincoln Highway/US 30 west of North Platte, has a population of just 614. and one flashing red traffic warning light.
Russell Rein sent a link to a North Platte Telegraph story that gives details. The pageant —with 48 cast members and 30-voice choir — is at 3 p.m. at the Paxton High School with the chuck wagon feed at 5 p.m. in the high school’s bus barn. Tickets for the pageant and feed are $10 for adults; $5 for children, under 5 free.
Among Paxton’s businesses, there are three that have been serving the village for more than half the town’s existence. Kildare Lumber began serving the town and its rural farming and ranching population even before Paxton’s incorporation. Hehnke’s, a meat market and grocery on Paxton’s main street, has served the village for nearly 90 years. Ole’s Big Game Steakhouse and Lounge, in business for more than six decades along main street, has long been known throughout the United States.
Tags:big game steakhouse, centennial, highway town, Lincoln Highway, Nebraska, Paxton NE, rural America, steakhouse, US 30
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May 20, 2009
Three Somerset County Technology Center students who designed and built a giant “Bicycle Built for Two” sculpture saw their creation installed on May 6, 2009, at the Second Time Around shop along the Lincoln Highway/US 30 near Jennerstown, Pennsylvania. The steel and iron sculpture — 17 feet high, 22 feet wide, and weighs 1,800 pounds — depicts a man and a woman on an antique bicycle. The project took eight months, including the design time. It is the second of five pieces of art to be installed as part of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor’s “Roadside Giants of the Lincoln Highway” project.
The [Somerset] Daily American writes that The Sprout Fund of the Pittsburgh 250 Community Connections initiative paid for the project.
“I love art and education,” said Olga Herbert, executive director of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. “The Roadside Giants of the Lincoln Highway project combined the two and involved the community.” Highland Tank and Manufacturing Co. assembled the sculpture and transported it to the site. Weyand Sign Co. installed it.
The [Johnstown] Tribune-Democrat also covered the story, as did the Johnstown Our Town site.
The sculpture sits on land belonging to Georgia and Vic Sheftic at the Second Time Around shop just west of the intersection of Route 219, near the shop’s beloved praying mantis — a giant itself!
The Roadside Giants were envisioned by Olga Herbert, executive director of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor. The sculptures were developed to draw attention to the historic roadway and provide a learning experience for high school students.
Set to be installed within a month is an oversized quarter with George Washington’s profile near the Down River Golf course east of Everett, a replica of a 1921 apple truck in Franklin County, and a Packard car in central Westmoreland County. A 1940s gas pump was installed in April in Ligonier Township.
Tags:art projects, bicycle sculpture, Lincoln Highway, PA, roadside giants, Somerset County PA, student works
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May 18, 2009
I asked Jan Morrison, owners of the Lincoln Motel in Austin, Nevada, how travel and business are this spring along the Lincoln Highway — here aka US 50 and “the Loneliest Road in America.”
Yes, things are slow, but the Lincoln Motel is open and will stay open. We are taking advantage of the slower times to paint each room and do repairs.
Actually, things are beginning to look up in Austin. It seems we slid into the recession early, and are ready to climb out of it sooner. Traffic on the highway has definitely increased.
I think people are returning to the country and driving. The price of gas certainly helps. But with these difficult times, I think people need to re-connect with the basics in life, and small towns along Highway 50 offer them a calming trip to “Mayberry.” Whether they actually grew up in a small town, or did so through TV, rural America is comfort food for the recession-weary!
For more info on the motel and town, see www.goaustinnevada.com/.
Tags:Austin NV, calming travel, Lincoln Highway, Mayberry, Nevada, Road trip, rural America, small towns, travel, vintage motel
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May 14, 2009
Attendees to the 2009 LHA conference in South Bend, Indiana, are looking forward to meeting authors and artists on June 18th. If your work focuses on the Lincoln Highway or Dixie Highway, please contact Jan Shupert-Arick at (260) 452-8140 and ask to be part of the authors and artists celebration. There is no charge to participate — bring your books/artwork and a table covering. The public is also invited to meet the authors and artists.
Tags:Dixie Highway, highway history, historic highway conference, Lincoln Highway, old maps and brochures, South Bend IN
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May 13, 2009
The Cleveland Plain Dealer recently profiled Rita Shisler, owner of the wonderful Shisler’s Cheese House along the Lincoln Highway in eastern Ohio. It’s a fun read and an inspiring story.
Rita’s advice on running a successful business:
Work hard and hire people who are a good fit for your business. You have to love what you do. It reflects back on to your business. People like doing business with happy people. They want to be part of it.
Shisler’s Cheese House is on the corner of US 30 & Kidron Rd., Orrville, Ohio, (330) 682-2105.
Tags:cheese house, food store, Lincoln Highway, Ohio, old-fashioned service, Orrville OH, Shisler's, US 30, vintage road stop
Posted in food, highways, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, travel | 1 Comment »
May 12, 2009
The odometer on this blog just rolled 100,000 hits. Launched in October 2007, the purpose remains to keep readers and myself informed and entertained. For your enjoyment, here’s a view from Wyoming of Hostler’s General Store, and a Muffler Man-turned-Jack Hammer at the minor league Silver Cross Field between the original Lincoln Highway and the current eastbound routing (aka US 30) in Joliet, Illinois.
I hope these and the rest of the blog inspire you to hit the (two-lane) road and create your own road trip memories. And please send us some of your photos to post.
Tags:blog anniversary, general store, highway history, Illinois, Joliet IL, Lincoln Highway, old-time travel, Road trip, roadside photos, travel, vacation, Wyoming
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation, travel | 5 Comments »
May 8, 2009
Photographers Eric Mencher and his wife Kass have been photographing the Lincoln Highway since 1997. Eric is staff photographer at The Philadelphia Inquirer. They began with Pennsylvania and last year completed the entire length from coast to coast. They’ve just begun another two-week trip that will take them from Wyoming into Utah and Nevada.
You can follow their adventures at lincolnhighwayseen.blogspot.com which Eric will update every day or so. The first entry doesn’t have much yet, only four images shot from their room at the Plains Hotel in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Last year he posted a handful of photos from their trip through Wyoming and Nebraska. You can find them, along with other photos mixed in, at:
thisurbanlife.blogspot.com/2008_05_01_archive.html/.
Tags:blogging a road trip, Cheyenne WY, Eric Mencher, Lincoln Highway, Lincoln Theater, neon, photojournalism, Road trip, travel, western trip, Wyoming
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, roadside, signs, travel | 1 Comment »
May 5, 2009
Last weekend I drove mostly 2-lane roads to Norfolk, Virginia, and back to Pittsburgh, some 900 miles. At Breezewood, Pa., a couple long-time Lincoln Highway landmarks were out of business: the Family House Restaurant and adjacent Penn Aire Motel. I’ve stayed at the motel and it was fine but certainly on the familiar decline from 1950s fabulous to no-longer-AAA-rated. The restaurant seemed to thrive but Turnpike traffic was noticeably down this trip.
On a brighter note, the trip to Virginia included favorite roadside stops like Dinosaurland and some new ones in the Shenandoah Mountains. Flickr friend loungelistener cued me into a couple cool places on US 50 just west of Winchester, Virginia, including the curved-layout Hayfield Motel and the tiny Amherst Diner, where I had a nice breakfast.
While researching my Roadside Attractions book, I wanted to stop at Doumar’s Cones & Barbecue, opened 1934 in Norfolk and now I had the chance. Here’s 87-year-old Albert outside the cool carhop drive-in with his family’s 1905 waffle cone maker! Albert claims it was his Uncle Abe who invented the ice cream cone during the 1904 St. Louis Exposition.
Tags:Breezewood PA, Diner, Doumar's ice cream, ice cream, Lincoln Highway, Norfolk VA, old motel, Road trip, roadside, Virginia, Winchester VA
Posted in highways, history, Lincoln Highway, Road trip, transportation, travel | 2 Comments »
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