Northwest Indiana Times newspaper continues its coverage of U.S. 30 and the Lincoln Highway:
In honor of the “Region’s Road,” The Times takes a look at the many communities — starting from west to east — that use U.S. 30 as a main artery of transportation and a critical part of their residents’ very lives.: The region’s road is an extensive look at the communities.
The newspaper photo, above, shows a plaque at the region’s famous Ideal Sections. Towns profiled include Dyer, Schererville, Merrillville, Hobart, Union Twp., and Valparaiso.
Northwest Indiana Times recently published a number of articles on the Lincoln Highway, including “Lincoln Highway, a lifeline for Illinois communities.” It includes mention of the sculpture seen at right, “Lincoln on the Road to Greatness,” which depicts Abraham Lincoln receiving flowers from two girls. The statue, dedicated in 2003, was funded by private donations including 200,000 pennies collected by local students. It is at the intersection of the Lincoln and Dixie highways, which on the opposite corner includes the Arche Memorial Fountain, dedicated decades ago to be a place of rest for weary motorists.
YOU WILL LOVE this video of central Iowa’s US 30, filmed in 1959 to show congestion and the need for road improvements. Highway Relocations was created by the Iowa State Highway Commission (ISHC), now IDOT, to show the downside of gas stations, rest stops, and the skinny two-lanes they populate. Filming started just east of State Center at the junction of Iowa 64 (now Iowa 330) and US 30 (the Lincoln Highway) and continued west along US 30 through State Center, Colo, Nevada, and Ames, ending just west of Boone. The film is 16 minutes long and covers 55 miles. {Note: Please read the comments for more info on the cars and the year it was filmed.]
Amazingly, most of it was filmed by a camerman perched atop a ladder connected to a car and extending approximately 22 feet in the air above the roadway! The camera, on a 1958 Ford Ranch Wagon, followed and filmed a 1958 Plymouth Fury. “The unidentified cameraman had the precarious task of trying to hold the camera steady and stay on the ladder, notably without a safety harness or other protective device.”
“As part of the Iowa DOT’s effort to preserve and archive its historical resources, the original Highway Relocations 16mm film was recently professionally cleaned and restored to its original film quality.”
A historical marker for the Lincoln & Dixie highways will be dedicated on Saturday, October 2, 2010, at 10:00 a.m. EDT at the southwest corner of Washington and Michigan streets in South Bend, Indiana. All are invited to join a reception and program immediately following at the American Trust Place – Blue Gallery, 101 N. Michigan St. The marker notes the significance of the Lincoln Highway (Washington St.) and Dixie Highway (Michigan St.) intersecting at this corner.
Please RSVP to Joyce Chambers (574) 272-5374 by September 27. Parking is available on the street or behind the American Trust Place. Enter through Woodward Court on Colfax Street between Michigan and Main Streets
This marker is made possible through the Indiana Historical Bureau in collaboration with the GFWC/IFC Progress Club of South Bend, Indiana Lincoln Highway Association, and the City of South Bend.
Al Pfingstl sent an update on the Edison Tower in Edison, New Jersey, the site of the inventor’s Menlo Park laboratory. It’s part of the 36-acre Edison State Park, which is also being rejuvenated to include a newly constructed museum (replacing a tiny one from 1947) and outdoor interpretive exhibits.
The building contractor has begun interior demolition. The old baseboard electrical heaters, some of which were almost falling off the wall, are being replaced. The original 1940s Men’s and Ladies’ rooms, neither of which met modern requirements for handicapped accessibility, are being gutted. By redesigning the restroom entrance location, architect Alice Deupree with the Jersey City firm of LWDMR & Associates PC, has combined the two original restrooms into one accessible unisex restroom. The existing floor is being removed for replacement with new flooring material.
However, an even newer update on the web site notes the uncovering of asbestos.
Built in 1937, the Edison Tower now suffers from crumbling concrete and was named by Preservation New Jersey as one of New Jersey’s Ten Most Endangered historic resources. Since 2006, over $3 million has been raised towards the Tower restoration and a new museum. One side of the park fronts the Lincoln Highway/NJ 27 but the tower and museum are accessed via Christie Street. Learn more about them at www.menloparkmuseum.org (source of the image below).
The Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor is sponsoring a one-day bus trip along the Lincoln Highway from Greensburg to Everett, Pa., (and back) on Monday, October 11, 2010. The “ultimate road trip” will be guided by Lou DeRose, the ultimate Lincoln Highway fan, and Olga Herbert, the Executive Director of the LHHC. Both know this route inside and out and will share little-known facts about this country’s first coast-to-coast route.
In addition to photo ops at four Roadside Giants and four Lincoln Highway murals, bus guests will be treated to a lunch buffet at the Omni Bedford Springs Resort followed by a private tour. The day begins with a private guided tour of the historic Compass Inn in Laughlintown led by Innkeeper Jim Koontz.
After lunch they’ll head to Everett for a photo op of another Roadside Giant followed by visits to Bedford’s art deco Dunkle’s Gulf Station and the 1927 Coffee Pot. Dinner is at the historic Jean Bonnet Tavern with time to browse the Cabin Gift Shoppe.
Departure is from either Greensburg’s Hempfield Square or Latrobe 30 Shopping Plaza.
Make your reservation TODAY at www.LHHC.org where you can pay online or call (724) 238-9030. The travel package ($115 per person) includes the guided tours of Compass Inn and Bedford Springs, lunch at Bedford Springs, dinner at Jean Bonnet Tavern, and a photo memento. Sorry, no refunds.
Mike Hocker, Executive Director of the Ohio Lincoln Highway Historic Byway, writes, “I drove by Palmantier’s Motel near Minerva yesterday and saw a sign for an auction Aug 11th. I guess there is nothing else we can do.” The beautiful 9-unit motel is within sight of the famous stretch of Baywood Road paved in red bricks (bottom center of photo).
Palmantier’s Motel, opened 1947, was purchased five years ago by Scott Segeti, “lured to these parts by the beauty of nearby farm fields, grazing cattle, grassy meadows, chirping birds, fresh air and an opportunity to be his own boss.” By last year, slow business forced him to put the motel, swimming pool, two houses, and 3.25 acres for sale at $425,000.
The Town of Nevada, Iowa, will celebrate its 27th annual Lincoln Highway Days August 27–29, 2010. The theme this year is “Sharing and Caring on the Lincoln Highway!” but the event always includes standard amusements from carnival rides to rodeo tricks, a parade to baby contest. Learn more at www.lincolnhighwaydays.com/.
Van & Bev Becker send word from Iowa that the Lincoln Cafe in Belle Plaine is set to reopen in September. The Cedar Rapids Gazettereported today that Gzim “Jimmy” Limani, owner of the likewise famous King’s Tower Café (also along the Lincoln Highway in nearby Tama) is working to rehab the shuttered cafe. When it opens in September, Limani promises home-style cooking every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
“My customers from Belle Plaine told me I should buy it, so I did,” Limani, who’s originally from Albania, said. “It’s a historical building and the people in town are really excited about it. They have been very supportive.”
The previous owner of the Lincoln Café, Curtis Bailey, of Marengo, was murdered in his home last summer and the café closed….
Limani, his son Arijan, 14, and another worker have almost gutted the inside of the building…. “The place is old and needs cleaning and we’ve ripped it down to the bones, to the bricks. It’s down to the bricks in the kitchen….”
Limani said almost everything like the floors, ceiling and lights will be replaced or repaired and there will be new tables and booths. The outside of the café will also get updated with the help of KB Construction in Belle Plaine.
“I want to keep the original sign and it will stay the Lincoln Café,” Limani said smiling. “I don’t want to change that.”
The Travel Guys radio show out of Sacramento featured a special Fourth of July episode along the Lincoln Highway. One of the guys is radio personality Tom Romano, while Mark Hoffmann operates Sports Leisure Vacations, which offers tours of 2-lane roads like Route 66 and now the Lincoln Highway. Your blog host, me, Brian Butko chimes in with a few favorite stops along the Lincoln. Listen HERE. You can also download archived mp3s here.
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
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