Archive for the ‘transportation’ Category
November 27, 2007
John and Lenore Weiss are well-known to Route 66 fans for the work they’ve done to help preserve, promote, and document that road, especially in Illinois. Lincoln Highway fans are starting to hear about them too, most noticeably leading the acquisition from IDOT of a 1928 concrete LH post, then John served as Master of Ceremonies at its dedication on Veterans Day 2006 at the Joliet Historical Museum. Their newest project merges 66, the LH, and even the Dixie Highway.
Traveling the … Historic Three is a 74-page spiral-bound guide to traveling those three highways in a 110-mile, triangle-shaped route south of Chicago. John and Lenore freely give credit to the conceptual idea of combining these three roads into one road trip to Elaine Egdorf who administers Drivin’ the Dixie, a web site devoted to that road. The booklet has an intro, then tabs divide each section, and there’s a page of related organizations at the end. Narration is casual in the way a good friend would lead you on a tour, with instructions for when to turn, what to see, where to park, and recommended places to eat and visit. Lincoln Highway fans will be pleased to discover much that they may not have noticed until slowed down to a tour on the local level.
Lenore told me a little bit about their work:
The unique aspect of the triangular tour is that you can start at any of three locations and end up exactly where you started! With any road trips, folks travel say 100 miles, then they must return. This results in an extra 100 miles.
In this area, the Lincoln Highway and especially the Dixie Highway communities and businesses are not very accustomed to tourism. This is an interesting aspect when compared to those on Route 66. On the Lincoln, the town of Frankfort wants to get involved. On the Dixie, the town of Homewood is equally as excited.
Since we already had the Route 66 portion, and have lived on that particular section of the Lincoln Highway for 30 years, only the Dixie needed some real investigation. And that, too, was a rewarding experience.
And she notes that every time they drive it, as recently as last week, they keep discovering new things.
Above: John and Lenore Weiss with Route 66 tattoo man Jim Bush in the souvenir-filled gift shop at the Joliet Area Historical Museum, a must-stop for road fans.
Highlights at the intersections include the Art Institute of Chicago at Jackson Avenue and Columbus Drive in Chicago, where 66 and the Dixie launch; the Joliet Area Historical Museum where 66 and the LH meet, at Cass and Ottawa streets in Joliet; and the Arche Memorial Fountain where the LH and Dixie meet, built 1916 as part of a rest park for travelers of the two roads in Chicago Heights. As you can see, the three roads offer lots to see for fans of old roads. This and other books by the Weisses are available at gift shops such as the Joliet Museum or through the couple’s web site. An autographed copy of Traveling the … Historic Three is $9.95 + $4.60 postage and handling.
Tags:66, Chicago, Dixie, highways, Illinois, Joilet, Route 66, Weiss
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November 24, 2007
The Iowa Lincoln Highway Association is organizing its first-ever River to River Motor Tour across Iowa for August 8-10, 2008. All cars are invited, and classic car owners can rest easy that no gravel alignments will be on the official route. Participants can join or leave the tour at any point.
Above: The newly wiidened bridge between Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa, 1924. (Univ of Michigan, Special Collections Library, lhc2218)
Starting in Clinton, highlights will include:
• Site of the Lyons-Fulton Bridge in Clinton
• Walk on the abandoned Lincoln Highway west of Lowden
• Restored Youngville Café in Benton County
• World-famous Lincoln Highway Bridge in Tama
• State Center, the “rose capital of Iowa”
• Tour restored Reed/Niland corners in Colo
• Lincoln Highway Clubhouse in Jefferson
• Drive on the brick Lincoln Highway in Woodbine
• Hitchcock Nature Center near Honey Creek
Registration is $20 per vehicle for Iowa LHA members or $30 per vehicle for non-members that registers that person for a one year membership to the Iowa LHA. For more information, visit the Iowa LHA website or contact coordinator LHA Iowa director Jeff LaFollette, who has previously chaired motor tours along Route 66 in Illinois, at jefflaf@peoplepc.com or (563) 349-3047.
Tags:antique cars, bridge, classic cars, Iowa, rally, Road trip, roadside, tour, travel
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November 24, 2007
Leigh and Chuck Henline of Fort Cody Trading Post in North Platte, Nebraska, stopped at the Covered Wagon west of Kearney on their Thanksgiving trip to snap a few photos of the Covered Wagon, previously reported on here. Note the office now has a second story. Here’s a closeup of the wagon, still awaiting restoration:
Or click below for a 2-photo panorama of the site. Note the houses rising behind it on what was once the 1733 Ranch:
Tags:attractions, Covered Wagon, Kearney, Nebraska, oxen, Road trip, roadside, Route 30
Posted in highways, history, Road trip, roadside, transportation, travel | 4 Comments »
November 23, 2007
The black granite used in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., was supplied by a family firm along the Lincoln Highway in Lynwood, Illinois, south of Chicago. According to a recent article in The Times of Munster, Indiana, Rogan Granite (21550 E Lincoln Hwy/US 30, about 1000 feet west of the Indiana border) supplied the granite that carries the names of 58,256 veterans who either died in Vietnam or are listed as prisoners of war or missing in action. Tom Rogan says, “It was a very proud moment for our company and our family…. It was an opportunity for us to show what the region could do in support of our veterans.” The company, with roots back to 1874, was known as Calumet Memorial until 1980, when Tom and brothers Jim and Mick expanded the business.
The article recounts, “As part of the company’s headstone business, Rogan Granite supplied grave markers for veterans in several states. It was during a 1982 trip to Washington—to see which grave marker bids were successful—that Rogan learned of the plans for the memorial.” The bid required black granite because it could polish to a mirrorlike reflective surface and allow etched names to show up as white. The granite actully came from India, was cut and polished in Vermont, and etched in Tennesse, but the Rogan family coordinated the process of providing the 144 panels, each 44 inches wide each, that make up the two walls that are each 246 feet, 9 inches long. The memorial was dedicated on Veterans Day in 1982.
Photo Vietnam Memorial, The Wall, Washington D.C. by ehpien
Tags:Chicago, highway, Illinois, memorial, Vietnam
Posted in highways, history, roadside, transportation, travel | 1 Comment »
November 22, 2007
Police patches are increasingly being collected by those interested in the imagery itself, causing concern that the patches will be used to impersonate an officer. Among the many collectable topics is the Lincoln Highway, particularly patches with a road-related graphic. The patch of the Tama, Iowa, police includes what is perhaps the most recognizable LH landmark, the town’s concrete bridge with the road’s name in its side rails. An article in the Marshalltown Times-Republican says eBay offers thousands of patches daily due to this cross-collectability: “Recently a pair of Tama Police Department patches which features the famed Lincoln Highway bridge along with an older department patch sold for just over $27 for the three. It’s likely both police patch and Lincoln Highway memorabilia collectors drove the price offering on the eBay site.” Most departments do not give patches to collectors, but instead destroy old or worn ones.
The police page for Cairo, Ohio makes clear in big red letters, “Cairo PD is not currently giving away or trading patches.” The patch shows the road and spells out “Lincoln Highway.” The page, which has a LH logo, also recounts the road’s history through town:
“In 1921 Lincoln Highway went through Cairo, which was known as West Cairo at the time, on the former Bucyrus Road. Lincoln Highway was eventually designated as U.S. 30. When U.S. 30 was expanded into a four lane, Cairo was bypassed approximately one half mile to the south. Although U.S. 30 has moved south, historic Lincoln Highway still runs through Cairo.”
Tags:bridge, Cairo, collecting, highway, Iowa, Ohio, patch, patches, police, road, Tama
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November 21, 2007
Gianofer Fields of Chicago Public Radio is heading west, soon to pick up the Lincoln Highway. Her first stop was in Burlington, Iowa, checking out Snake Alley, aka the World’s Crookedest Street. As she says, “I haven’t even made it to the Lincoln Highway and I’m already having a great time. With about 2000 miles to go on this trip, I’d better pace myself.” Read the first day’s journal (Monday, Nov. 26) or listen to it at the Chicago Public Radio site.
Tags:Burlington, Chicago, highway, Iowa, Road trip, roadside, travel
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November 21, 2007
Ron Warnick’s Route 66 News has an interesting story about the “Joliet Kicks on 66” campaign. That Illinois city is promoting sites along the famous Chicago-to-LA road as explained in a news story. The Kicks web site offers lots of places and things to see, including 5 good-looking, very detailed replica gas pumps. Here’s a snap of the page showing the pump at the intersection of 66 and the Lincoln Highway:
Road buffs know there’s another crossing of the two historic highways. To the west, a later alignment of 66 ran through Plainfield where 66 actually shares the road with the LH. Banners there celebrate the pairing.
Lincoln Highway fans also know that the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor in Pennsylvania established a fantastic Pump Parade a few years ago. Along the 200-mile corridor from Irwin to Gettysburg are 22 fiberglass replica 1940s pumps, though differing from these in that they were decorated by artists. Here’s one at Schatzer’s Market, a fruit and produce stand west of Chambersburg:
Tags:Chambersburg, gas pump, highways, history, IL, Joliet, PA, Plainfield, Road trip, roadside, Route 66, travel, vacation
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November 21, 2007
The two developments mentioned yesterday are just a small part of Route 30’s spiraling growth east of Pittsburgh. Concern for the corridor led the Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County to host a 5-day design charrette at
the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus (its home base). The focus was the future of U.S. 30/the Lincoln Highway—how to specifically preserve the rural landscape, revitalize towns, and enjoy the benefits of growth while avoiding clogged roadways, vanishing open spaces, and soaring home prices.
A 4-year study started in 2005 covers 40 miles and 12 municipalities from Pittsburgh’s eastern suburbs to the Laurel Highlands, known to Lincoln Highway travelers for the steep winding road on the west side of Laurel Mountain. A master plan being developed will present a prototype for safe, efficient, attractive, and connecting land use. The finished plan is expected in April 2008, followed by a year of implementation. According to Smart Growth, the project is unique in that a non-profit entity is taking a proactive, collaborative approach to help shape communities.
Above: The Lincoln Highway east of Greensburg, Pennsylvania. With 4-lane US 30 to the right, and houses rising on farmland to the left, how long can this rural roadscape survive?
An article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette summarized the concepts developed by the group with help from a team of design professionals, engineers, architects, urban planners and landscape architects:
• Mixed use development with the highest density centered on Route 30.
• Public open spaces providing gathering places throughout the site.
• A gateway at the intersection of Route 30 and Route 981 serving as an “arrival point” to Latrobe and the Laurel Highlands.
• Retaining the Route 30 corridor as a regional connection with parallel roads providing local “circulation.”
• Greenways defining the development areas as well as connecting the rural context of the development.
Visit www.route30plan.com to see the plan, photos, and more information.
Also from that stretch of US 30/Lincoln Highway, here’s a view of the nice-looking building mentioned in yesterday’s post – the headquarters of the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, courtesy of that group via Susan Schmucker, whose brother’s construction company (Dill Construction) built it in 1964. It’s faced in Delaware River sandstone and topped by a metal cupola that conceals the chimney. Cost, including fountain and parking lot, was $312,500 back then. The authority moved out the end of October and it’s set to be demolished. Susan says they outgrew the facility, and traffic had increased dramatically due to retail development, but they will miss it.
Tags:development, Greensburg, growth, highway, Latrobe, Laurel Mountain, Pittsburgh, transportation, travel, US 30
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November 19, 2007
Two new online resources will ease your search for classic diners along the Lincoln Highway or anywhere.
Above: Earle Hersman at the grill at Jacki and Earle’s Steel Trolley Diner in Lisbon, Ohio, a 1955 O’Mahony-brand diner. Traveling all day across Ohio, there is no bigger thrill than pulling into town, seeing the lights on 24 hours a day, and knowing you can get breakfast, dinner, dessert, or just some coffee for the miles ahead.
Since starting Roadside magazine in the early 1990s, Randy Garbin has published maps to locate and identify diners, those factory-made restaurants with a counter that so many of us love. Then he compiled the info into a bound volume organized by state. Now that amazing database is available on the web at no charge: Diner Finder Online. Visitors to roadsideonline.com will find the feature in the tabs to the right and need just do a simple free registration to gain access. Once there, you click on a US state, and go to a list alphabetized by name, with city identified and an occasional picture. (Once you’re registered, you can access the site directly at http://www.dinerfinderonline.com) Fellow researchers and food lovers have already contributed dozens of updates and corrections, making it the premiere guide to some 1875 diners. The print version is still available too.
Randy told me, “You could say that this project started back in 1986 when I first became ‘diner-aware.’ I vowed then to find and eat in every diner in the country, and this is part of that effort. It remains a work in progress and I continue to receive dozens of updates and photos from readers every week.” Here’s an example of what happens when you click the entry for the Steel Trolley Diner, 140 E Lincoln Way, Lisbon, Ohio:
Another new source for diner info is Larry Cultrera’s Diner Hotline blog, which I’m proud to say was inspired by my move to blogging. Larry has written the Diner Hotline column for the Society for Commercial Archeology’s magazine (which I design) since 1988. He took his first diner photo in November 1980, then the following July started a Diner Log. He’s up to 806 diners but seems to know every diner’s story and owners, past and present. Check it out at http://dinerhotline.wordpress.com/. The heartbreaking image at his page top shows the former Rosedale Diner of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, which appeared in 1973 on Daryl Hall and John Oates’ album Abandoned Luncheonette.
Tags:blog, diners, food, guidebook, Lisbon, Ohio, Road trip, travel, vacation
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November 18, 2007
Our friend RoadDog alerts us to a possible threat to the Lincoln Highway in western Wyoming. An article in the Casper Star-Tribune says there’s a good chance the undrivable Lincoln Highway remnant from Green River east to Rock Springs could be revamped into a connector road. Though the two cities are just 12 miles apart, I-80 is the only paved road connecting them, forcing commuters and other locals to compete with a rising tide of trucks brought on by the region’s oil and gas boom.
According to the article, “Two of the three proposed routes would begin at Green River’s east I-80 interchange and then follow the remnants of the old Lincoln Highway—which used to run between the two cities—north of I-80. A third route would start on the city’s south side and run south of the interstate, hooking up with U.S. Highway 191…. [U]nofficial cost projections to build an approximately 12-mile-long road have been estimated at about $2 million per mile, or around $24 million total. Officials expect the project to take a decade or longer to complete.”
Most dismaying for those concerned about preserving the LH’s roadscape, local leaders hope the new road will bring housing, business, and industry. Green River officials especially say the city has been hemmed in by Castle Rock and I-80 to the north, and steep undevelopable land to the south.
UPDATE 12/31/07: “Locals will help choose route” in the Caspar Star-Tribune.
Tags:development, growth, highway, I-80, Road trip, threat, travel, Wyoming
Posted in highways, history, Road trip, roadside, transportation, travel | 2 Comments »
Lincoln Highway News 