LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 announced that the Village of Sutherland, Nebraska, recently was given technical assistance in the form of a comprehensive report for redeveloping a number of former gas stations in its downtown. Most notable is c 1930 cottage station. There is a beautiful photo of it online by photographer Jeffrey Bebee; click his photo to access it, and go to his site to see more:
According to the EPA:
At the core of the technical assistance are four abandoned gas stations located along U.S. Highway 30, which runs through downtown Sutherland and is the former Lincoln Highway. The abandoned gas stations may pose potential environmental and public health hazards due to underground storage tanks that remained after the stations closed. By addressing the tanks, including potential contamination and liability issues, these sites can be made viable for reuse that benefits the community while removing community eyesores and transforming the sites into community assets. The redevelopment of these sites can spur further revitalization in the area.
“The technical assistance provided to the Village of Sutherland allows the community leaders to restore four Brownfields properties to beneficial use for the community,” said Karl Brooks, EPA Region 7 Administrator. “This is a clear example that shows how being environmentally conscious can bring positive growth and development for our small rural communities.”
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Plainfield Patchfeatures the story (and photo below) behind a diner and gas station best known for the windmill that marked the roadside business. The Windmill was along the Lincoln Highway southeast of town. It was also just off an alignment of Route 66 that shared three blocks with the Lincoln Highway.
John and Mabel Powell leased land at the southwest corner of Lake Renwick around 1925 for their whimsical building. The windmill served as the entrance to the diner and also had a canopy over gas pumps. The upper floors were an apartment for the Powells and their son Robert. The Depression led to the business closing around 1935 and it was leased to James Lyon, who removed the gas pumps and enclosed the canopy to provide a large saloon. Operating as The Palomar and later The Mill, the business survived into the mid-1950s.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition (ILHC) was awarded as Best Cooperative Partnership for their Interpretive Mural Series at the 2012 Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism on March 16, 2012 in Rosemont, Illinois. The conference celebrated the groundbreaking work of industry innovators with the “Illinois Excellence in Tourism Awards.”
As the designated Scenic Byway management agency overseeing the Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway, the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition received a National Scenic Byway Grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and an Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Tourism, Attraction Development (TAP) Grant to fund the mural project. Each mural is a hand-painted, unique work of art, approximately 10 x 20 square foot, depicting an exciting story of the early Lincoln Highway. Visit drivelincolnhighway.com for more information on the murals and gazebos, or to download an Illinois Lincoln Highway Visitor Guide.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
A short and long tour this fall will feature visits to haunted places along the Lincoln Highway in Ohio. The 5-day tour runs Monday–Friday, September 17–21, 2012; the one day is Saturday, October 6, 2012.
The long trip begins with a guided motor coach tour of ” Half Acre of Hell,” a shady little neighborhood of East Liverpool. By Friday, you’ll have reached Salem for a Haunted & Historical Trolley Tour and dinner at Ricky’s English Pub. The one-day bus trip includes a tour of Columbiana County’s Ghostly Tales, Ricky’s, and the Salem tours. Fee for the week-long tour is $565 p/p and includes overnight stays and most meals, with motor coach pickups in Beaver Falls and Cranberry, Pa., and East Liverpool, Ohio. The one-day bus tour is $75. Contact Connie Faulk, conniegoldentriangle@gmail.com or 724-843-0980.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The El Cerrito (California) Patch publishes monthly updates from the El Cerrito Historical Society. This month features a look at the early days of San Pablo Avenue, which served as the Lincoln Highway after the route was moved in 1928 to the northerly path between San Francisco and Sacramento.
The community was originally called Rust for Wilhelm Rust, whose blacksmith shop was on San Pablo Avenue at was is now the intersection of Fairmount Avenue. The area became El Cerrito in 1917 when the city was incorporated. The above view of the shop — before the Lincoln Highway and even autos came through — is looking west across San Pablo from Fairmount. Rust’s wife Lina sits in the carriage with Wilhelm to our right of her. Photo courtesy of Louis L. Stein, El Cerrito Historical Society collection.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
A new interpretive mural was added yesterday to the impressive collection lining the Lincoln Highway in Illinois. The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition’s latest work of art was installed on the Fairway Foods building in Sauk Village, near the corner of Sauk Trail and Torrence Avenue.
Above, Jay Allen of ShawCraft Signs in front of his newest artwork.
Created and installed by ShawCraft Sign Co., it depicts a cow crossing the Kavelage Bridge that was along the Sauk Trail, an early piece of the Lincoln Highway. The artwork is the 24th of 36 murals that will line the Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway across the state. Watch below as the ShawCraft teams installs the Sauk Village mural.
As the designated Scenic Byway management agency overseeing the Lincoln Highway National Scenic Byway, the Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition (ILHC) continues to seek ways to recognize the significance of the highway and ways to make the stories come alive. After receiving a National Scenic Byway Grant from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and an Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Tourism, Attraction Development (TAP) Grant, ILHC worked with Jay Allen of ShawCraft Signs to bring the murals to life.
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The Illinois Lincoln Highway Coalition proudly announces that partner vendor ShawCraft Sign Company and company president Jay Allen received the second place award in the 2012 International Sign Design Contest presented by Signs of the Times magazine for production of the ILHC Mural Series in the Best Murals/Banners category. The winning project features the Coalition’s series of large-scale murals designed and fabricated by ShawCraft’s lead designer Jay Allen; each mural is a striking, hand-painted work of public art, communicating the significance and history of the early Lincoln Highway.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor will present “Pennsylvania’s Roads: From the Lincoln to Eisenhower” at 2 pm, March 11, at the Lincoln Highway Experience, 3435 Route 30 East, near Kingston Dam in Latrobe. Presenter Jeffrey Kitsko will explore the history of the Lincoln Highway, the PA Turnpike, and the Interstate Highway System as envisioned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jeff will also discuss roadway construction from the time of the named auto routes and the importance of preserving the Lincoln Highway. He brings his expertise on the history of Pennsylvania’s roadways particularly as the webmaster of the award-winning site www.pahighways.com.
Advance reservations are required. Visit www.LHHC.org to make reservations through PayPal or call (724) 879-4241. A fee charged per person will include light refreshments.
UPDATE 3/27/12: LHA Vice-President Kay Shelton reports “City Council of Geneva voted tonight not to allow the demolition of the Pure Oil Building.” She spoke there in favor of its preservation.
A former gas station along the Lincoln Highway in Geneva, Illinois, may be demolished. An article in the Geneva Patch (and other sources) says the landowner has proposed to replace the 1937 station with a branch of St. Charles Bank at the West State Street site. The well-maintained cottage-style station closed in 1995 and has been home to The PURE Gardener since 2006 when former owner and auto repair operator Joe Kuchera sold the building.
As the writer in the Geneva Patch stated:
On one hand, we have a historic building that is shown proudly in Geneva Chamber of Commerce brochures. It’s a building style that goes back to the 1930s and one that’s considered a milestone marker of the Lincoln Highway. On the other hand, it’s a former gas station. And the bank’s plans represent new development at a time when the tax base—particularly in downtown Geneva—is shrinking….
The public, always split on such matters, is leaning towards preservation. The writer continued….
But in these economic times, can the city afford to do that? Can any government in good conscience say no to good-faith development in an economy that makes it more and more difficult for anyone to build or expand?
The garden center owners who lease the blue-and-white station posted a letter to the editor HERE pleading to save the building. Comments overwhelmingly favor preserving the building because it makes sense, both aesthetically and economically.
NOTE: A follow-up article stated that last night, “With the applause of about 50 passionate spectators, Geneva’s Historic Preservation Commission voted 5-1 Tuesday to deny demolition of the former Pure Oil gas station.” But the commission is only a recommending body; the developer can still take the issue to the city’s planning commission and council.
LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
A longtime popular restaurant on the Lincoln Highway east of Pittsburgh, Pa., was destroyed by fire yesterday. A blaze was reported about 1 p.m. Monday at The Winchester Room steakhouse, 1728 Lincoln Highway, North Versailles. Firefighters were on the scene for nearly eight hours.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted North Versailles fire Chief Jeff McNeill as saying the restaurant was a “total loss. I can’t even tell you the last time we had a big fire like this.”
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