The Grand Island Independent reports that the Nebraska city is widening it’s main street – aka Lincoln Highway/US 30 – and in the process demolishing a vintage cafe. The Conoco motel and cafe at 2109 W. Second Street trace their roots to about 1940 when the tile-roofed Conoco Service Station opened. The cafe had a Polynesian redo in the 1960s but only the motel will survive (featuring a swimming pool and cable) as will a new convenience store. The cafe is seen in the upper right photo of the postcard below, which on back is titled, “Conoco Motel, Cafe & Service Station.”
According to the news report:
A total of 18,400 vehicles travel daily on Second Street between Broadwell and Greenwich Street. To better accommodate that volume, the state will install a fifth lane a turning lane from Grant Street to Greenwich….
The right-of-way needed for the fifth lane simply brought the roadway too close to the Conoco Cafe, which the state acquired more than a year ago through condemnation. The last restaurant to operate there, Pam’s Cafe, closed Jan. 31, 2007, and relocated to South Locust Street.
Last week, an environmental firm removed asbestos from the cafe. This week, a construction company is starting demolition. Road work will commence March 17 and wrap up in October, then next Spring, sidewalks, lighting, and landscaping will be completed.
Lincoln Highway News 