Posts Tagged ‘historic highway’

Palmantier's Motel saved and open for business!

October 25, 2010

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Scott Segeti, former owner of Palmantier’s Motel, said he was  “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.”

Now Rainie Sonntag wrote to say:

My husband and I have the same dream so we went to the auction and purchased the Palmantier’s Motel. We fell in love with the place when we saw it. We had to have it. My mother was the long time owner of the Akron Turnpike Motel. She too had a dream and we helped her make it happen with her motel. Now we plan to do the same with ours!! We purchased it in July and we are now open. So for all you folks who stayed there in the past please return and make it happen.

Palmantier’s Motel, opened 1947, is a classic 9-unit motel along the Lincoln Highway in eastern Ohio. Segeti put it up for auction, saying he was struggling. The beautiful motel is within sight of the famous stretch of Baywood Road paved in red bricks (bottom center of photo). The new # for reservations is (330) 868-6000.

CA Lincoln Highway Assoc to tour Central Valley

October 18, 2010

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The California Lincoln Highway Association will tour the Central Valley Route from Sacramento to San Francisco, via Sacramento Valley and across the Carquinez Strait on Saturday, October 30. Tour departs and ends at the Holiday Inn Sacramento I-80 at 9 am. Cost $25 or $40 with a guide. Each year, the California Chapter of the LHA hosts four self-guided cruises and guided tours. Cruise along in your own car, or ride along as a passenger in one of our guide cars! The cruise is open to passenger cars, trucks, SUVs, motorcycles, classic cars, and antique cars capable of freeway speeds.

One-day excursion begins and ends in Sacramento. Highlights include: Old Sacramento, Tower Bridge, Yolo Causeway, Davis, Dixon, historic downtown Vacaville, the Solano County Courthouse, entrance into Napa Valley on Jameson Canyon Road, historic Vallejo, Carquinez Strait, Rodeo, Pinole, Berkeley Pier, Bay Bridge, Lincoln Highway markers in San Francisco. Return trip to Sacramento on I-80.

Advance registration required. Lunch not included but will include a stop for lunch, or tour participants may also bring their own food and snacks. For more details visit http://www.lincolnhighwayassoc.org/ca/tours/

Affair with Lincoln benefits Heritage Corridor

October 15, 2010

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Limited tickets are available for An Affair with Lincoln, a gala on November 6, 2010. The event, to benefit the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor in PA, will be held at the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve located in Latrobe. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and signature drinks while mingling with en plein air artists Kevin Kutz, Rita Haldeman, Bill Pfahl, Bill Vrscak, Ron Donoughe, and Robert Bowden.

The mission of the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor is to identify, conserve, promote and interpret the cultural, historical, natural, recreational, and economic resources along the Lincoln Highway in Westmoreland, Somerset, Bedford, Fulton, Franklin and Adams counties. Established 15 years ago, the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor was recently recognized by the governor with induction into the Keystone Society for Tourism and received the celebrated Enterprise Award as a “visionary in destination leadership and community development.”

Visit http://www.lhhc.org for a PDF invitation and to purchase tickets.

Indiana towns call U.S. 30 "The region's road"

October 14, 2010

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.

Forrest on Lincoln & Transcontinental RR “walk”

October 8, 2010

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
In honor of the Transcontinental Railroad, Forrest has been taking a virtual walk along its route (ala Forrest Gump), following the westward progress of the Union Pacific from Omaha to Utah. He began April 16 and has logged 1372 miles as of this morning. He writes about the towns and people along the way, often coming upon parts of the Lincoln Highway, which paralells much of the route. Check it out here: walkforrestwalk.blogspot.com/.

He writes:

When the U.S. government named two companies to build a transcontinental railroad in 1862. no meeting point was set. Enormous financial rewards—paid out per mile of completed track—propelled both sides into a grueling seven-year race across daunting terrain of the states of Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, & Califorina. When completed the railroad connected a post Civil War nation, forever changing the American West. For the next 6 months & 1500 miles Forrest will follow this important and historical route that our ancestors followed so many years ago.

Lincoln Highway, a lifeline for Illinois

October 7, 2010

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.

Iowa welcome center celebrates Lincoln Highway

October 5, 2010

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
The electronic highway is akin to the early network of roads in the US: exciting changes happen daily but there’s still lots of work that needs done; you can guess that I’ve had some computer problems lately! To get back on track, click on Southwest Iowa News for an interesting article on recent renovations at Harrison County Museum/Welcome Center in western Iowa. A description of what you’ll find at the center follows this image of the Loess Hills overlook.

Phase I of the project included the Lincoln Highway surface demonstration – showing how the surface of the Lincoln Highway changed from dirt to gravel, to brick etc. It includes bricks from the streets of Missouri Valley that had been stored at the museum prior to the tornado that hit in 1999 and were saved for future use. Also included in the expansion are Lincoln Highway interpretive panels, an auditorium showing films on the Loess Hills and Lincoln Highway, a children’s transportation play scape next to a cabin court picnic area, a scenic overlook observation platform, among other signage.

Boardwalk Empire features Lincoln HIghway sign

September 24, 2010

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
PBS producer Rick Sebak wrote to say that the premier of the new HBO series Boardwalk Empire, about the arrival of Prohibition and the growth of organized crime, featured a Lincoln Highway sign.

Young Al Capone was driving a load of stolen liquor to Chicago when the sign went by: “LINCOLN HIGHWAY” with “Chicago 200 Miles” just under that. It was square in shape, navy blue in color, probably metal on a roadside pole.

When the show rebroadcast, Rick took a photo of his TV screen for us! LH fans will recognize that the sign is pure fiction but is based on real-life state-line markers produced in 1917, such as this one from the LHA archives showing the border of Nebraska and Wyoming.

The ongoing adventures of Lincoln Highwayman

September 23, 2010

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
Don’t forget to follow Lincoln Highwayman, aka Jim Devitt, as he continues his trip westward on the Lincoln Highway. After some troubles with his Ford Model A, he’s cruising through Indiana. Follow along  at blog.lincolnhighwayman.com/. Click the image below to see LARGER the short segment of vintage Lincoln Highway located between upgraded LH (seen to the right) and US 30 (off camera to the left)

Fire levels Cheyenne's Hitching Post Inn

September 22, 2010

LINCOLN HIGHWAY NEWS IS A BLOG BY BRIAN BUTKO
A beloved Lincoln Highway landmark, the Hitching Post in Cheyenne, Wyoming, has been destroyed by fire. Various newspapers covered the fire and aftermath, including an initial story by the Caspar Star Tribune.

This article in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle recalls some history:

The Hitch, as it is fondly known, started out as a small motor hotel called the Lincoln Court. Pete Smith opened it in 1927…. In 1946, the Lincoln Court became a charter member of Best Western International. In 1948, the family opened a restaurant at the hotel called the Hitching Post. As more and more rooms were added, the name stuck.

My family stayed at the Lincoln Court about 5 years ago, by then a wonderful mid-century motel, but that older portion had recently been demolished. The remaining and much larger Hitching Post maintained an Old West decor.

The newspaper reported that the motel, lounge, and restaurant served as a longtime second home for Wyoming legislators but had closed amid financial trouble last year and remained vacant. “The hotel has been undergoing extensive renovations and officials of the company that owns it say it was just weeks away from reopening…. The front lobby and an attached liquor store were destroyed.”

The city called in an ATF team of about two dozen agents to help with the investigation, and the blaze was just ruled arson but the investigation is ongoing. Most comments to articles are overwhelmingly nostalgic for what has been lost, with only a few voicing a need for modern retail there.

Thanks to loungelistener for the tip.