At Atomic Antiques, Mark Stevens posts “neat stuff from the 20th century.” He recently posted these two cool Lincoln Highway images. Visit his page (scrolling down a bit) to see the photos larger and read a bit about them. Feel free to comment too.
Before visiting his site, can you identify the location of the first and the purpose behind the second?
Dave Chase posted a short story about the Lincoln Highway through Mt. Vernon, Iowa, on his blog 42N, which details life around the 42N latitude. His photo shows the Union Pacific tracks on the west end of town that are crossed by a bridge that carries the Lincoln Highway.
Dave took his photo from the original 1915 LH bridge. He has a link to bridgehunter.com that features images of that arched span, including the photo below by our friend J.R. Manning (you may have seen him on the road in his yellow Model A). His 2007 view is looking north from a preserved brick stretch to the rehabbed bridge, now for pedestrians only.
Van & Bev Becker wrote to say that Belle Plaine, Iowa, hopes to encourage tourism by promoting the Lincoln Highway and its importance to the town. Artists have been commissioned to paint historic scenes on local structures. The Beckers sent the photo below of a mural on the outside of the history museum at the corner of 12th St. & 9th Ave.
A word about the dates 1913 through 1937 that were used in the caption at the bottom of the mural. The 1913 date is of course of the beginning of the Lincoln Highway; however, the 1937 date includes the early years when the Lincoln Highway was designated as US 30. Early highway planners routed travelers miles to the south into the city of Belle Plaine to avoid the steep and muddy “Bohemie Alps.” By the late ’30s, highway building techniques, including cut and fill, allowed the then-Highway 30 to run straight west through the extremely hilly region east of Tama, resulting in Belle Plaine being bypassed. This new route straight through the Bohemie Alps is the road you will drive today if you follow Highway 30 between Cedar Rapids and Tama.
So the mural portrays the 1913 route through the terrain it was, in reality, avoiding.
The WCF Courier of Eastern Iowa ran a lengthy feature about the impact of a coming US 30 bypass around Tama and Toledo, Iowa. Parts of the current road bypassed the original Lincoln Highway long ago, and even this 4-lane has been under consideration for decades. The 7.5-mile project is set to open next year.
Here are excerpts:
The $24 million expansion is expected to draw manufacturing and other industries that need access to a major highway. Unfortunately, some are concerned traffic-dependent businesses, including restaurants and hotels, could see a drop in customers….
The highway has been important to Tama and Toledo over time. Tama was home to the Lincoln Highway at the turn of the century. When most of the road was rebranded U.S. 30, the thoroughfare maintained its relevance.
Big T’s Maid Rite has been a longtime institution at the intersection of U.S. highways 30 and 63 in Toledo. Cars come and go as travelers stop for coffee and pie. Others want the “mo” – a Maid Rite with onions and mustard.
Manager Brad Crawford expects business to drop off after four-lane opens. There’s less impetus to pull off the highway and grab a bite to eat when cars are travelling at 65 mph, he said.
“Any business is going to be affected by that,” Crawford said. The main hope for businesses, like Big T’s, is that the brand is strong enough to keep people coming back.
Scott Berka (city clerk of Colo, Iowa) wrote to say Niland’s Cafe at the Reed/Niland Corner in Colo, Iowa, will host a man walking the Jefferson Highway from Winnipeg to New Orleans. The Colo Development Group invites all to attend on Monday, November 9, at 9:00 a.m. The one-stop gathering of classic roadside businesses is at the intersection of the E–W Lincoln Highway and the N–S Jefferson.
ABOVE: Standing on the Lincoln Highway and “above” the Jefferson Highway at Reed/Niland Corner. BELOW, Berka at the cafe counter.
The Winnipeg Free Press reports that Mike Conlin from New Orleans and Gary Augustine from Prince George, B.C., have already departed Winnipeg, the northern terminus of the Jefferson Highway.
“People are right into this stuff and, with the baby boomers all ready to retire, and into that age where you’re more into history, I’ve got a feeling that that highway is going to come back,” said Conlin.
The Jefferson Highway, established in 1919, was the first north-south transcontinental road to span the North American continent, named for the third U.S. president of the United States. It runs through Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Texas, ending in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Tomorrow, September 26, Mt. Vernon, Iowa, will hold its 4th annual Lincoln Highway Festival from 9-4. The Mt. Vernon-Lisbon Sun reports that more than 30 artists will display their works on First Street. Note on the screen shot below that the newspaper also has an opinion poll about a U.S. Route 30 bypass.
What sets this festival apart is the quality of the work, said Katrina Garner, a member of the Mount Vernon Area Arts Council, which sponsors the event….
A special part of the event this year is a silent auction organized by the Mount Vernon Masonic Lodge and the arts council to benefit Galen Lacey, who has been involved with the event in the past and faced a heart transplant this past year (see story on this page)….
While most of the festival action is in the booths on First Street, art by Hugh Lifson, Benesh and Garner will also be displayed at Tatyana’s Kitchen at 224 First St. W. The three artists, along with artist Sue Coleman, get together every so often to do plein air painting, Garner noted.
Cornell College students will also be involved in the event and will be selling a calendar that features their works.
Tony Plaut, a Cornell art professor, will exhibit his interactive sculpture, “The Typer Piper.” It uses organ flutes, an old manual typewriter, a bike pump and a car tire so users may create their own musical scores.
Festival favorite Paul Imholte, known as the Stringman, will be returning. He’ll stroll the festival playing everything from guitar to banjo to dulcimer.
Colo, Iowa, city clerk Scott Berka wrote to say the Colo Development Group has decided to close the much-loved Niland’s Cafe. Friday was its last day open.
Berka wrote, “We will still rent the motel rooms through the development group office (641) 377-2238. We are studying possible alternative uses for the cafe. One suggestion has been to make it available for meetings and special events. We would also be receptive to the right party leasing the facility and keeping it as a cafe.”
A Lincoln Highway landmark closed the past two years is set to reopen. Eagle-eyed “Loungelistener” stopped on his cross-country LH trip to photograph the giant sign for Stone’s in Marshalltown, Iowa, and noticed activity at the closed restaurant. He took this photo and reported on his blog,
As I drove around under the viaduct, I could indeed see action at the restaurant. Workmen were busily scurring around, saws and hammers sounding out. There certainly was something going on.
Indeed, the Marshalltown Times-Republican reports that new owner Steve Badger will reopen on September 1:
“It has been a challenge because starting a restaurant is a very complex process, but you hate to see something that’s been part of the community for so long disappear.”
An aroma of baked goods will add to vintage ambiance ranging from cinnamon rolls, pies and cornbread; edibles will include soups and salads, sandwiches, steaks, fresh fish and diet-conscious or vegetarian foods. A featured entree will be pan-fried chicken – cooked in cast iron skillets — served with fresh mashed potatoes and gravy.
“We’re trying to provide something for everybody,” Badger said. “It’s traditional Midwest cooking.”
And everything will be homemade…. On whether Stone’s will serve dishes reminiscent of menu favorites, Badger said one thing is certain.
“Yes, we’re going to have the pie,” he laughed. “But it might only be a half-mile high.”
The 2nd Annual Iowa Lincoln Highway Motor Tour will cross the midwestern state on August 28–30. The Friday-to-Sunday trip begins in the west at Desoto Bend and heads eastward with stops in Carroll, Jefferson, Boone, Nevada, Marshalltown, Tama, Youngville, Cedar Rapids, Mechanicsville, Lowden, and ending at Clinton. Here are some photos from the 2008 tour by Bryan Osberg.
ABOVE: Approaching the Union Pacific Bridge via old brick section of Lincoln Highway, just past Cornell College in Mt. Vernon.
ABOVE: The first stop on the second day was Youngville Cafe.
ABOVE: Lunch day 3 at the Brickstreet Station in Woodbine.
Visit the Iowa LHA page for a full itinerary and more info.
At least three Lincoln Highway travelers have asked recently about the operating hours at the restored Niland’s Cafe in Colo, Iowa. I reported in my new Lincoln Highway Companion book that they were closed Monday — they are, and Tuesday too.
The cool cafe is open:
Wed thru Sat, 6:30 a.m – 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Check www.colo-iowa.org for current hours by clicking the Reed/Niland Corner link at left, and then the cafe link. Don’t forget there are newly restored overnight rooms too.
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
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