A couple more great images from Randy Stone: the dining room with a bust of Abraham Lincoln, and the storefront in 1909. His family owned the restaurant along the Lincoln Highway in Marshalltown, Iowa, for more than a century, but they closed due to changing economics. Read my earlier blog posts here, here, and here.
The Times Republican reports that only spectators showed up for the public auction of Stone’s Restaurant in Marshalltown, Iowa. The 120-year-old eatery “under the vaiduct” was famous for its lemon chiffon pies, and had become a landmark along the Lincoln Highway:
The public sale that did not materialize Thursday was supposed to auction off Stone’s to the highest bidder, after the Internal Revenue Service recently seized the property from its owners for not paying taxes.
After those few silent moments, the IRS adjourned the sale, according to agency spokesperson Christopher Miller.
In such circumstances, the IRS will generally either decide to readvertise and conduct another public auction sale or release its hold on the property, Miller said, though the actual course of action to be taken for Stone’s Restaurant has not yet been determined.
In the event the IRS releases the property back to the Stone family, the taxes owed and liens attached will all remain in tact, according to IRS rules.
See previous Lincoln Highway News post here.
As described yesterday, here’s last year’s Christmas light display at the home of Eric Rodemeyer in Marshalltown, Iowa, synchronized to the tune of fast-paced rock version of “Joy to the World”:
This year, the display was moved to the Marshall County Courthouse as a fundraiser for the Marshalltown Optimist Club. Here’s a story about it from Radio Iowa. The song is “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” (an instrumental of “Carol of the Bells” with a bit of a bit of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”) performed by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
Marshalltown, Iowa, has a Christmas display in front of its courthouse—with lights timed to rockin’ versions of holiday tunes—as a fundraiser for the Marshalltown Optimist Club. The display began last year at the 7th Avenue residence of Eric Rodemeyer: 14,500 lights controlled by 96 computer channels timed to 7 repeating songs, each requiring up to 150 hours of programming, then were broadcast on 96.3 FM in front of his house. This video from last year features a serene version of “Silent Night” at his house.
This year’s display at the Marshall County Courthouse includes 21,620 lights controlled by 176 computer channels set to 8 repeating songs likewise on 96.3 FM. Lights are strung on eight 20-foot-tall trees, thirty 4-foot-tall spiral trees, plus strobes and a snow flake arch. Check the Marshalltown CVB web site for hours. Here’s the opening night introduction followed by a hard-rockin’ version of “Sleigh Ride,” then some views from a street cam.
We’ll check out more tunes tomorrow.
The folks who sent this card in 1951 from the Weeden Motor Hotel wrote, “Not many motels along this route so far. Lucky we stopped when we did, got the last one and the next one is 25 miles…. When we got to Dwight [Illinois, on Route 66] Randy wanted to know if we were in Calif.”
The original Lincoln Highway went through downtown; this was on a US 30 bypass (itself now bypassed). The card says the motel was 3 miles south and 1/2 mile west of town. I think it later became the Weeden Holiday Motel with a bigger c. 1970 sign at 2569 240th Street/Iowa Avenue. Any readers know its history? Or about Lloyd’s next door, which claimed to be Iowa’s most beautiful restaurant?
Click the map above for a full-size view of the Lincoln Highway.
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