Friday was the first nice weather day in quite some time so we were looking to take a drive. We decided to explore some of Old Route 66. We actually drive first down 171 to Lockport and had breakfast at a place called George’s. Then we crossed the river and got on Route 53 just North of Joliet. Since Route 66 is no longer an official highway there aren’t official markers. Highway 53 seems to cover much of the old route, at least for a while. First stop was Route 66 Park and the Rich and Creamy.
From there we headed for downtown Joliet and Joliet Area Historical Museum. It was more about Joliet than Route 66 but was interesting and did have some Route 66 memorabilia.
Next stop was Wilmington at the Launching Pad Drive-in, a 1960 place sporting the Gemini Giant
Then it was on to Braidwood and the Polk-a-Dot Drive-In. In 1956, Chester "Chet" Fife began taking fast food orders in his school bus painted in rainbow Polk-a-Dots. In 1962, he moved the business into the current building.
We had planned to have lunch at the Riviera in Gardner but when we got there it was closed and didn’t look like anyone had been around for a while. Out in the back we checked out the Street Car Drive-in which was also unattended.
Constructed in 1928 out of a church from Gardner and a mining office from South Wilmington, the Riviera has hosted many famous customers, including Gene Kelly, Tom Mix, Al Capone, and his brother Ralph. A freezer in the basement with a heavy iron door was supposedly built to hide gambling machines and booze during Prohibition in case of a raid. The unique bar in the basement provided comfort before air conditioning and is decorated like a cave. In its heyday, this classic Route 66 roadhouse featured a zoo, picnic area, swimming hole, and gas station.
A historic Kankakee streetcar from the early 20th century was moved to Gardner in 1932 to serve as a diner along Route 66. In 1937, the street car became a cottage and playhouse. It was moved to a location behind the Riviera in 1955, and is still there today. It was restored by the Illinois Route 66 Association and inducted into the Routee 66 Hall of Fame in 2001.
In Dwight we stopped at the Ambler-Becker Texaco Gas Station, an historic 1933 filling station identified as the longest operating gas station along Route 66. It dispensed fuel for 66 continuous years until 1999.
A short ride later we stopped at the Standard-Sinclair/Odell Gas Station. It was built in 1932 and operated until 1975. It has been nicely restored but has no attendant so you can’t go inside.
Near Cayuga we stopped just long enough to take a picture of Meramec Caverns Barn. It’s one of two remaining examples of barn ads along Illinois Route 66. 
By now we were pretty hungry so we headed for Pontiac and planned to eat at the Old Log Cabin Restaurant. We had an address from the web article we were following and punched that into the Garmin. The address was wrong so we turned off the highway too soon and found ourselves in downtown Pontiac. We found a nice restaurant right across from the County Building and had a couple of rib-eye steak sandwiches for lunch.
We then drove a few blocks to the Route 66 Hall of Fame. It was a fascinating place housed in an old fire station.
They have lots of interesting memorabilia including the first Steak and Shake booth and the wishing well from the recently torn down Wishing Well Motel in Countryside. Very nice lady showed us around and we stayed a while.
