Atlanta, Lincoln, and Sherman, Illinois

South of Bloomington, Illinois, Route 66 runs alone the northwest side of I-55. Our first stop south of Bloomington was Atlanta, Illinois. As we approached Atlanta, we turned right (west) on Sycamore Street. Here we saw a welcoming billboard.

Atlanta IL billboard (from route66news.net)

Sycamore merges into North East Arch Street, which goes into the center of Atlanta. 

Like Pontiac, this is a good place to get out of the car and walk. There are several interesting sights within a few blocks of each other.

The most eye-catching sight is a “Muffler Man” statue, this one of Paul Bunyon (yes, it's spelled that way) holding a giant hot dog. 

My post on Wilmington, Illinois, tells the story of the Muffler Men. This statue was once in front of Bunyon’s, a hot dog stand in Cicero, Illinois, near Chicago. The restaurant was purposely spelled Bunyon, not Bunyan, to avoid any copyright  issues. In 2002, the restaurant closed, the statue was put up for sale, and Atlanta acquired it. A sign near the statue tells more of its story.

Across the street from the Paul Bunyon statue is a historic gem: the 1967 Downey Building

Downey Building in Atlanta IL (from DestinationLoganCountyIL.com)

The Downey Building was built in the Italianate style popular in the mid-1800s. The arched windows are one characteristic of Italianate style. The Downey Building is in the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1934 the Palms Grill opened in one side of the Downey Building. Over the years, the interior was altered but today it’s been restored to how it looked in 1934.

Interior of the Palms Grill in Atlanta IL

Look closely at the photo of the Downey Building, and you can see that the Palms Grill was once a Greyhound Bus Stop.

Unfortunately, the Palms Grill and the Atlanta Museum were closed when we visited in October—they’re only open May through September. (In fact, virtually all the shops on South West Arch Street were closed.)

Several murals were added around downtown Atlanta in 2002. This is one of my favorites at 114 South West Arch Street, on the building to the right of Paul Bunyon.

Mural at 114 South West Arch Street in Atlanta IL (photo from DestinationLoganCountyIL.com)

Judy & Sons were once grocers on the first floor of this building. This mural is a recreation of a mural that was on the building around 1900.

Half a block to the left of Paul Bunyon, at the corner of South West Arch Street and South East Race Street, is a lovely Seth Thomas clock built in 1901.

Atlanta IL Clock Tower (from elevation.maplogs.com)

It was originally at the high school, then moved here. The clock is still hand wound by volunteers.

Behind the clock is the beautiful 1908 public library.

Atlanta IL Library (from atlantapld.org)

Behind the library on 1^st Street is the 1903 J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator. It’s also on the National Register of Historic Places.

J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator in Atlanta IL (from DestinationLoganCountyIL.com)

South West Arch Street merges back into Route 66, which we followed to Lincoln, Illinois. We wanted to take the 1926 alignment through Lincoln, so just before town, we turned left on Kickapoo Street. In a bit over a mile, we turned right onto Keokuk Street, which took us back out to the 1940s Route 66, also known as Lincoln Parkway. About a mile down Route 66, on the right, on the grounds of the Best Western Lincoln Inn, is the World's Largest Covered Wagon. Some resources call it Railsplitter Covered Wagon.

World's Largest Covered Wagon in Lincoln IL (from waymarking.com)

It features a statue Abe Lincoln reading a law book. The statue was built in Wisconsin in 2001 and moved to Lincoln in 2007.

South of Lincoln, about a half mile before the Lincoln Parkway intersects with I-55, “Historic U.S. 66” turns off to the left (south). At this point we were nearing the end of a long day and headed straight into Springfield, Illinois, for the night. But near Sherman, Illinois, just north of Springfield, there are some fragments of Route 66 from the 1920s. One is a 1922 segment in Carpenter Park in Sherman that’s on the National Register of Historic Places . If you’d like to walk it (it’s just a quarter mile long), turn right (west) on Cabin Smoke Trail. The 1922 segment will be on your left.

Route 66 segment in Sherman IL (from LegendsOfAmerica.com)

The segment ends at the river, where the bridge that once crossed the Sangamon River is now gone.