I hope everyone survived yesterday. I appear to have as I am here today. Five cards today from three places along Route 66 in Springfield, IL. First up is Stevies Latin Village at 620 N 9th Street. The Anchor Inn became Stevies in 1949 and apparently it was quite the place to be in the 1950s and 60s in Springfield and even spawned a half dozen other Latin Villages throughout central Illinois. The description on the back of the card reads, The history of the Latin Village which started in business in 1949 has increased its capacity from 24 to 130. Each dish is cooked FOR YOU - an adventure in taste - specializing in sizzling steaks, Sicilian Italian spaghetti, garlic bread, and other foods that are appealing to the palate. Various things caused the business to change hands, becoming the Thai Kitchen. It was eventually demolished on October 12, 2009. It was located adjacent to the small house on the left side of this Street View shot taken about three months ago - https://goo.gl/maps/RrwR3. The next group of three cards advertise a motel thats been in the news quite a bit over the past few years. The Bel-Aire Manor Motel, at 2636 S 6th Street was at one time quite a nice place to spend the night but after a change in ownership the property went downhill rather rapidly and gathered more than a thousand building code violations. It obviously grew throughout its good years as these cards show growth from 28 rooms, to 42 rooms, to 80 rooms. It was described in 1958 as One of Springfields newest and finest motels on Route 66. Electric and hot water heat - carpeting - tile baths - all units have television, telephones and musuc by Muzak. At one tiome it was being considered by the City of Springfield to be turned into a Route 66 tourism center/museum. The latest word is that it will be torn down by the summer of 2015. This shot from last September shows its present condition - https://goo.gl/maps/r5h0O. Todays last card comes from the Fleetwood Restaurant out on the north side of town at 855 N 31st St. The Fleetwood was another Springfield fixture for many years serving many hungry Route 66 travelers. It opened in 1957 as a 155-seat truck stop. By 1979 highway traffic had been routed through Springfield on I-55 and the owners changed their focus from a truck stop to a family restaurant, making lots of changes and additions. In the late 1970s it was serving more than 3,000 people each weekend but labor shortages and competition from franchise restaurants caused the Fleetwood to close its doors in 1993. The signposts are all thats left today - https://goo.gl/maps/sJ1jl. More from Springfield and Route 66 tomorrow.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Dec 2014 18:22:05 +0000
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