Illinois Route 66's Riviera Roadhouse's "Thrones"

And, then there were those mighty interesting "thrones" one could ascend to do their business downstairs.

I swear those toilets were at least 3-4 feet high and you had to go up several stairs to get to them.  Guys would have to stand a couple steps down to go #1.  Man, you could almost get air-headed at those heights.  I avoided using them as much as possible.  Liz said the one in the women's bathroom was similar.

Perhaps the reason for their height was the fact that the Mazon River flowed close alongside the Riviera, so it was necessary for pumping?

Someone had made a wooden plaque with the words "Al Capone Passed Gas Here in 1932" in the men's bathroom.  Bob Kraft said that the sign was stolen so often that they finally did a tracing of it and they handed it out as a souvenir of the Riviera Restaurant, Gardner, Illinois.  I have one of those tracings in our downstairs bathroom (which is not the "throne" up high they had at the Riviera).

I have to wonder how many inebriated folks were hurt falling off those thrones?

Those Thrones Were Quite the Experience.  --RoadDog

Remembering Route 66's Riviera Roadhouse

We visited the Riviera in Gardner, Illinois, on our first trip on the Mother Road back in 2002.  It was Sunday night and when we went in, we told Peggy Kraft that we were first-timers on the road and in her place and she insisted on going upstairs and waking Bob up and having him come down to say hi to us.

The poor guy had evidently just come off his "shift" working behind the bar and wasn't too with it, but he was as friendly as could be.  The next time we saw him, holding "court" as it were behind the bar, we realized this was the real Bob, not the groggy one we met that first night.  And, was he ever one of those colorful Route 66 characters that make the road so  much fun.  he ranked right up there with Ernie Edwards for stories as well as Bill Shea for charisma.

Loved the bar and the stalactites hanging down making you feel like you were in a cave.  Then, there was the dumb waiter they used to send food down (supposedly with a World War I or II shell for a counter-weight) and the clothespin line running from the basement upstairs to the kitchen for food orders.

And, then, there were those "thrones" in the bathroom which I will talk about tomorrow.

A Real Route 66 Character.  --RoadDog