Wilmington's Gemini Giant-- Part 5: 'Then It Will Be Destroyed'

So when Holly Barker, owner of the Gemini Giant and the now-closed Launching Pad restaurant, posted February 24 on X that she was auctioning the giant off and its trademark rights, the Wilmington community sprang into action.

She said she wanted at least $100,000 for the statue.

"I want this junk trinket off my property," said Barker, who still owns the restaurant.  "If this is sabotaged in any way and the Gemini Giant doesn't sell, then it will be destroyed."

I had such hopes back when Holly Barker and her boyfriend bought the Launching Pad and statue.  They seemed very committed to reopening the place and assuring that the Giant would remain.  But that Holly is sure not the one we have as of this year.  Something seems to have snapped.

No real Route 66er would ever say anything like that.  Liz and I ate at the Launching Pad once and had great food and all that great Route 66 ambiance.  And, of course, that magnificent muffler man.  About the worst thing we could say was that the Launching Pad and the Polka Dot Drive-In in nearby Braidwood were too close to each other.  You couldn't eat at one and then again at the other going either way.

--RoadMissing

Quite the Story Behind the Gemini Giant-- Part 2

Ryan Jandura huddled with Gregory Peerbolte, CEO of the Joliet Area Historical Museum in Peebolte's office during the March 20, auction of the Gemini Giant.  Jandura had already raised $60,000 through a GoFundMe page and preparing to chip that money in if the cost of the statue went above the museum's budget from a state grant.

The museum found itself outbid when the price went over a quarter of a million dollars.  It got down to just about 20 seconds to submit a higher bid.  With just 4 seconds remaining, they were able to have their final bid of $275,000 accepted.

That's how close Route 66 came to losing the Gemini Giant.

I'm sure glad some private collector didn't get him.

Very Thankful He Remains in Wilmington.  --RoadDog

Update on the Gemini Giant in Wilmington, Illinois

And, good news.

From the March 25, 2024, Daily Journal  "Gemini Giant sells for $275 k, will remain in Wilmington."

I was sure hoping it would remain in Wilmington.  Nothing like entering the town from the north and seeing that giant guy.  To me, it has always meant, "You're on Route 66!!" And, so it will be, but in a different site.

It has stood watch since 1965 at the former Launching Pad restaurant.  Sadly, that place has proved a no-go and out of business.

The Giant was purchased last week for $275,000 at auction and DONATED to the City of Wilmington.  The city plans on placing it alongside a planned  Route 66  monument at South Island Park by late spring of this year.

I was sure hoping Wilmington would get it.  It belongs in Wilmington.  

--RoadGiantFan

Along66, March 2022: All That Neon (and Some Route 66 Too)

MARCH 9

Three neon Route 66 signs were part of a huge auction next week.

Michael Brown of Arlington, Texas, liquified his huge collection of neon signs March 16-19.  It included more than 180 items, most of which were neon.

The Route 66 signs were the Alamo Liquor sign from Carthage, Missouri, the Frontier Motel from Miami, Oklahoma and one sign saying "Hotel" from southern Illinois, its exact location still undetermined but known to be on Route 66.

The auction is being put on by Mecum Auctions.

They said the Alamo Liquor sign was a single-sided neon one from the 1950s and that it rested in storage for 20 years before being carefully restored.

Hopefully some of the signs will go to places the general public can see them.  You know how I feel about neon.

You Can Never Have Too Much Neon.  --RoadNeon

Along 66, July 2019: Afton Station Sold, Death of a 66er

These are taken from the Route 66 News site which has a whole lot more stories as well as information.  I just take the ones of most interest to me.

JULY 2--  The new owner of Afton Station in Afton, Oklahoma, wants ideas for a Route 66 business to be located there.

Louis Cox bought it for $72,000 at auction on Saturday.

Here's hoping that the city will back him as they can really use the help.  Sure miss the former owner, Laurel Kane, who was always so friendly and nice

JULY 3--  Martha Jackson was a key figure in getting Litchfield, Illinois, its Route 66 Museum and visitors center, has died at age 87.

I didn't know her, but anyone who loves the road as much as I do is alright with me.

Thank You Laurel and Martha, For All You Have Done for the Mother Road.  --RoadDog

Along 66, June 2019: Afton Station and Dixie Truckers Home

JUNE 14--  Afton Station in Afton, Oklahoma, will be auctioned off on June 29.  Also, the remaining contents will go under the gavel.  The auction is at 10 a.m..

Laurel Kane, 69, ran it for nearly 15 years and died  in January 2016.  She commuted from Tulsa, a good little drive.  She also had a "Ramblings of a Route 66 Business" blog and estimated that they had 7,000 visitors a year, coming from 15 countries.

Her husband, David Kane, 74, died in August 2018.

Here's hoping that someone will buy it and continue its operation.  Afton, sadly enough, needs all the help they can get.

JUNE 16--   The grandchildren of the Dixie Truckers Home in McLean, Illinois, pay a visit.  Two grandchildren, Steve Jordan and Cathy Greeneberg were the two.

John and Viola Geske opened what is now called the Dixie Travel Plaza.  The original Dixie burned down on June 28, 1965.  Within 12 hours they were pumping gas and serving sandwiches again.

A Regular Stop for Us.  --RoadDog

Along 66, March 2019: Efforts At the Painted Desert Trading Post

MARCH 21--  An original Route 66 road side shield is to be auctioned off for the Painted Desert Trading Post project.

An enthusiast is offering it on e-Bay.  It was used between 1981 and 1985 in Texas, but the exact location is not known.  As of March 28, the sign had 30 bids on it and the amount was over $1,100.

Also at auction is a 1940 Conoco map.

MARCH 25--  The Painted Desert Trading Post in Arizona finally got a new roof.  The building was getting in worse and worse shape so it is good to see some Route 66 enthusiasts are taking care of it.

We'd sure hate to have another John's Modern Cabins.

Get A Real Piece of 66  for the Trading Post.  --RoadDog

Along 66, December 2018: Sonrise Donuts Sign in Sptingfield, Illinois

DECEMBER 12--  Sonrise Donuts sign in Springfield, Illinois,  is being auctioned off.  The sign is nearly 70 years old and very striking.  The building it sits atop in a non-doughnut tenant and no longer wants it there as people keep coming in asking for you-know-whats.

One side of it is now at $3,000 and the other at $2,500.

The sign, located at 1101 S. Ninth Street (Route 66 alignment) has been off for many years.

Sonrise Donuts closed in 1998 after the death of long-tern owner Don "Donuts" Greenslade.  Sonrise opened in 1947 by Byron Figuera, who bought the sign two years later..  Greenslade was a former employee, bought the business in 1967 and at one point made over 400 varieties of donuts a day.

The sign shows a rising sun with the words "SONRISE DONUTS  Famous For  Coffee Bar."

--RoadDog

News From Along Route 66, February 2016: Auction of the Launching Pad in Wilmington, Illinois

FEBRUARY 27--  The Gemini Giant, Launching Pad restaurant in Wilmington, Illinois, is to be auctioned in April.  It has been closed for a long time and will be sold as is.  The auction will be held on premises on April 8.

The Launching Pad Restaurant was inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000.

The giant muffler man/astronaut was, and still is a big photo op for anyone driving along Route 66.

John and Betty Korck opened Dairy Delite on the site in 1960 and renamed it the Launching Pad after it expanded in 1965 (and to take advantage of the U.S. NASA Space Program.  John saw a muffler man at a restaurant convention and had one specially made to look like an astronaut.  They retired in 1986.

Morey Szczecin bought the property in 2007 from Jerry and Sharon Gatties but the restaurant struggled and closed for good in 2010.  They put it up for sale then, asking $650,000 but had no takers.

I am sure glad we had the opportunity to eat there while it was still open.  Great food.  However, it was so close to the Polka Dot in Braidwood, you would be too full to eat at both.

Here's hoping that someone buys it and keeps it as a restaurant and with "The Gemini Giant."

If not, the town of Wilmington should buy the muffler man.

Sad to See It Go.  --RoadDog

Goodbye to Bill Shea's in Springfield

I was greatly saddened this morning to read in the Route 66 Yahoo group that there will be an auction of Bill Shea's stuff October 10, 2015, at his museum in Springfield, Illinois.  I was hoping that his son would keep the place going as he was almost always there.

Unfortunately, this did not turn out to be the case.

Now, unless some group or person comes forward and buys the whole lot, these items will be gone forever.

Route 66's Loss.  --RoadDog

It Was a See-Through Sensation-- Part 2

Also, a Plexiglas eight-cylinder 1939 Pontiac Torpedo four-door sedan was built at the same time for the 1940 Golden Gate Exposition, on the bigger "C" body shared by Cadillac, LaSalle and Buick.

After the two shows closed, the two cars toured Pontiac dealerships nationwide.

The fate of the Torpedo Eight is unknown today. It was sold at auction and ended up in the Smithsonian Institution in DC and kept there until 1947. After that, several Pontiac dealerships owned it. It was also at the first Pontiac-Oakland Club International meeting in July 1973, when it was sold to private owners.

Chicago's Joe Bortz is responsible for saving dozens of the dream cars over the last 40 years. Manufacturers almost never gave these cars vehicle identification numbers or titles, so they can't legally be driven on the road. In the remaining Pontiac "ghost" you also can't drive it because the contact points of the Plexiglas would cause stress cracks in the body. Also, the plastic has been treated over the years to prevent yellowing.

Hoping the Volo Automobile Museum Near Me Gets It. --RoadDog

It Was a See-Through Sensation-- Part 1

The Plexiglas Pontiac sedan was cutting edge in 1939, and it's still pretty cool today. From the July 31st Chicago Tribune by Paul Duchene.

It was a concept car, but perhaps two of the most interesting of them were two Pontiacs bodied in clear Plexiglas in 1939 and 1940. The first one, and only known survivor is being offered by RM Auctions in Plymouth, Michigan.

General Motors collaborated with the chemical company Rohm & Haas in 1939 to build a clear plastic car for the 1939 New York World's Fair to be exhibited in the "Highways and Horizons pavilion.

Pontiac supplied drawings of a 1939 Deluxe Six four-door sedan who constructed a clear plastic replica of the body shell and fit it on a real chassis.

Rohm & Haas had stumbled onto what they would trademark as Plexiglas while working on laminated glass techniques. Engineers discovered it could be heated over wooden bucks and would take the shape beneath it, hardening as it cooled.

This invention was used a lot in the coming World War II in aircraft canopies, noses and gun turrets.

This particular car was built as a 1939 six-cylinder Pontiac Deluxe sedan-- an "A" body shared with Chevrolet and Buick.

Nice photos accompany the article.

I'd Sure Like to See This Vehicle. More to Come. --RoadDog

That's One Old and EXPENSIVE Car

Records were broken in the past few days when the world's oldest surviving Rolls-Royce, a 1904 20154, was sold at auction for the pittance of $7.22 million, let's write it out, $7,220,000!!!!! At that price it is sure hoped that it will get good gas mileage. And...it probably will with that awesome 10 hp engine.

That was the most-ever for a pre-1905 vehicle (previous $3.5 million for an 1884 De Dion Bouton. It was also the most ever paid for a Rolls.

This was the fourth-ever car produced by Charles Rolls and Henry Royce. The open-topped two seater was thoroughly restored in the 1950s and is in perfect condition and is a runner. Drive that right over to your local McDonald's for some McRibs.

They also know all of the car's previous owners.

I Think That if I Had $7.2 Mil Lying Around...I'd Do Something Else with It. --RoadDog

When is a Sword Worth $6.4 Million?

It's worth that when the previous owner had the initials NB, as in Napoleon Bonaparte.

It was a gold-encrusted sword that Napoleon won at the Battle of Marengo, Italy in 1800. It sold at auction for far more than the estimated $1.6 million to $2 million expected. It went for $6,400,000. Shoot, I could live nicely off just the commission!!

The Osenat auction house held it Sunday across the street from one of Napoleon's imperial palaces in Fontainbleau. south of Paris.

It's Always Funny until Someone Loses an Eye. Don't run around with a sword in your hand (probably Worse than Scissors)!!!!! --RoadDog