Ken (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} shadowplay2) wrote,@ 2006-08-15 21:52:00 |
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Route 66
Got clear of St. Louis a little later than planned, partially because of work related things and partially because of two traffic jams. In Litchfield IL, jumped off the interstate for lunch at a diner on historic Rt. 66, apparently it's been in that location since 1929. Kind of cute, and the original family still runs it. Too much food, but they are quite friendly. One look at my old Leica and they took turns asking me questions and offering helpful hints on things to see. Unfortunately they seem to be about the only ones in town who get the historical significance thing, Litchfield seems to be pinning it's future on a couple of industrial parks and the usual tacky/ugly fast food row.
I'd done that stretch of old 66 previously, so jumped back on the highway for a while. One of the gentlemen at the restaurant had recommended the Chenoa business district as worth seeing though, and I'd never been off the highway there before. So, needing to slow down a bit anyway to miss the back end of Chicago rush hour, I went exploring.
It's not real easy to find. Chenoa is a few exits north of Bloomington-Normal, closer to Pontiac. Old Rt. 66 parallels I-55, running a little to the east of the interstate, and then the old business district is yet a little more east of 66. As with most of these towns, the business district is along the railroad. In this case, it's nearly deserted. Beautiful old brick buildings, plenty of character, half the storefronts either empty or just not open. There were a few cars going by, but very few people out on the streets. Everything was clean and tidy, just not very busy. After driving around for a few minutes and taking photos, I saw a sign on one store that said "coffee" and another one that said "open." Caffeine break.
Inside Minnie Marie's Coffee House, it was spotless, and the coffee was pretty good. When I mentioned to the proprietor that I think Chenoa is a cute town (if not a very busy one), she was gracious but seemed a little surprised, as if she doesn't hear that very often. Various questions followed, I ended up explaining the whole concept of New Urbanism (some fairly sophisticated places are spending a great deal of money to recreate walkable main street core districts) and eventually I had received the pocket history of the town, or at least the past 15 years worth. Apparently a lot of the main street businesses closed after a Wal-Mart opened nearby... a fairly typical small town story. A few hung on until just recently. The coffee house is relatively new, and so far caters mostly to locals. It's a shame more people don't know about this place, it's actually a fascinating few blocks, well worth a half-hour detour off the interstate maybe a mile away. The few natives I met were quite friendly, and I'm assured that the food is good too. Can't help but wonder what a handful of bright, creative, and dedicated artists could do in a town like this... assuming anyone knew they were there?
Next stop was Dwight, maybe another 20 miles or so to the north. Much more vibrant, larger, maybe partially due to the Amtrak stop, and maybe also the closer proximity to Chicago. From there I was back on I-294 an hour later, and in the north suburbs in less than an hour and a half.
Got clear of St. Louis a little later than planned, partially because of work related things and partially because of two traffic jams. In Litchfield IL, jumped off the interstate for lunch at a diner on historic Rt. 66, apparently it's been in that location since 1929. Kind of cute, and the original family still runs it. Too much food, but they are quite friendly. One look at my old Leica and they took turns asking me questions and offering helpful hints on things to see. Unfortunately they seem to be about the only ones in town who get the historical significance thing, Litchfield seems to be pinning it's future on a couple of industrial parks and the usual tacky/ugly fast food row.
I'd done that stretch of old 66 previously, so jumped back on the highway for a while. One of the gentlemen at the restaurant had recommended the Chenoa business district as worth seeing though, and I'd never been off the highway there before. So, needing to slow down a bit anyway to miss the back end of Chicago rush hour, I went exploring.
It's not real easy to find. Chenoa is a few exits north of Bloomington-Normal, closer to Pontiac. Old Rt. 66 parallels I-55, running a little to the east of the interstate, and then the old business district is yet a little more east of 66. As with most of these towns, the business district is along the railroad. In this case, it's nearly deserted. Beautiful old brick buildings, plenty of character, half the storefronts either empty or just not open. There were a few cars going by, but very few people out on the streets. Everything was clean and tidy, just not very busy. After driving around for a few minutes and taking photos, I saw a sign on one store that said "coffee" and another one that said "open." Caffeine break.
Inside Minnie Marie's Coffee House, it was spotless, and the coffee was pretty good. When I mentioned to the proprietor that I think Chenoa is a cute town (if not a very busy one), she was gracious but seemed a little surprised, as if she doesn't hear that very often. Various questions followed, I ended up explaining the whole concept of New Urbanism (some fairly sophisticated places are spending a great deal of money to recreate walkable main street core districts) and eventually I had received the pocket history of the town, or at least the past 15 years worth. Apparently a lot of the main street businesses closed after a Wal-Mart opened nearby... a fairly typical small town story. A few hung on until just recently. The coffee house is relatively new, and so far caters mostly to locals. It's a shame more people don't know about this place, it's actually a fascinating few blocks, well worth a half-hour detour off the interstate maybe a mile away. The few natives I met were quite friendly, and I'm assured that the food is good too. Can't help but wonder what a handful of bright, creative, and dedicated artists could do in a town like this... assuming anyone knew they were there?
Next stop was Dwight, maybe another 20 miles or so to the north. Much more vibrant, larger, maybe partially due to the Amtrak stop, and maybe also the closer proximity to Chicago. From there I was back on I-294 an hour later, and in the north suburbs in less than an hour and a half.
