Illinois Motels

Our summer 1996 trip across Route 66 began with a drive from Athens, Ohio to St. Louis, Missouri. We then headed southwest. On our return trip, we stopped again in St. Louis and drove northeast to Chicago - completing our trip where most folks begin. Driving Route 40 toward the Mother Road, we stop in Greenup ("Village of the Porches"). The 5 Star is located down the street from the Dutch Boy restaurant and its plastic windmill. As Vienna plays on a rickety see-saw, I visit the owners. Dennis and Kathryn run this comfortable motel that is easy to lose under the broad overhang of trees in this area. Much of the neon along the roof no longer works and is unlikely to be fixed anytime soon. Kathryn describes the costs of running a place like this, "what with taxes, workman's comp, and all." At our feet, an english setter named Steve sleeps soundly. Apparently a few years ago, their daughter dated an englishman of the same name - "they looked a lot alike," Dennis notes. The 5 Star houses local low income residents who pay by the week and a steady stream of tourists who make a yearly pilgrimage. Our visit concluded, we race a train toward the horizon. On the right, powerlines shaped like surreal Christmas trees mark our path.

Further west, we stop in Pocahontas with its Powhatan, Wikiup, and Tahoe Motels. An iron teepee at the Powhatan draws Vienna like a magnet while I chat with the guy at the desk of the Tahoe. That motel features a fairly impressive collection of service station memorabilia - signs, advertisements, and equipment. Later on we learn that this Route 40 town isn't named after any person in particular; it was named after the Pocahontas Coal Company. Of course someone at T/G's Antique Mall assures us that many interstate travelers come here looking for any connection to Disney's recent incarnation of the Native American heroine.

5 Star Pocahontas Motels

The Rainbo Motel (top image), where Route 40 meets Interstate 55, is a tired looking site that still features its American Motel Association of Illinois emblem ("Stop at a Motel Tonight"). I talk with the manager, mentioning our appreciation of the beauty of his sign. He just shakes his head - "it's dead." While air conditioners strain from wooden boards which hang from the windows, some of the buildings appear to maintain fireplaces. The Rainbo is close to the Cahokia Mounds Historic Site. The Monks Mound that rises over a hundred feet offers a thought provoking view of St. Louis and reminds me of the tremendous civilizations that must have flourished before the arrival of European explorers. Now, of course, the Mounds are merely grassy plateaus which require signs to point toward the cultures that once grew here.

Sadly enough, the rest of our drive northeast through Illinois (from St. Louis to Lake Michigan in Chicago) is simply not a mecca for motels. In Springfield, the A. Lincoln Motel with its neon image of the Railsplitter was razed in May 1996 to make room for the renovated Cozy Dog Drive In (where corn dogs became a postwar part of Americana thanks to Ed Waldmire). One of Ed's sons, Buzz, is kind enough to give us a photo of the old motel as it stood before its demolition. He also gives me a Cozy Dog business card which features Cozy Supply's "Gun Net" Guns & Ammo on the back ("Go ahead - buy a gun - make my day.") Passing through Dwight, the Carefree Motel that we've heard about may as well be the Sign-free motel - given our three tries at locating it.

Star-Lite Motel

Finally, on the outskirts of Chicago, we discover the Star-Lite Motel on Highway 6. The building is enclosed by a high brick wall that makes the structure almost impenetrable except through the entrance by the office.

Return to the lobby.

Last update: April 6, 1999. All photographs copyright © Jenny Wood. Text copyright © Andy Wood.