DELL RHEA’S CHICKEN BASKET, WILLOWBROOK
c. 1946
Adjacent to the current location of Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket, a man named Irv Kolarik owned and operated a service station where he not only serviced automobiles but also served up pie, coffee, and cold sandwiches at a small lunch counter. Unhappy with the dirty environment of the gas station, Kolarik thought selling more food would be more to his liking. One day, two local women overheard his complaining and offered to teach him how to cook fried chicken using their tasty recipe if he would agree to buy his chickens from them. A deal was struck and the rest, as they say, is history.
The chicken dishes became so popular that he quickly outgrew his small lunch counter and expanded by converting his two service bays into dining rooms. Eventually a new building was needed; in June 1946 the business moved to its current location and became known as the “Nationally Famous Chicken Basket.” Prior to 1946 the business was known both as Club Roundup and the Triangle Inn. In one of his more elaborate schemes developed to attract customers to a roadside business, Kolarik had the restaurant’s parapet roof flooded with water and hired professional ice skaters to skate on the rooftop during the winter months. Spotlights aimed at the skaters created quite a scene at night. People would come from miles around to view the rooftop spectacle and get a bite to eat, just as Kolarik had hoped.
The property changed ownership two times during the late 1950s and early 1960s. When four-lane Route 66 bypassed the Chicken Basket, the restaurant fell on hard times and was eventually repossessed. In 1963 Dell Rhea and his wife, Grace, bought the business from the bank and changed the name to Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket. Today the restaurant looks much as it did when it opened in 1946. The only alteration is an enclosed outdoor patio, which serves as another dining room. In June 1992 Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket was inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame. Rhea’s son, Patrick, purchased the restaurant from his family in 1986 and is responsible for many of the tasty dishes, including the secret chicken marinade, served up at the Chicken Basket today. Patrick is quite proud of the fact that all his dishes are prepared using the finest fresh ingredients and is quick to point out that his chicken is marinated for a full 24 hours before being hand-breaded. Anyone hungry?
AMBLER’S TEXACO GAS STATION, DWIGHT
c. 1933
Jack Schore built the original structure at the corner of Route 66 and Illinois Route 17 with the help of his son Paul in 1933. The station holds the honor of being one of the longest-operating service stations on all of Route 66. It uses a design commonly called the “domestic style” gas station that was developed by the Standard Oil Company in 1916. This neighborhood-friendly design stemmed from growing community opposition to the often-unsightly gas stations growing more common in and around towns during that time. It was an obvious effort to create gas stations that would blend in with their surrounding neighborhoods. This design also created a secure, homelike atmosphere that oil executives hoped would attract out-of-town travelers.
In 1936 Vernon VonQualon leased the property from Schore and operated the station for two years before turning it over to Basil “Tubby” Ambler, who operated the station from 1938 until 1965. During the early 1940s Ambler added a service bay, allowing the business to offer service and repairs year-round. In 1965, Ambler sold the station to Earl Kochler, who in turn sold it to Royce McBeath. It changed hands one more time when McBeath sold it to Phil Becker on March 4, 1970. Becker had begun working there in 1964, just one year before Ambler sold to Kochler. One year after Becker purchased the station, Texaco abruptly stopped supplying the station its gasoline. Becker signed on with Marathon, and the station was known as Becker’s Marathon Gas Station for over 26 years.
The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 29, 2001. Although it changed hands many times, Ambler’s significant 27-year ownership prompted the station to be listed as Ambler’s Texaco Gas Station. It’s currently being restored to its 1940 appearance and will be utilized as a Route 66 interpretive center.
c. 1952
The Strufe Motel was built on the southwest end of Dwight, just south of the Ambler station. It began life as a gas station, built and owned by Martin and Mehta Paulsen, who had emigrated from Denmark. Sometime after the station was completed, the Paulsens built six tourist cabins out back and joined them together with a single roof, creating a carport for each cabin. During the time that Martin and Mehta owned the business, it was called Paulsen’s Court.
John and Dorothy Strufe purchased the business in 1952 and renamed the complex the Strufe Motel. For the first couple of years, the Strufes worked and lived in the station with their son, Frederick, who was four years old when they purchased it. In 1959 they decided to discontinue the sale of gasoline. The pumps were removed, and the station was converted into a living space and an office for the motel. Eventually the carports were enclosed, creating four additional rooms and a large utility room. Brick veneer was used to cover the front and sides, giving the individual units the appearance of a single ten-unit building. Following the remodeling the name was changed to the Arrow Motel.
After the tragic death of the Strufes in an automobile accident in 1968, Frederick continued to operate the motel until 1973, when it was sold to Norris and Betty Ruff. The motel changed hands again in 1977 and 1989 when the William DuPont and James Moyemont families entered into a partnership. Michael Moyemont eventually bought out all the partners and is now sole owner of the property. The ten-unit motel has been converted into two apartments and sits quietly concealed behind new vinyl siding, which covers the old brick veneer.
c. 1932
Built in 1932 by Patrick O’Donnell, this gas station sits on the southwest side of Odell in Livingston County, just a few yards from the fabled Mother Road. Like many of the gas stations in this part of the country, it was built using original plans developed by Standard Oil of Ohio in 1916. The basic design of the “domestic style” gas station, as it was dubbed, consisted of a simple houselike structure with an attached canopy. The Odell station featured Standard Oil products for many of its early years, but by 1940 it was distributing Phillips 66 through its pumps. Prior to 1952 the station discontinued selling Phillips 66 and switched allegiance to Sinclair. The last drop of gas sold at the station was Sinclair brand in 1967.
During the glory days of Route 66, competition among gas station owners was fierce. There were more than ten stations on the short stretch of Route 66 in and around Odell. To attract more business, O’Donnell added service bays in 1937. When the bypass appeared and other stations fell by the wayside from lack of business, the service bay proved to be the station’s saving grace.
In 1952 Robert Close leased the station from O’Donnell and bought the property after O’Donnell’s passing in 1967. Close and his family lived in a converted café adjacent to the filling station until the café burned down sometime in the 1970s. Close eventually began doing bodywork at the station and continued until the Village of Odell bought the property in 1999.
Efforts to have the historic Standard Oil Station listed on the National Register of Historic Places began in 1995 and were rewarded with the station’s listing in November 1997. Preservation efforts began in earnest in 1998, when volunteers from the Route 66 Association of Illinois began working diligently to preserve this Route 66 icon for future generations. The beautifully restored filling station is currently operated as a museum and information center.
c. 1927
Chenoa had its humble beginnings in 1854, when Mathew T. Scott acquired thousands of acres of prairie wilderness in the area. He proceeded to lay out lots and streets for the yet-unnamed town. It was prime property, located at the intersection of the Toledo, Peoria & Western and the Chicago & Alton railroads. The town’s first building was the Farmers Store, built in 1855 by J. B. Lenney, who is often referred to as the Father of Chenoa. By the time the town was founded as Chenoa, a native word meaning “white dove,” the thousands of Indians who at one time made the region their home had long since been removed by the U.S. government to areas west of the Mississippi River.
Chenoa has seen several routings of Highway 66 over the years, including a four-lane version with a railroad crossing that caused long traffic jams as travelers in both directions waited anxiously to proceed. Chenoa has long catered to Route 66 travelers. During the highway’s heyday, gas stations, motels, and cafés (including the famous Steve’s Café that can be seen in the vintage photo) lined the town’s streets. (For more information on Steve’s Café, see the first Route 66 Lost & Found.)
Land for a tourist park, at first simply called “Tourist Park” (presently known as Red Bird Park), was donated by Scott. The park is a testament to Chenoa’s early desire to attract and serve automobile travelers. Tourists were allowed to camp free of charge in the park until the land was leased and a tourist court was built on the property. Many original, vintage buildings remain there, including a structure that has continuously housed a pharmacy (now Chenoa Pharmacy) since 1889.
Like many of the small communities located along this stretch of Route 66, the citizens of Chenoa are proud of their Route 66 heritage and truly make you feel welcome in their community.
c. 1934
James Robert Adams opened the Palms Grill Café in August 1934, boasting “home cooking, quick service and courteous treatment.” Adams was born just outside of Atlanta but moved to Los Angeles after serving in World War I. He shuttled back and forth between Los Angeles and Atlanta but spent a majority of his time in California.
He named the café in reference to his time spent in that state. In fact, the interior was decorated as homage to a restaurant Adams frequented near his home in Los Angeles.
The café occupied the north half of a building known as the Downey Building, which was built after the Civil War in 1867. With five tables and two counters, the seating capacity for the café was about 30.
From the beginning the “The Grill,” as it was locally known, was more than just a source of good food. Soon after its opening, the café developed into an integral part of Atlanta’s social scene. Many Atlanta teenagers got their first taste of employment waiting tables or grilling short orders there. Behind the kitchen at the rear of the building was a dance hall, where locals would gather on Wednesday nights to cut loose and socialize. The dance hall was also used to host large private gatherings and parties.
In January 1940 the Palms Grill Café became a designated Greyhound Bus stop. A small light at the bottom of the neon sign out front signaled bus drivers when passengers were waiting to board. From the late 1940s through the 1950s, the café became the place for Atlanta High School students to meet and eat. In the late 1960s, however, after Highway 66 traffic was routed away from the center of town, the Palms Grill Café served up its final dinner. The last owner of the Downey Building, John Hawkins, remodeled the interior into a living and work space. Upon his passing in 2002, the Hawkins family donated the building to the Atlanta Public Library and Museum. The vintage interior of the Palms Grill Café is currently being restored. The original Downey Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
ART’S MOTEL AND RESTAURANT, FARMERSVILLE
c. 1955
In 1932 Art McAnarney and Marty Gorman became business partners, operating everything from speakeasies and gas stations to dance halls and casinos in and around Farmersville. In 1937 McAnarney decided to go it alone and sold his share of the business back to Gorman. McAnarney leased a building that once housed the two-story Hendricks Brothers’ Café and Gas Station and went into business for himself. He continued operating a restaurant and gas station, as well as renting six cabins for overnight guests, until the building caught fire in 1952, destroying the second floor. The main-floor dining room was salvageable; McAnarney rebuilt the business, utilizing the old dining room and the foundation, but opted for a single-story structure.
McAnarney died in 1957, leaving the business to his sons, Elmer and Joe. By that time, two-lane Route 66 in Illinois was almost nonexistent, having given way to the new and updated four-lane version. In 1960 the sons added a 13-room L-shaped motel that still stands today. When Interstate 55 was completed in the mid-1970s, it ran right in front of the property. An exit for Farmersville was built, and, as luck would have it, Art’s was conveniently located near the on/off ramp, averting what would otherwise have spelled the end of the business. Although Art’s Motel and Restaurant continued to operate, as of this writing it’s closed and looking for a new owner. In 1995 Art’s was inducted in to the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame.
RUT’S CORNER TOURIST CAMP, LITCHFIELD
c. 1929
Russell “Ruts” Brawley built Rut’s Corner Tourist Camp just a few years after it was decided that Highway 66 would run through the town of Litchfield. A single row of gable-roofed cabins sat on one side of Brawley’s property. A structure containing five guest units was positioned perpendicular to the cabins; for customers’ convenience, each unit had a covered garage with a private entry. A community bathhouse was provided for guests of both the cabins and of the rooms.
A café was eventually added but burned to the ground in 1936. Olind McPherson, a one-time employee, remembers, “The fire was so hot that coins were melted together.” The café was quickly rebuilt bigger and better, with room to serve upwards of 150 hungry guests. T-bone steak dinners were 40 cents.
“Rut’s Corner was one of the busiest and most popular spots between Chicago and St. Louis,” says McPherson. “The slot machines were the big thing.” Brawley would say to him, “When a crowd gathers around the slot machines don’t worry about cleaning up or anything. Just make sure the customers have change to feed the machines.” McPherson also remembers galvanized wash basins of change so heavy that two men had to lift them. “That’s how popular the slot machines were,” he says.
A filling station was added later, making Rut’s Corner a full-service tourist stop. Rut’s closed sometime in the late 1950s. McPherson began cutting hair and has owned a barbershop for over 60 years. He remains in Litchfield and, at age 82, continues to cut hair. “I still work three days a week giving haircuts but now it’s by appointment only,” he says proudly.
SOULSBY’S SERVICE STATION, MOUNT OLIVE
c. 1926
Henry Soulsby was a southern Illinois coal miner by trade, following in his father’s footsteps. Injury forced Soulsby to retire from mining sometime in the mid-1920s. In 1926, betting that the new U.S. Highway 66 would pass through Mount Olive, he used his life savings to purchase property on which he planned to build a gas station. With help from his young son, Russell, he proceeded to build a small, 30x12 structure of his own design. After high school, Russell joined his father in the business full time, while his sisters, Ola and Wilma, pitched in on a part-time basis. When Henry retired, Russell and Ola took over the daily operation of the station.
In 1937 the station was doubled in size but was never large enough for a repair bay. All repairs were performed outdoors on a ramp situated on the south side of the building. Following a stint in the military as a communications technician during World War II, Russell Soulsby returned to the station and quickly began utilizing his experience to repair radios and, later, televisions. After the interstate bypass was built in the late 1950s and automobile traffic dwindled, his television-repair business proved to be his mainstay. In 1991 Soulsby’s discontinued the sale of gasoline but kept the station store open to sell soda, add the occasional quart of oil, and greet the growing number of tourists traveling the old road. In 1993 Soulsby closed his doors for good and sold the property in 1997 to Mike Dragovich in a public auction. Soulsby passed away in 1999. As a tribute, his funeral procession passed under the station’s canopy on the way to the cemetery.
In 2003 Dragovich led volunteers in a major restoration effort that gave the station back its post–World War II color scheme. Today, looking like something out of a time machine, Soulsby’s stands as a fitting tribute to Russell Soulsby and the glory days of Route 66.
c. 1931
Irma Rafalala is given credit for building the two-story Luna Café in 1924, two years prior to the designation of Highway 66. The foundation was dug using old-fashioned mule power and a large scoop, recalls 82-year-old Mitchell resident Bud Eberhart. The restaurant/bar was located on the main floor, while bedrooms, often used by railroad workers, were located upstairs.
One of the oldest continuously run establishments on the Mother Road, the Luna Café has a colorful history that revolves around gangsters, upstairs brothels, and basement gambling. As co-owner Alan Young says, “It’s hard to separate fact from fiction.” One of the many rumors surrounding the Luna is that Al Capone and his gang regularly stopped at the café when traveling between St. Louis and Chicago. High-stakes gambling reportedly took place in the basement on a regular basis and probably was one of the reasons for Capone’s alleged visits.
Another unconfirmed story is that the upstairs bedrooms were often used for prostitution. As the legend goes, when the neon cherry was lit on the vintage sign out front, the ladies were waiting and available upstairs. According to a current tenant who resides upstairs, “There was a bell in each room. They would ring from downstairs to let the girls know who was wanted.” The wiring for the bells is rumored to still be there.
In its early days the Luna Café catered to an upscale crowd, and much of its well-to-do clientele came from nearby St. Louis. The 1931 photo shows a painted sign on the side of the building advertising Budweiser and the restaurant fare. Young assured me that the sign still exists, albeit hidden under the newer siding.
Today the Luna Café is a neighborhood tavern catering mostly to locals. However, when tourist travel on Historic Route 66 is at its peak during the summer months, people from all over the world can be seen sitting at tables eating sandwiches and at the bar drinking cold brews. The Luna Café’s roadhouse charm oozes from every corner, and the myriad stories, whether fact or fiction, only add to it. It does not take much of an imagination to visualize Capone and his gang sitting at a back table, making plans for a future heist or counting the take from the gambling downstairs.
The Luna Café was inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in June 2004 and is currently owned by Alan Young and Larry Wofford. It is a great spot to wet your whistle.
