Springfield, IL (WAND) – As Illinois marks the Route 66 centennial, visitors from around the world are stopping in Illinois to experience original stretches of the historic highway and local attractions that have defined American travel culture for a century.
Larou de Jong, originally from the Netherlands, first traveled Route 66 as an exchange student in central Illinois. While she hadn’t visited the US yet, she was very familiar with the Mother Road.
“I’ve always been passionate about America,” de Jong said. “I’ve seen American movies and I think that’s where Route 66 popped up, too. So, watching the movies, wanting to go to America and Route 66 is one of those real American things.”
At the Atlanta Public Museum in Atlanta, Ill., Director Amy Wertheim said the museum welcomed visitors from 49 countries last year — but only from 46 U.S. states. She’s created a large map where she tracks all of the visitors.
She also had the idea to create a Flat Lincoln, similar to Flat Stanley, that visitors can take on their travels with them and share on the museum’s website.
“Last year we made it to the Grand Canyon,” Wertheim said. “I just got a picture from the Czech Republic, and Lincoln is saying, ‘The native food is amazing!'”
The Visit Springfield team knew to expect an increase in global visitors. They have been revamping their attractions to ensure guests have plenty of things to see.
A quarter-mile stretch of original Route 66 pavement at Carpenter Park, north of Springfield, was reopened last year for the first time in 90 years. The stretch runs to the Sangamon River from the park entrance.
“It borders a nature preserve and what nature did was preserve that concrete,” said Visit Springfield Director Scott Dahl. “And it looks like it did in the 1920s.”
Route 66 attractions in the area include the Illinois State Fairgrounds Route 66 Experience, the Cozy Dog, Motor Heads, Lake Springfield and original brick pavement just outside Auburn. Dahl said the highway’s global appeal comes down to its identity.
“It’s Americana, it’s the open road, it’s the people that you meet along the way,” Dahl said. “It’s the quirky attractions that you see, that you may not see in the country they are from.”
