Text by Tammie

  In the late 1930s or early 1940s, a lunch counter in a gas station on Route 66 in Willowbrook, Illinois, began frying chicken. The rest, as they say, is history. The Chicken Basket, a historic roadhouse at 645 Joliet Road (Historic Route 66) in Willowbrook, has been famous for its fried chicken for decades. Today,  known as Dell Rhea’s Chicken Basket,  it has even more food, including Mac n Cheese Balls and Corn Fritters; Sauteed Chicken Liver Dinner; Blackened Chicken sandwich, Fried Jumbo Shrimp Basket. And, of course, Famous Fried Chicken Basket. More information is available here .  

  A new exhibit in St. Louis, Missouri, is featuring things in the area that “used to be” on Route 66. The National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis will exhibit through the second week in October 2026 its “Roads, River, Rooms, and Reels” tribute to Route 66. Route 66 is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026, and The National Museum of Transportation is helping to note the milestone by its special exhibit that features modes of transportation and entertainment along the Mother Road that no longer exist: the riverboat SS Admiral, the “66” Park In Theatre and Coral Court Motel. The “Roads, River, Rooms, and Reels” exhibit is in the museum’s William R. and Laura Rand Orthwein Education and Visitor Center, for the most part. Vintage cars are in the Earl C. Lindburg Automobile Center. More information is available here :

    Two historic highways – Route 66 and the Lincoln Highway– meet in Plainfield, Illinois, a village 35 miles southwest of Chicago.   The restoration of the 1940 Phillips 66 Service Station, where the two highways meet, will honor the two roads.   In 2024, the Plainfield Historical Society acquired the service station to anchor a new, local history museum complex. The museum will complement other historic sites in Plainfield, including its Downtown Historic District with some 50 properties on “both sides of Lockport Street between Division Street on the east and James and Main Streets on the west.”   More information is here .  

  Two businesses on Route 66 in St. Louis, Missouri, offering sweet treats have a following that’s “world-wide” because they are the “best.”   Ted Drewes Frozen Custard and the Donut Drive-In in St. Louis are down the road from each other on Chippewa Street (Route 66) in St. Louis.   Ted Drewes opened in 1941 on Route 66 and is known for its “World famous frozen custard.”   The Donut Drive-In opened in 1953 and was voted “best donuts on Route 66” by Food Network.   More information on how to enjoy both is located here :    

  The Old Joliet Prison on Old Route 66 in Joliet, Illinois, was built as way of escaping from Illinois’ first notorious state penitentiary in Alton, erected in 1833.   The Alton prison was said to have abused inmates. The Old Joliet Prison, built in 1858, offered inmates jobs, education plus physical and spiritual benefits.    The Old Joliet Prison is now an attraction on Route 66 that offers tours. More here .  

    A prison in Joliet, Illinois, that Route 66 passed the gates of from 1926 until 1940, is open for tours.   “Old Joliet Prison Historic Site,” at 1125 Collins St., was closed and abandoned in 2002 after its construction in 1858.   In the early years, the prison was an industrial facility that leased convicts out to work.    Today, self-guided and guided history tours are available seasonally from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.   More information is available here .