Illinois Route 66 - Lexington

     Lexington is one of the oldest towns in the state of Illinois, a tired-looking community with an agricultural heritage. The town has also relied on the transportation industry since 1854, when it became an early Illinois railroad stop. It transitioned in the 1920's and 30's to a typical Route 66 stop-over, providing restaurants, motels, and a peak of nine gas stations when the 66 traffic was flowing. But Lexington began to lose the travel business as early as the 1940's, when a new alignment of the old road steered traffic just to the west of town, a fact pointed out by Jack Rittenhouse in his 1946 guide book to Route 66. The opening of Interstate 55 in the 1970's made it even harder to draw in the usual tourists, because who wants to stop in a small town when he can speed along to bigger and better places? As evidence, the once popular Oasis Drive-In sits idly by the side of some old 66 pavement, its sign slowly rusting since they shut the place down in 1976.
    For the Route 66 roadie, Lexington has Memory Lane, a one mile stretch of original 66 pavement complete with old billboards and Burma-Shave signs. Ironically, one has to hoof it to enjoy this 66 attraction, as car traffic is allowed only on special occasions. Lexington also displays an art-deco neon sign advertising the town itself, a nice touch. Log Book: 119 miles motored on old 66.