Illinois Route 66 - Atlanta

     Modern Atlanta has two main attractions that point to its past economic life: the J. H. Hawes Grain Elevator Museum (not pictured), and the giant Route 66 era Hot Dog Muffler Man. From the middle of the 19th century, Atlanta has been a convenient storage and shipping point for the area's wheat, corn, and barley farming. The old Chicago, Alton & St. Louis railroad line originally picked up these crops, with the town providing warehouses and grain elevators for storage. (The Hawes elevator operated from 1904 to 1976.) Atlanta also supported the local farming community with liveries, saddleries and blacksmith shops, and over the years has housed grain dealers, mills, and a pork packing business. The railroad also picked up and dropped off passengers in Atlanta, putting the town in the hotel business. Route 66 added to the tourist trade in the 1930's and 40's, temporarily adding to the town's prosperity during the old road's heyday. Atlanta in the 21st century retains its rural connection, with local businesses providing agricultural supplies and farm machinery, traditional grain storage and modern refrigerated warehouses, and local trucking companies that now handle the shipping. The decline of the railroads and the bypassing of Route 66 took away a lot of the hospitality business in town, but the modern interstate highway is just what the local farming industry needed.

     By the middle of the 20th century, Route 66 ran right down one of the main business streets in Atlanta. According to Jack Rittenhouse's account of his 1946 trip, U.S. 66 ran "past some very old store buildings, some dating back to the 1850's." From what I could see, a lot of those buildings are still there, with some bright Route 66 murals added in recent years to attract the modern 66 tourist. The town also boasts a handsome domed Library Museum with an adjoining clock tower, built in 1908. You need to park the car and hoof it around this part of town to appreciate Atlanta's Route 66 and farming heritage. Log Book: 155 miles motored on old 66.