PA Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association attempts to restore sign
From WGAL: Lincoln Highway was the nation’s first coast-to-coast roadway.
It runs from New York to San Francisco, and right through the Susquehanna Valley.
Soon, an iconic spot along the highway will be changing.
Since 1949, the sign at the intersection of Lincoln Highway and Mt. Zion Road in York, PA, has been a beacon for travelers.
“I like to think of the Modernaire Motel as a love story,” Tom Davidson of the PA Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association said.
HISTORICAL SOCIETY TO REASSEMBLE ‘MAIL POUCH TOBACCO’ SIGN FOR DISPLAY
The Mail Pouch Tobacco barn sign on M-99 in 2017. Nic Rowan | Collegian Archives
From the Hillsdale, MI, Collegian: What do a tobacco ad, a groundhog, and a fictional character from a Will Carleton poem all have in common? They all live in the Will Carleton Poorhouse barn, which will be the final resting place of Hillsdale’s Mail Pouch Tobacco ad.
The disassembled ad is now in the barn and will be put on exhibit there after the barn undergoes a restoration. The Hillsdale County Historical Society recovered the ad from Mejier, which built its store on the property where the barn that displayed the ad once stood.
Rock City barns, signs in Tennessee eyed for historic designation
This barn featuring the iconic Rock City logo has been directing travelers to the top of Lookout Mountain for decades. The Tennessee Historical Commission will vote Sept. 20, 2024, on whether to include multiple properties bearing variations of the signs across the state including this one on state Highway 58 near Grasshopper Road in Hamilton County. Staff Photo by Ben Benton
From the Chattanooga Times Free Press: One of the American driving public’s most iconic roadside signs directing travelers to the Chattanooga region since 1937 could be listed on the National Register of Historic Places if state nomination efforts are successful.
Multiple “See Rock City” sign locations across Tennessee — including the ones on barns — are listed among nominees to be considered by Tennessee’s National Register of Historic Places’ State Review Board when it meets Friday to vote on seven possible nominees, according to a statement from the Tennessee Historical Commission. A specific “See Rock City” barn in Cumberland County is also among the nominees.
Motorists have followed the signs since the late 1930s, Caty Dirksen, spokesperson for the commission, said in an email.
These Photos Tell the Lesser-Known Story of Route 66
Holbrook, Arizona, is known for one of America’s odder attractions: 14 concrete dinosaur statues, which visitors can spot while en route to Petrified Forest National Park. Photo by Rachael Wright
From Afar: Route 66 exemplifies what photographer Rachael Wright calls “the enduring mythology of the American dream.” She moved to the U.S. from England about 15 years ago, but the highway’s vast and varied scenery across its 2,448 miles and eight states––particularly the neon and mid-century modern relics celebrated in pop culture––have intrigued her since childhood.
As an adult, Wright also became fascinated with the road’s complex history. In 1926, as the U.S. was launching its first federal highway system, government officials cobbled local, state, and national roads together to create Route 66. Writer John Steinbeck called it the “Mother Road” during the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s as poverty-stricken Americans used it to head west in search of jobs. Since then, Wright says, it has lived many lives: a military road during World War II, and by the 1950s, a popular east-west path for leisure travelers.
City officials break ground at site of new transitional housing in Lincoln Square
The Diplomat Motel, 5230 N. Lincoln Ave. Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times file
From the Chicago Sun-Times: The site of a former Lincoln Square motel is now one step closer to becoming a haven for people with mental health and substance abuse issues.
City and state leaders gathered at a groundbreaking Monday at the former Diplomat Motel, 5230 N. Lincoln Ave., for what will soon become The Haven on Lincoln, a 40-unit “stabilization housing” project that will provide wrap-around services in an effort to combat homelessness.
Last year, the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate gave Mayor Brandon Johnson the go-ahead to acquire the motel for $2.9 million and turn it into supportive housing.
CROSS PLAINS LANDMARK MUFFLER MAN GETS A MAKEOVER
Smokey Barn News
From Smokey Barn News: CROSS PLAINS, TENNESSEE — Standing tall at 8736 TN-25 East, Cross Plains, TN MAP a cherished Robertson County icon known as the Indian Muffler Man has undergone a much-needed and somewhat of a remarkable makeover by a local company. Located at Sad Sam’s Fireworks, this 30-foot fiberglass statue has been a favorite roadside attraction for years, drawing locals and travelers alike for countless photo opportunities.