Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum

Culture

Restored 1933 gas station that pumped gas until 1999 — longest continuously operating station on Route 66; NRHP-listed; now Dwight's Route 66 visitor center.

Food

Route 66 diner dating to 1935 (founded 1924 in Carlinville); billed as the longest continuously operating restaurant on the route, NRHP-listed 2006.

Roadside Americana

19-foot fiberglass Muffler Man holding an oversized hot dog; built in the 1960s, relocated to Atlanta in 2003.

Culture

UNESCO World Heritage site of the largest pre-Columbian city north of Mexico; Monks Mound and the grounds are open, while the interpretive center is closed for renovation.

Food

Opened 1928 by J.P. Walters, billed as the oldest truck stop in America; rebuilt after a 1965 fire and remodeled in 2012; today operates as Dixie Travel Plaza under Road Ranger branding.

History

4.4 million gallons of water merge here every second -- the Ohio and Mississippi visibly run side by side in different colors before mixing, viewable from a 1960s observation tower at the literal southern tip of Illinois, the lowest point in the state at 279 feet.