Route 66 - 66 Ghost Towns & Abandoned Places

in this video we're going to explore abandoned places along Route 66 in eight states only one of these spots are not easy to reach and all of them can be photographed from public spots there is so much joy in cruising this amazing Highway and I hope this video will add some value to your next trip I did Skip major cities like La Chicago and St Louis due to traffic and safety concerns AA Arizona and New Mexico were my favorite but we'll start in California which only has a handful of spots but the journey through the desert was priceless so let's begin the first stop is the abandoned rail car near the Morman rocks in the kahone pass this is the only spot on this list that is not easy to visit but this abandoned rail car is pretty cool I'm not sure why it's here but I assume it's because of a derailment there's a whole bunch of trains that pass through here every day I think there's three different Rail lines you'll have to drive down a dirt road about a mile or two and if it just rained or snowed I wouldn't come here at all it's also a great place for night photography the next town is daget it's located just east of Baro California this town was formed in 1883 and at one point this was considered to be a very big town that building on the right used to be a hotel and this is Dag's garage it was my favorite building in the town it is now off limits to the public but you could shoot it right from the road the next stop is llo California this town was founded in 1883 and for years it was a very important town for the rail road right along the main drag you're going to see a whole bunch of abandoned buildings including Gas Station Cafe and a couple of homes by the 40s and through the 60s this town was really important for visitors along Route 66 as it had all the services but then in the 60s I40 bypassed this town and it quickly became a ghost town this is the old residence for a motel and Campground that used to be here it also hosted the office and on the other side of town by the railroad tracks is the old Mercantile building it's in very bad shape now so it's fenced off there's still a gas station Cafe and a motel in this town serving Route 66 Travelers our next stop is Siberia California this town was a stop along Route 66 until 1973 when the interstate bypassed this entire area this is all that's left of the town it's a crumbling old building but it's really cool and its artwork is stunning there are a few more foundations around town that you can explore as well I really enjoy this part of the Mojave Desert and on the other side of the highway there's a few more foundations as well the next up is one of the most popular places on all of Route 66 Amboy California this town was founded in 1883 and was a really popular stop for Route 66 Travelers until 1973 when they opened Interstate 40 north of here and traffic to this town declined this is the old Motel it hasn't been used in decades what's really fun is that the doors are open and you can go inside and explore the gas station itself is still open and it's a great gift shop they renovated a place in 2008 the Amboy school was closed in 1999 when the last students moved away this was also the most expensive gas I ever paid for Roy's Motel and Cafe is an iconic spot along Route 66 it's a great place to shoot and if you happen to be here in the evening the neon signs do get turned on and a little further away is the old church this also looks like they used to have a residence for the staff at its peak about 60 people lived in this town now only four to 10 people remain depending on which source you read just a few miles away from Amboy a large portion of Route 66 has been been closed for a long time now I'm not sure when or if this section will be reopened but hopefully before 2026 for the 100th anniversary the next town is gos California this was only briefly on Route 66 until 1931 but it is one of the more popular and famous spots along the highway there isn't that much left in town but there's this amazing open air museum where the old school used to be there's a lot of relics from the past including some Mining and military equipment from operations in the area I spent about an hour here exploring all the buildings it's quite fascinating it seemed like there was a wedding today today so I didn't get to spend as much time as I wish I would have and they do have rattlesnakes around here so be careful Needles California is the last big town before we get to Arizona this is where I got my fuel food and spent the night our first town in Arizona is Oatman this town became a Gold Rush town in 195 it once had 3,500 residents now there's only 43 the town was kept alive for many years by the fact that it was on Route 66 but it got bypassed in the ' 50s and the town quickly died the town still survives as a Route 66 stop and they've given this town a really cool Wild West feel there's all sorts of wild west attractions here including a mine and I couldn't believe that there's just donkeys walking around town and it had this really sweet old hotel it's really nice that they took this ghost town and turn it into a really nice attraction our next stop is a sight grief pass this is one of the most amazing highways you're going to drive on but it's also very narrow and very dangerous if you have an RV or a trailer I don't recommend you drive this road as this driver from decades ago has found out you'll see this highway on the road between Kingman and Oatman the next stop is Cool Springs Arizona this gas station was built in the 20s and then abandoned in the 60s in 2001 someone bought the property and completely restored it now it's a really popular gift shop on Route 66 and there's the mayor it's located between Oatman and Kingman while I was visiting the place was closed but I still got to walk around and check out all the displays it's also just a really pretty area hopefully one day I'll get to come back and visit when the place is open the next stop is antas Arizona it's also the site of the the giganticus heus the place was closed while I got here but I got to look at all these really neat old Vehicles there's also a store and a motel here one theme about Arizona that you're going to find every place is in a really pretty area that's why Arizona is my favorite part of Route 66 and that's the heus right there not sure what that thing is our next stop is hackbury Arizona this town is located between Kingman and saligman this town was stranded when they built a new Highway south of here it never really was more than a grocery store in some gas stations and they lasted until 1978 it's a really interesting place to visit because they've saved a lot of cars trucks appliances and signs from the past and turned it into a sort of outdoor Museum oh and here's the mayor it wasn't open while I was here and I'm not even sure if it's ever opened but somebody definitely takes care of this place and they do an amazing job the next stop is Valentine Arizona most of this town is off limits behind a fence but you can still enjoy all the building buildings from the highway someone has restored this gas station and parked a couple Vehicles out front I really enjoy the sign and there's another one right next door I'm pretty sure this is a Route 66 attraction and that it may be open during the summer months but look at that car it's so dreamy and in the background there's a few more buildings I'll try coming here in the summer to see if it's open and right across the highway is Bert's country dancing the next town is cigman Arizona this is one of my favorite towns along Route 66 it's located between Flagstaff and Kingman this town has done a great job of preserving the history of Route 66 there isn't a lot of abandoned buildings here but there's plenty of restored and vintage gift shops and restaurants like there's a lot of them you could spend an hour or two here walking down Main Street checking out all these amazing places but if you do come to slman make sure you don't speed there's also plenty of services here including motels Twin Arrows is a ghost town between Flagstaff and low there used to be two arrows here but one of them fell down this Trading Post was created in the late 1940s but unfortunately it was abandoned in 1995 due to low traffic it's a great place to explore and as you can see it's very popular with graffiti artist this was the old Cafe and it still has some of the equipment inside and this was the old Trading Store I'm not sure what that was but that was creepy and of course there was a gas station here as well and it's long gone but you can still see the garage the next stop is two guns Arizona this may be one of the more fascinating places along Route 66 the town pretty much began in 1922 when they built a gas station on the location and not long after that they opened a zoo and some more businesses this is one of the gas stations that were built in the 60s also in the 60s they built this Motel the only thing that's left is this pool and I guess the change room for the pool is still there too there used to be some taverns and other businesses here but they have all been gone in 1971 they rebuilt the highway that bypassed the town and the town has been dying ever since to the point where there's nobody left this bridge was built in 1938 for Route 66 another cool thing about this town is that it used to have a zoo all these Stone buildings were part of the zoo built after 1925 the owner of the zoo was actually mauled by one of his mountain lions he did survive this looks like The Flintstones the zoo pretty much lasted till the ' 50s then a lot of it was relocated to where the motel was two guns was a very popular place along Route 66 during its Heyday native artifacts here go back to the year 1050 this looks like it was the ouse and there's a cage for one of the animals I can't believe it's still here and intact and this is where it happened the Apache death cave some Apaches had hidden in the cave to avoid detection from the Navajo when the Navajo discovered this they burned some Sage Brush to try to force the Apaches to escape and once they did that's where they killed them 42 people died here the buildings that you see on site had nothing to do with the Apache death cave they were part of the zoo the zoo offered tours of the Apache death cave and it looks like the cave has now been blocked so no one can go in there anymore our next stop is meteor City it was never a town but rather it operated as a trading post it opened in 1938 and also had a service station a few years ago a couple people bought this Place hoping to restore it I'm not sure how the restoration's going right now but it does not look like it's open hopefully it will be ready in time for the 100th anniversary in 2026 our next stop is Fort Courage this place is amazing it was a trading post but it was also replica of the fort built on a 60s TV show called f troop there was a grocery store gift shop gas station all on location nobody really seems to know when it opened but it looks like it opened in about 1967 and just as importantly nobody even seems to know when it closed if you happen to know when this place was shut down please let me know in the comment section below and right now this place is listed as being for sale and the last stop in Arizona is lepton this is right along the border with New Mexico and it looks like it to was a trading post there's a lot of these abandoned Gift Stores here and a gas station but it's also abandoned in one of the more beautiful spots along Route 66 this place was probably really popular before they built the interstate but like a lot of towns most places started to lose business it sure is pretty pretty here and on the other side of the highway is this old abandoned gas station it looks like whatever this was has recently burnt down it is probably a restaurant or a cafe so now we'll begin our journey into New Mexico our first stop in New Mexico is thuro I came across this old gas station Cafe and possibly a campground or motel it's been abandoned for a long time and it's in really bad shape most of it has collapsed now as well that must have been a pretty big restaurant I came back on a different day as you can see I couldn't believe it was snowing and thorough and nowhere else but this is a market in Deli it's also right off I40 it's not in town it looks like this is probably the bar yeah that's a lot of snow you drive 20 M down the road and it was a lot warmer and there was no snow at all our next stop is sanidel New Mexico 2 miles east of town There's this really amazing whitting brother gas station it's gloriously abandoned and it looks like the roof is caving in now and across the street is the beautiful sign so it looks like it was a grocery store gas station and a motel the motel is long gone and that's where the gas station is in the background ground and in town There's a few more abandoned buildings this looks like it used to be a garage of some sort I really like the angels with the Trumpets on the front of the church and they had a drive up liquor store and it looks like it was also a bar as well and right next door is a former trading post it was probably a gas station at one point as well the next town is budville New Mexico this town was named after a man whose nickname was bud it's not a very big town but it has two bars including this one and here's the other bar called Dixie I'm pretty sure in budville they must have sold a lot of Bud Light I'm not sure what year this bar closed but it doesn't look like it's been abandoned very long and here's the trading post it was operated by Bud the man whom the town was named after he opened this in 1927 however in November 1967 a stranger entered a gas station and shot Bud rice and an 82-year-old employee $450 was stolen and the man escaped the crime scene almost a year later the murderer was identified as Billy Ray White and he was arrested and put on trial but due to lack of evidence he was later acquitted to this day the crime is considered to be unsolved our next stop is this abandoned Trading Post near Edgewood New Mexico I couldn't find any history about this place I have no idea what this is but it looks like an oven but the old gas station and the Trading Post itself was pretty neat this was a standard gas station and they probably had a cafe here our next stop is Santa Rosa New Mexico this is definitely not a ghost town but it has a whole bunch of really interesting abandoned buildings including this old coffee shop and and it even has a pay phone and right along Main Street there's a few more buildings that one says Plymouth on the building so it must have been a car dealership and like most towns there is a couple of abandoned gas stations too last time I was here there's a couple of motels that were abandoned but now there's just one left and it doesn't look like this one's going to be around much longer like a lot of towns on Route 66 when the interstate bypass the town a lot of businesses fell by the wayside including this old restant restaurant this is one of my favorite signs for a truck terminal yeah it looks like it's been a long time this gas station's been abandoned our next office is abandoned gas station Motel it's located off I40 just a few miles east of Santa Rosa I I could not find any history about the place but based on its Condition it's been abandoned for a long time and it looks like it's endured Decades of Renovations I put the GPS for this location in the description this house is probably the residence for the person who ran this place well look at that there's a well be careful of these things when you're exploring abandoned buildings so this was probably the store and Cafe this is the front of the building in fact it may have actually been a gas station too here's the Standard Oil sign and here's the old Motel it's crumbling really bad wow and here's another well yeah be very careful here don't want to fall on that and this looks like it was the entrance to the motel our next stop is the ghost town of Cuervo New Mexico this town started in about 1901 because of the railroad and it's one of those towns that died simply because I40 was built and it killed off a lot of the traffic that used to come to town this church is probably the most famous building here but there is also a whole bunch of residents and other buildings most of which are labeled no trespassing this looks like it's an old railroad car converted into a house there's also a couple Vehicles scattered throughout the town on the other side of I40 there's even more abandoned buildings most of these were businesses and all of them were marked no trespassing as well our next stop is new Kirk New Mexico this is another one of those ghost towns that were created when Route 66 was replaced with the I40 Interstate used to have four gas stations this one's my favorite Wilkerson station and on the entrance to town is this old church there's still a gas station that's in operation in town and across the highway is another abaton gas station it looks like someone tried taking one of the gas pumps [Music] our next stop is tukum k Cary New Mexico this is one of my favorite towns on the entire route and it's usually where I spend the night there's a lot of abandoned buildings here when the interstate bypasses town in the 80s it was really hard on a lot of the businesses along Old Route 66 including this great big restaurant there was also this massive gas station there had to have been about 15 to 20 pumps here I'm not sure when this place closed down down if I was going to guess I would say it was about the year 2000 it would have been very hard to keep these service stations open especially if they were not located right along the interstate there was just too much competition someone made a hole in the wall and it's the [Applause] bathroom and just down the road is the old par Paradise Cafe and [Applause] motel this place closed in the mid 90s but for decades it was a very popular Motel along Route 66 unfortunately it looks like arsonist started a fire in the old Motel this would have been the office and residence for the people who ran the motel somehow there's a fridge suspended in the air that's grim and here's the old tucum carry Inn this place has only been closed down in the last decade and it has an abandoned pool down Hound has a lot of old abandoned buildings as well tukum Cary is one of those towns you must visit when you're exploring Route 66 and in this video I'm only showing you a fraction of all the stuff you can see here our next stop is San Juan New Mexico Interstate 40 bypasses town in 1981 which caused most these businesses along Route 66 to go out of business there was a lot of gift shops and gas stations here the town was founded in 1902 then the railroad came through in 1904 but the railroad has been gone for a long time [Applause] now I'm not sure what building this is but it looks like it was a lot of fun and somehow the gas pump here has survived all these years and it looks like this was the old Co-op it had a sticker on the door from 1994 our final stop in New Mexico is the Border town of Glenn Rio this town is in Texas and New Mexico on the New Mexico side there's only a couple of buildings left including this one and it's in really bad shape and behind there there's a car and another building there used to be a motel and an abandoned bar on the New Mexico side however in the last year it's been replaced with a brand new pot shop just a few feet from the Texas border and here's the Border marker so let's go check out and see what's left on the Texas side so now we're in Glen Rio Texas this is one of my favorite ghost towns on all of Route 66 what made Glen Rio so interesting because it was in two states the Bars were on the New Mexico side cuz Texas was a dry county the gas stations were on the Texas side because gas taxes were lower in the 70s the interstate bypassed the town so it died pretty quickly after that by the 70s it was a ghost town this was the first motal and Tech Texas last motel in Texas that's what it was called and the train was removed in the80s and this old Cafe has that really neat Art Deco style both of these places are on private property but you could easily view them from the road and when you get out onto the Interstate there's two more gas stations that are abandoned since the interstate didn't open till the 80s these two didn't last very long oh that graffiti is really cool the next town is Adrian it's the midpoint on Route 66 it's the same distance to La as it is to Chicago the cafe and motel were built in 1928 and back its Heyday it operated 24 hours a day and right down the road is this really neat abandoned gas station it still has a couple of the pumps but it's most famous for the bent door that is kind of interesting part of the building is already collapsing and it looks like this used to be a Philip 66 station next up is Vega Texas I just like visiting this town it's really cute and the people here are very friendly Route 66 used to pass through town but it got bypassed as well but the town survives because it's a county seat the most famous building is this old gas station they've restored it and turned it into a visitor center but because I'm here in Winter it was closed the the town has embraced the Route 66 theme the next stop is in a ghost town it's the Cadillac Ranch the site consists of 10 Cadillacs made between 1949 and 1963 it's sort of like an art project and during the day they even sell spray paint here so you can buy some spray paint and add your own art there was no cost to enter this place but you did have to walk about a third of a mile to get here now we're going to stop into Amarillo Texas by far the biggest city in Texas on Route 66 right on the edge of town There's this old helium plant at least that's what I think it was it's all fenced off so you can't access it but it is a really cool place I wish I could get inside once you leave Amarillo you can see the leaning tower of Britain it was originally a real water tower and it was slated for demolition but someone bought it and turned it into this it was an advertisement for a truck stop that is no longer here it's right off the exit for Groom Texas next town is Allen Reed Texas this is pretty much a real ghost town there are some residents who still live here and this old gas station in Cafe was pretty much being taken over by the trees one thing I found interesting about this town is it was originally named gouge ey in honor of a memorable Saloon brawl at least according to Wikipedia that must have been some brawl to name a town after this gas station across the street has been restored built in 1930 and it's right along the main Route 66 road going through town and the town was bypassed when they built Interstate 40 the next town is mlan Texas a lot of people still live here in 1984 this town was also bypassed by interstate 40 one thing I found very interesting about this town is that 1942 there was a prisoner of war camp built just outside of town it housed about 3,000 German prisoners all throughout Town you're going to see a whole bunch of abandoned buildings and thankfully this town saved and preserved as old Philip 66 gas station it's worth stopping into mlan Texas just to see this place they also have a really nice museum in town but since I'm here in Winter it was closed next up is Leela Texas not not very many people live here at all on the entrance of town just off the interstate there's an old abandoned gas station it looks like it's been renovated and in town There's this old historic School building I'm really glad they save this and they even have a swing set now we're going to Shamrock Texas boy I would sure like to live here it's very similar to the town I live in in Saskatchewan it's got a museum with this old restored Magnolia gas station about 1,700 people live here so you can't call this a ghost town it's actually really nice one of the most impressive examples of Route 66 architecture is located right here in Shamrock this might be one of the most famous buildings along the entire route this old conical gas station it was bought and donated to the town in 1999 and then they hired a firm to completely restore it to its original condition now it's a visitor center gift shop and the city's Chamber of Commerce and at nighttime it lights up so that's all for Texas let's go check out Route 66 in Oklahoma the first stop in Oklahoma is teola you're greeted by one of the best ghost towns in the whole state this town had as many as 581 residents in 1930 and Main Street is full of abandoned buildings some early residents lived in both Texas and Oklahoma without ever moving that's because they adjusted the Border a few times until settling on the current one and the town also has this old jail built in 1898 you could even go inside once you leave teola you're going to see the remnants of the most Eerie divided highway I have ever seen and you can also see the original Route 66 as well our next stop is Eric Oklahoma the train came through here in 1902 the tracks are still up but I don't think there's any more trains this place is the highlight of the town I do believe it's still open but because I'm here in Winter it was closed I like the rosy diner sign once the interstate bypassed the town most of the buildings on Main Street became abandoned and it's also the hometown of Roger Miller and they got this really trippy Sam's park they do camping and they rent rooms it's like some kind of cool hippie place the town was dotted with a whole bunch of MOT hotels most of which have closed this one still has the pool our next town is Clinton Oklahoma definitely not a ghost town the Highlight here is the old glancy Motel it seems like it's going to be torn down soon in fact they may already be in the process of doing so I did read somewhere that they were trying to save it but it looks like the interior has already been gutted but the amazing neon sign still survives and it still has the pool out front our next town is Arcadia Oklahoma it's famous for the Red Barn this was built in the late 1800s and restored in 1992 it is now a gift shop and Museum and it was pretty fun they do ask for a donation and right across the street there's a couple more abandoned buildings this one was my favorite and it turns out it's actually for sale as well our next stop is the Rock of Ages kico station it's been abandoned for a long time it was built before Route 66 and it operated until sometime in 19 1930s this is All That Remains and it's just off Route 66 East of [Applause] Arcadia now we're heading to Chandler this is also a pretty big town and as soon as you enter the town from the West you're going to be greeted by this wonderful gas station in 1897 a tornado destroyed most of this town and it killed 14 people I found this Philip 6 six gas station and it was a day before Halloween so it looks like they decorated it but I also seem to have activated something that created a scary [Music] [Laughter] sound and as you leave town check out the bowling alley they've got all these old signs right in the parking lot the next town is deu Oklahoma it's a very small town and was only briefly on Route 66 it has now been re-rooted north of town but it's got a lot of really neat buildings this looks like the old bank but this truck at the old gas station was my favorite next up is Bristol Oklahoma my favorite place here was the Chrysler Plymouth Tower it's a 100t tower that hasn't been used since the 50s obviously it was for a Chrysler Plymouth car dealership and then I went down by the railroad tracks to check out the old train station it's now a museum our next stop is Chelsea Oklahoma population about 2,000 people this is the old Bank building and it looks like it's being restored right now it's got nice new [Music] [Music] windows it looks like the food mart is now the historical society and here's the old bar it looks like it's for lease I wonder why they put up a sign for no skateboarding [Music] our next town is Aton Oklahoma Main Street on this town is just amazing Tri County TV was probably my favorite building I'm not sure what it was but I assume it sold TVs and this building looks like it used to be the old bar and hotel I thought it was the scene of a Murder that yellow tape is just a Halloween decoration and here's the old grocery store it's not hard to tell how long this place has been abandoned you can tell how long it's been abandoned based on this sign VCR rental and on the edge of town is this really neat old abandoned Motel it looks Ghostly and now we'll go to Commerce Oklahoma the most popular place to visit in this town is the old conical gas station it's built right into the side of this larger building got to be one of the most unique gas stations I've ever come across and right across the street is another restored gas station I think this one is still open in summer months to serve Route 66 Travelers the prices on the menu are pretty good there are a couple of other buildings in town to check out including Mickey manel's childhood home who is from this area this is also the town where Bonnie and Clyde and one of their Associates killed Commerce Constable William Campbell and kidna the police chief our first stop in Kansas is Baxter Springs it was established in 1858 this cottage style service station is now the Kansas Route 66 Visitor Center and along Main Street I found this old van and a former Trading Post while I was here I stopped in to check out the local [Music] Museum they have a really nice collection of stuff right in the yard our next stop is the Rainbow Bridge this isn't abandoned but it's located about 2 miles west of Riverton Kansas on the old Route 66 it's been recently painted and is now being paved as of December 2023 in which case you should be able to drive across it again once it's complete our next stop is Galina Kansas this was founded in 1877 I first went to the park downtown to see the Will Rogers Memorial and I got to see the old city jail this gas station was built in about 1930 a few years ago it was in bad shape but now it has been restored and they've done an amazing job they even found a Big Boy Burger man on the other side of town you could see even more this is probably the most popular stop in town this service station dates back to 1934 at one time it was little service station and across the street from that is another former service station and garage there's a few more abandoned buildings down Main Street I didn't show them all this town also has a museum where you can see the the old train station and a Burlington Northern engine and Caboose our next stop is Red Oak 2 it's a fate ghost town There's an actual real town called red oak Missouri it's about 18 miles away but then this artist came along named LEL Davis he grew up in Red Oak when he discovered it was a ghost town he created this place and look at that there's the mayor all these buildings and vehicles are authentic he's collected them from various places in the region although this gentleman passed away a few years ago the park is still open to the public they do however ask for a donation I was here really early in the morning and there was nobody else here except for the people who live here and I got to admit it was way better and way bigger than I expected I genuinely enjoyed my trip here what surprised me is that i' never even heard of this place until last summer this has to be one of the most fabulous places along Route 66 you will have to leave Route 66 a couple miles to get here our next stop is Spencer station Missouri when you're at Spencer station you're going to be able to see a couple miles of the original grade of Route 66 it's been here for about a 100 years now and in 1925 a gentleman named Sydney Casey purchased this property and built all of these buildings Barber Shop there's a cafe and a gas station eventually in the' 60s it became abandoned but a few years ago someone bought the place but while I was filming this video he saw me on the security camera and invited me in to take a look it's currently being renovated and it's looking really good the place isn't ready yet but it should be ready for next summer between the original road and these original buildings this is one of the more authentic places along Route 66 and I highly recommend checking it out our next stop is this abandoned gas station in Cafe along the feeder Road of I40 you may not notice this place if you're on I40 the feeder Road used to be Route 66 based on how tall these trees are I'd estimate it's been a few decades this place has been abandoned and I have no idea when it opened it looks like people just use this place now to drop off garbage and here's the old Cafe I found this place to be exceptionally creepy not just because of this weird shoe sitting here but also by the fact someone decided to nail a rose to the front of the building I have no idea why they would do that there was also a residence behind this building that was probably used for the person who ran the gas station in Cafe and finally there's this old abandoned motel at Gray Summit Missouri it used to also be the Garden Way Motel was here but they just recently T it down but right across the parking lot is this old Travel Lodge they've gutted it pretty good and it's huge lot of motel rooms here I'm not sure why they destroyed this building it didn't seem like it was in that bad a shape there is also the possibility someone bought it so they can completely renovate it but I doubt it I saw a picture of this place on Google Maps from 2018 when it was still in use I could not find any information to find out when it opened or when it officially closed did I mention it place is huge so that's it for Missouri like I mentioned before I'm not going into St Louis I don't do big cities the first stop in Illinois is the old chain of Rock Bridge it crosses from Missouri into Illinois it now carries only walking and biking traffic over the river and it's a couple miles long this bridge was built privately as a toll bridge in 1929 its most notable feature is the bend that occurs in the middle of the crossing and the bridge was closed in 1970 the buildings that you see are water intakes the next town is Mount Olive the Salsbury service station is the highlight of this town and it was located on the original Route 66 and it is still the oldest usable service station on the highway in Illinois it was built in 1926 but it stopped pumping gas in 1991 the next stop is lincol Illinois we all know who this was named after my favorite building here is the old movie theater right downtown it looks like they may be doing some Renovations this town was settled in the 1830s and it's the only town named for Abraham Lincoln before he was president and right in the main square there's a whole bunch of abandoned buildings this one looks like it may have used to have been a bar and this building's condemned and on the edge of town near the highway you're going to find the original Route 66 and there's yet another gas station here this one's all done up really nice they were doing construction so I'm not sure if it's still open and don't forget to stop and see Dead Man's Curve on Route 66 this was realigned in the 50s because traffic would move so fast when they came to this curve it caused a lot of d dangerous accidents and 2 miles south of Pontiac is the Illinois State Police headquarter that's been abandoned since 2003 this was built along the original Route 66 and 1941 it is now a national historic building and in the back of the building you can see where the offices were and this is probably where they brought the criminals in to do processing they probably use this door right here our next stop is Odell Illinois they've restored this amazing standard oil gas station these are my favorite kind of pumps and look at that there's a clean washroom this town was formed in the 1850s and it was along Route 66 until they re-rooted it outside of town and round back is this really nice 1953 Winnebago but the highlight of this town is the old tunnel there was so much traffic in this town that the people got together and built a pedestrian tunnel to go under Route 66 it was no longer needed so in the 70s they filled it in that must have been a lot of traffic passing through here to have that kind of safety concern the next stop is Dwight Illinois the Dwight Historical Society has taken over this beautiful Train Station built in 1891 and was used until 2016 and when you enter town you can see this 1930s gas station that has been restored it was in use until 1999 it is now the Dwight visitor information center unfortunately it was closed while I was here but it took a little peek inside and I also got to witness one of those super fast amtr trains while I was here the next stop is Gardener Illinois here you can come visit this old 1906 jailhouse I'm not sure when they stopped using it but you can actually go inside and check out what it was like being in the Pokey a hundred years ago imagine having to spend a couple weeks in this place and it was kind of nice they had a radio to listen to they also built a replica of this old popular Diner the original one had burnt down a few years ago then they built this replica and furnished it so visitors can check it out and our last stop is the jolet prison this operated from 1858 until 2002 it even hosted some Civil War prisoners it was considered to be a very tough prison to reside in they have now renovated it and they offer tours you'll have to check out their website to find out when they're available I really hope you enjoyed this tour of Route 66 I had a lot of fun making it if you have any questions or comments please leave it in the comment section below thank you everybody

Channel: Chris Attrell

Views: 1,724,041

Keywords: route 66, abandoned, ghost towns

Id: o9MTF3S_-Uk

Length: 88min 36sec (5316 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 28 2023