Day-trip to St. Louis

As the culmination of a “Learning in Retirement” class (“So You Think You Know St. Louis?”), today we took a bus trip to St. Louis, including a stop at the Missouri History Museum, which has this old sign on its grounds as a part of the current Route 66 exhibit. I like all the holes that held the gas-filled tubes! Clare & I learned that we're not ready yet for bus tours. She also caught the "bug" I brought home from Boston recently…

From the Museum sign and http://www.historyhappenshere.org/node/7810 » “The Motel St. Louis—or at least its sign—is back home. Fifty years after being removed from its location on Route 66 near Lambert Airport, the motel sign has returned to St. Louis for the exhibit _Route 66: Main Street Through St. Louis_, open through July 16, 2017.

“The story of the sign began in the 1940s when it was parked outside the newly built Motel St. Louis. The motel was located at 5028 N. Lindbergh Boulevard, one of the many streets that made up Route 66 through St. Louis. The motel boasted 44 ‘ultra-modern units’ and even provided station-wagon service to the airport. But the airport would also be its downfall. The Motel St. Louis closed in the 1960s to make room for runway expansion. The sign, however, survived.

“The Motel St. Louis sign was carted away to St. James, and a resourceful hotel owner changed the neon to read Motel 300 Ft. It remained in that condition for 30 years before the New Hope Church in St. James covered it and used it for the church's signage. In 2015 the Route 66 Association of Missouri recovered the sign. That organization and the Missouri History Museum have worked together to refurbish it, and plans are being made to restore its neon.”

1 year ago (“Dad’s drill index”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2016-04-20
2 years ago (“Back at Lambert-St. Louis International…”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2015-04-20
3 years ago (“Happy Easter!”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2014-04-20
4 years ago (“Looks like a 5-course meal to me!”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2013-04-20
5 years ago (“Finally!”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2012-04-20
6 years ago (“Losing its top…”): http://365project.org/rhoing/365/2011-04-20

[ DSCN3037S12x9Atm :: P&S ]

[Danette Thompson]

I can just picture the neon, so cool. I'm not a fan of bus tours, either. I was thinking of that today...haven't been on a bus for about 15 years when my youngest was in middle school.