Route 66 in the News
Landmark Perhaps Not So Bad Off After All
2007-06-09 09:13:15
LINCOLN, Ill. - It isn't quite as bad as first thought at The Mill. The landmark restaurant on old Route 66 was within days of the wrecking ball last year when the newly formed Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County stepped in to take over the deteriorated property.
Faced with fines and a city-ordered demolition, the former owner transferred ownership to the foundation.
Now, the foundation chairman says more of the structure can be saved than was first thought, including the original portion of the building.
"It's in better shape than we thought," said Geoff Ladd, who is also executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County. Plans are to convert the building to a Route 66 museum.
He explained that The Mill -- named after its Dutch theme and signature windmill at the entrance of the restaurant -- was constructed in four sections, beginning with the original Blue Mill in 1929. Soon after World War II, a former Army barracks from Camp Ellis, near Havana, was converted for use as the second section of the restaurant.
"We were thinking that would have to go as well, but we decided we're going to be able to leave that because of its historical significance," said Ladd.
He said the former kitchen and a back section will have to be demolished. The Mill became famous on Route 66 for its fried schnitzel, originally made of veal but later switched to pork. It has been more than a decade since a restaurant operated at the site.
The foundation also has organized fundraisers on behalf of the preservation effort, including a countywide Route 66 yard sale this weekend.
A series of public meetings planned in Route 66 communities this summer, including Springfield, also are expected to consider preservation efforts, said Patty Ambrose, executive director of the Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project.
The hearings, expected in late July or early August, will help with development of a master plan for Route 66.
Ambrose said saving The Mill was one of the success stories, but that there are plenty of other endangered landmarks along the route.
"If you don't have them, you can't show them. We want to preserve them as much as we can, but some of them are just too far gone," she said.
Ladd said the foundation recently took out a $12,000 loan from Regions Bank to begin asbestos removal and demolition work. He said the group hopes to begin exterior preservation this summer and to open the museum in 2008.
"The immediate need because of the deteriorating conditions is to get the demolition out of the way, and get the part shored up that we're going to keep. This summer, we'll at least get the exterior done, paint it, and get it looking sharp on the outside," he said.
Additional information on preservation effort is available at www.savethemill.org.
~Tim Landis, for LincolnCourier.com
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