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2004
Cost-Share Grant Awards -
Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program
(Released:
August, 2004)
Roofs
aren’t glamorous, but they are what keep the weather out,
and they are the first-line of defense in stabilizing and beginning
the rebirth of many historic properties along Route 66. This year’s
projects funded by the National Park Service’s Route 66
Corridor Preservation Program include a number of these “roofing”
projects, along with a number of other important preservation
efforts. The Program distributes cost-share funds to eligible
preservation and research projects through a competitive process.
Over the first four years of the Program’s existence, approximately
50 projects have been funded in the eight states through which
Route 66 passes.
The
Program received 28 eligible applications for funding in this
year’s grant cycle. Three were received from Arizona, two
from California, four from Illinois, two from Missouri, nine from
New Mexico, seven from Oklahoma, and one from Texas. Thirteen
projects have been selected to receive cost-share grants totaling
approximately $121,000 in 2004. They are:
- Soulsby
Service Station in Mount Olive, Illinois, has received funding
to assist in finishing the restoration of this classic service
station built, owned, and operated by the Soulsby family from
1926 until 1991. The Soulsby Station Society has been working
with the current owner to undertake a first-class restoration
of the station which was listed on the National Register of
Historic Places earlier this year.
- The
Palms Grill in Atlanta, Illinois, has been awarded cost-share
funds to develop a Historic Structures Report in order to guide
the restoration of this National Register building to its 1940s
appearance as a popular eating establishment and bus stop.
- The
classic Red Cedar Restaurant, built in 1934 in Pacific, Missouri,
will receive funds to assist with the rehabilitation of the
kitchen. The log restaurant was listed on the National Register
of Historic Places last year.
- The
early 1930s Owl Courts on the Route 66 Beltline in Oklahoma
City will receive funds to assist with the replacement of the
roofs over the café and motel buildings. The owner intends
to restore the motel rooms for heritage travelers on Route 66,
and to house his extensive collection of Route 66 memorabilia,
a postcard shop, and an office in the other structures on the
property.
- The
Old Trails Garage, built in 1915, had been used as a garage
and dealership in Kingman, Arizona, up through the 1970s. Funds
have been awarded to assist with re-roofing the building, which
is within the Kingman Commercial National Register Historic
District. The owner plans to restore the façade with
the Old Trails Garage lettering on the wall, as well as repair
and reinstall the old Packard neon sign currently in storage.
- The
6th Street Chevron Station, built in 1939 in Amarillo, Texas,
has received cost- share funds to assist with roof repairs,
wall repair, re-installation of neon lighting on the canopy
eaves, and reinstallation of tin ceiling on the canopy.
- Del’s
Restaurant has been a thriving business in Tucumcari, New Mexico,
since 1956, and will receive funding to assist with the restoration
of its neon sign (you know, the one with the cow on top of it).
- The
1931 sandstone Lexington Hotel in Gallup, New Mexico, will receive
cost-share funds to assist with electrical upgrade, window repair
or replacement, and front- façade repair on this building
that was saved from the wrecking ball and put back into service
by its current owners.
- The
1953 Desert Sun Motel in Winslow, Arizona, will receive funding
to assist with the replacement of the roof, which is part of
a larger project in which the owner plans to restore the neon
sign and repair or replace the windows to keep the motel in
good operating condition.
- Phase
III of the Route 66 Oral History Project, administered by the
New Mexico Route 66 Association, will result in the publication
of a Route 66 Oral History Guide; two more workshops; and a
listing of extant oral histories, their condition, location
and accessibility.
- Northern
Arizona University will receive funding to assist with the dramatic
production of Route 66: A Celebration of America’s Main
Street, which provides an entertaining interpretive and educational
venue for examining the highway’s historic and cultural
significance in American history.
- Funds
have also been awarded to assist with a comprehensive survey
of transportation-related properties along Route 66 alignments
in California, including at least four alignments in the greater
Los Angeles area. Information from the survey will be used to
establish priorities for preservation efforts.
- And
last but not least, funds have been awarded for a project to
identify methods and protocols for preserving historic Route
66 roadbeds and the bridges, culverts, etc., that go with them.
The project will include working with various transportation
agencies to balance safety needs with the need to retain the
historic character of the road alignments. Oklahoma will serve
as the focus for this pilot project, because of the high number
of road segments in Oklahoma that are listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
Please
visit our web site at www.cr.nps.gov/rt66 to learn more about
the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program and how you can help
in furthering the preservation of Route 66’s icons. The
Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, administered by the National
Park Service, out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, was established by
an Act of Congress in 1999. The Program is intended to provide
technical assistance; cost-share and grants for rehabilitation,
restoration, and preservation projects; interpretive planning;
information clearinghouse management; and other services.
Michael
Taylor
Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program
National Park Service
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