|
Route
66 Corridor Preservation Program (Released: September, 2006) The National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program is pleased to announce its 2006 annual cost-share grant awards. This year, seven new projects will be awarded a total of $117,102. As in previous years, the number of cost-share grant requests far exceeded the available funding, but a rating system that prioritizes transportation-related properties, properties listed on state and national historic registers, and other factors, guided the award process. The seven new projects in geographic order, from east to west are: 1) Atlanta, Illinois – Palms Grill Café. Grant recipient: Atlanta Public Library and Museum. Located on Main Street in Atlanta, the Palms Grill café is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a past grant recipient. This project will provide additional funds toward the restoration of the café’s crumbling façade. The long-term goal of the project is to restore the café to service as a living history museum or possibly a working café. 2) St. Louis, Missouri – Walter’s Market. Grant recipient: private owner. Established in 1905, Walter’s market primarily served local clientele until the commissioning of Route 66 in 1926 when it reoriented it’s façade to attract highway travelers. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, grant funds will assist with the rehabilitation of the building and its copper-detailed store front. The building will be used as a business office, and serve as a model for revitalization within the surrounding St. Louis neighborhood. 3) Baxter Springs, Kansas – Independent Oil and Gas/Phillips 66 Gas Station. Grant recipient: Baxter Springs Historical Society. Built in 1930, this Tudor Revival style gas station is an excellent example of commercial architecture built in a “house-style” to instill a sense of comfort, tradition and domesticity. Grant funds will assist with the rehabilitation of this National Register-listed building for use as a Visitors Center. 4) Tulsa, Oklahoma – Vickery Phillips 66 Station. Grant recipient: Private owner. Another example of “house-style” architecture, this station also possesses a rare example of an early car wash and grease house. Built in 1931, it was used as a Phillips 66 Gas Station through the early 1970s and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Grant funds will assist with rehabilitation of the building for use as car rental property. 5) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Tower Theater. Grant recipient: private owner. Part of a 1926 retail complex, the Tower Theater has stood as a landmark on Route 66 since 1937. The theater is part of a district that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Grant funds will assist with repairs to restore the neon sign to operating condition. When overall restorations of the theater are complete, it will serve as a film and performing arts venue. The retail complex will provide restaurant, retail, and office space. 6) Holbrook, Arizona – Joe and Aggie’s Café. Grant recipient: private owner. A “mom and pop” café, Joe and Aggie’s has been serving tasty enchiladas on Route 66 since 1943. Owned and operated by the same family for three generations, the café will receive funding to make roof, structural, and electrical repairs to keep the building in good operating condition. 7) Winslow, Arizona – Winslow Historical Society Archives. Grant recipient: Winslow Historical Society. This project will work toward the cataloging and archiving of photographic and printed materials, as well as a large collection of Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Railway documents. These historic documents pertain to many of the communities on Route 66 located between Albuquerque, New Mexico and Needles, California. A selection of documents will also be digitally scanned. Funding will also assist with web site development to make the catalog accessible via the Internet.
|