Berwyn Route 66 Museum facts for kids

The Berwyn Route 66 Museum was a special place in Berwyn, Illinois. It was a small museum that taught people all about the history of U.S. Route 66. This famous road is often called "America's Main Street." The museum is now closed.

Discovering Route 66 in Berwyn

Route 66 was a very important road in American history. It passed right through the city of Berwyn. This part of the road was along Ogden Avenue. Ogden Avenue was a busy street that went through Chicago and its western towns.

Berwyn's "Automobile Row"

The section of Route 66 in Berwyn was once called "Automobile Row." This was because many car dealerships were located there. Today, this part of Ogden Avenue is still special. It is part of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway. This means it's a beautiful road with historical importance.

About the Museum

The Berwyn Route 66 Museum opened in January 2011. It was in a storefront on Ogden Avenue. The museum shared its space with the Berwyn Arts Council. This group had a small art gallery inside the museum.

The museum's main goal was to find, show, and save the history of Route 66. It focused especially on the part of the road that went through Berwyn. The museum had many interesting items. These included facts, old objects, and souvenirs about Route 66. It also had items from the "Automobile Row" days.

The museum was run by volunteers. This means people worked there without getting paid. They loved sharing the history of Route 66.

How the Museum Started

The idea for the museum began a long time ago. In 1994, a man named Larry Ohler started it. He was part of a volunteer group that wanted to save the history of Route 66 in Berwyn.

Larry Ohler set up two display cases. They were filled with items he had collected. These displays were first in a restaurant called the Skylite Restaurant. Later, they moved to a car dealership.

Eventually, the collection needed a permanent home. Jon Fey, who was the museum's director, offered a space. His company owned the building where the museum was located. This allowed the collection to have its own special place.

Fun Events and Projects

The Berwyn Route 66 Museum was well-known for its events. It helped put on the Historic Route 66 Car Show. This was an annual event held every September.

The Historic Car Show

The car show featured many cool vehicles. You could see classic cars, custom trucks, and motorcycles. This event has been happening since 1990. It was a big deal and even covered by car magazines. The museum also sometimes hosted other events. These included book signings with authors who wrote about Route 66.

Art and Cars

The Berwyn Arts Council also held art shows at the museum. One unique display showed artistic creations made from car hubcaps.

Future Plans and Special Items

The museum had plans for two big projects. They wanted to restore an old sign. This was the Art Moderne neon "Berwyn Route 66 welcome sign." It used to stand near a gas station. The sign was damaged and removed in 2012. The museum hoped to fix it and display it.

The second project was about a famous sculpture. It was called The Spindle. This Pop Art sculpture had eight cars stacked on a tall pole. It was 40 feet high! It stood in a shopping center in Berwyn.

The Spindle was taken apart in 2008. But the top two cars were saved. One was a 1967 red Volkswagen Beetle. The other was a 1976 silver-blue BMW. These cars were kept by the museum director. The red VW was even shown at a car show in 2012. Volunteers at the museum worked to get support to rebuild parts of the sculpture.

The museum also had a special feature. It had one of Berwyn's three electric car charging stations right outside.

Gift Shop Today

The place where the museum used to be is now a gift shop. You can still see some cool historical items there. Outside, there is a restored "Berwyn Route 66 entry marker." There's also a "distance marker pole." You can also see a large school bell from an old Berwyn school. A big wall mural shows a colorful Route 66 Shield.

See also

• Spindle (sculpture)
• Dustin Shuler
• U.S. Route 66 and U.S. Route 66 in Illinois
• List of Route 66 museums