The Palamar Motel - Pontiac, IL
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 40° 52.610 W 088° 38.362
16T E 361867 N 4526377
This Motel is located at 213 South Ladd Street, Historic Route 66
Pontiac, IL USA, 61764.
Waymark Code: WMCQBT
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 10/02/2011
Views: 10
Unfortunately this Motel doesn't seem to have its own website. The person who waymarked the neon lights (
visit link) noted that although the Motel's exterior needed work, the rooms were ok.
This website (
visit link) recalls some of the site's history:
"
With its name writ in large red cursive letters and lit by a neon glow, The Palamar Motel once beckoned countless travelers driving on The Mother Road. Now the "T" and half the "P" have fallen off, the faded pink motel room doors are bolted shut, and weeds fill the swimming pool to the rim.
But Gerald Hillyer remembers The Palamar's heyday, when Saturday night crowds jammed in to hear big bands swing the adjacent supper club where he tended bar.
"We're actually halfway between Chicago and Springfield, and a lot of the politicians would come in here," Hillyer, 77, recalled as he stood in the broken parking lot of the property his parents once owned. "It was a nice watering-hole break."
Like so many stops along Route 66, The Palamar has fallen into disrepair - some say beyond any hope of renovation - as nostalgic tourists from around the globe are fueling a renaissance of interest in the storied 2,400-mile route, which once connected Chicago to Los Angeles.
In particular, Route 66 motels are having such a hard time that in June the National Trust for Historic Preservation collectively listed them among America's 11 most endangered historic places, an annual alarm about serious threats facing what the trust considers the nation's greatest treasures.
Some of the motels were decorated in flashy Art Deco style. Some had huge neon signs. Others were shaped like tepees or adobe homes - anything to catch the eye of drivers speeding by. But a wide spectrum of problems is leading to their demise, including shabby maintenance, stiff competition from hotel chains and the temptation to demolish and redevelop."