Felicia Uriosty has a sweet job. As owner of Mr. Twist in Granite City, she has spent a lifetime on Route 66, dishing up homemade ice cream and sherbet to travelers from around the globe.
As the Mother Road celebrates its 100th birthday, Uriosty notes that her ice cream stand is nearly half as old. Her parents, Mary and Felix Uriosty, opened the shop in 1977 after buying an old Dairy Queen building. Uriosty still uses her mom’s original recipe.
Customers apparently approve as they continue to gobble up her multiple flavors of frozen goodness. She proves that popularity by showing her guest book, filled with names from Europe, Asia, South America and Australia.
The Pink Elephant Antique Mall in Livingston welcomes Route 66 travelers from around the world. photo by Mary Bohlen
Mr. Twist is just one stop among vintage eateries, historic sites, quirky memorabilia and friendly folks along the last 100 miles of Route 66 in Illinois. Communities and businesses on the highway have joined to promote those miles with special promotions, postcard-ready murals and a Last 100 Miles festival Oct. 6-10.
Most of the activity will happen from Virden, south of Springfield, to communities near the Mississippi River. Visitors can expect classic cars, live music, family activities, vendor fairs, artist demonstrations and plenty of nostalgia.
You don’t have to wait for the festival, however, to have some fun. All along the route, you can take photos at those murals painted for the centennial. Each mural depicts that community’s history.
One place with significant history is Mount Olive, home of tributes to coal miner advocate (Mary) Mother Jones. Her grave is in the Union Miners’ Cemetery, marked by a 22-foot granite monument in the place she had requested to be close to “her boys.”
You can learn more about her at the Mother Jones Museum downtown. A few blocks away is the B&K Bakery, where you can pick up a sugary treat before checking out Soulsby’s Route 66 Gas Station. Closed in 1990, it is the oldest station in Illinois that has not been totally rebuilt and has yellow gasoline pumps and other memorabilia.
A little further south, the Pink Elephant Antique Mall in Livingston may seem daunting with its many outside fiberglass structures, an old gym full of antique booths, a bright candy shop and the Twistee Treat 1950s’ diner.
Suzann Hormell, the mall’s marketing director, says the old high school that houses the antique mall turns 100 along with Route 66, another reason travelers stop. “We have definitely seen an uptick in business and visitors with the road’s centennial.
“This year with the anniversary, people are trying to visit before the road disappears because of its age,” she says, noting groups from Italy, France, New Zealand and Australia were among recent visitors. “For Europeans, it’s the Mother Road.”
On Oct. 10 and 11, the mall will host a bounce house, carriage rides, special photo ops, the “Haunted Hundred” pumpkin-faced egg hunt and a haunted vendor market.
Future plans include turning the Futuro UFO House on the mall’s grounds into an Airbnb, but that likely will be next year, Hormell says.
In nearby Hamel, the light poles all sport Route 66 banners, and Weezy’s diner and the Route 66 Creamery attract hungry drivers.
Edwardsville’s Route 66 festival plans include an ice cream social and balloon art for children. The town offers plenty of Route 66 history, which you can learn at the restored West End Service Station that serves as an interpretive center.
Edwardsville has reclaimed the original West End Service Station as its Route 66 interpretive center. Inside, visitors can learn about the road’s history, watch a silent movie and view exhibits from the 1920s. photo by Mary Bohlen
Visitor Center specialist Kelly Baird says the building started as a gas station in the late 1920s, became a dentist office for 55 years and turned into the center three years ago. It features silent movies, 1920s’ fashion, old license plates, information on Edwardsville history and a map for travelers to pin their hometowns.
Baird says visitors in 2026 are nearly double the number from other years, and map pins include Japan, South Africa, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand and most of Europe and the United States.
You can pick up a map directing you to other Route 66 landmarks, signs and businesses. Just off the road is the 1909-era Wildey Theatre, now a restored venue for music, theater and other cultural events.
Swing by Collinsville to view the 170-foot water tower paying homage to the once-nearby Brooks Catsup plant. Constructed in 1949, the tower is considered the world’s largest catsup bottle. Volunteers raised money to restore it in 1995 and the National Register of Historic Places listed it in 2002.
Granite City honors its Route 66 past with a small Electric Neon Sign Park featuring iconic neon signs, statues, murals, information kiosks and a replica of the nearby Chain of Rocks bridge. You can learn about such businesses as Hudson Jewelers, the Make-It-Toy factory, Washington Theatre and Reese Drug Store.
You can snap photos and add a love lock to the bridge display. Normally, you could then head to the Old Chain of Rocks Bridge itself, a landmark for Route 66 travelers for three decades before being replaced by a new bridge in 1967. The original is now restricted to bicycles and walkers but is closed for construction until early October from the Illinois side. You can access it from Missouri if you cross the Mississippi over another bridge.
Or you can stay in Granite City and enjoy one of Felicia Uriosty’s frozen treats. Be sure to sign her guestbook so you can join the thousands celebrating Route 66’s big birthday.
For more information on Route 66’s last 100 miles in Illinois, go to riversandroutes.com or illinoisroute66.org.
After passing signs for several of these Route 66 landmarks for years, Mary Bohlen of Springfield finally visited them on a recent road trip. She advises others not to wait so long. Earlier this year, she wrote about Pontiac, Litchfield and drive-in movie theaters as Route 66 destinations for IT.
This article appears in 2026 Fall Guide.
