Work called me down to Springfield Missouri last week to visit one of our engine rebuilders. I gotta thank the secretary for booking me in the right place! 2 cl***ic Fords parked out front, vintage signs & nostalgia pieces in the rooms.... one picture from years ago: A '56 Customline parked in front of the lobby, not a show car but the the manager said it's roadworthy but enjoying semi-retirement: And a '55 Customline parked out front - also roadworthy but retired: Some old-days gas pumps by the drive-thru lobby: My rental Ranger parked behind the '56 in the lot: And the marquee flashing that a famous singer once slept here: Wish I had more time to look around, this will be a stopover on our way to Branson in the future. It's part of the original Route 66, with quite a few 'must see' places nearby.
Fly-over USA is really neat for those who dont Fly-over. There are more cool places to visit and see than a person can do in a lifetime.
Yeah, but LA and New York are so much cooler and hip, what with all the beautiful people and such.................
I grew up in Springfield - and where the pool of the Rail Haven Motel is today (seen in the photos), stood the "Sycamore Inn". Home to late- night cruisers, street racers .....and the Missouri State Highway Patrol - who also liked the coffee and pancakes there at three AM. Up St Louis St. to the west was the town's first "Steak 'n Shake" drive in and the town square - and south on Glenstone is the "new" Steak 'n Shake (in early 60's) and farther south the "Big Boy" drive in at Sunshine and Glenstone. Endless loops would be driven until we got bored - or the tribe would retire to some designated backroad for a "contest of speed"...... We lived in several mid-America towns over the years as I grew up - and more later as I went through several jobs - and they all had a tradition of crusin' - until about the mid sventies.....and it just melted away with the gas crunch.
re: ..Yeah, but LA and New York are so much cooler and hip, what with all the beautiful people. . . Are they Springfield 'burbs? I didn't make it too far out of town so must've missed 'em. I did make it past the original Steak 'n Shake, saw the "Takhomasak" sign out front. I was out to Manhatten & Long Island (Bohemia) for work several years ago. It sure wasn't Springfield! I saw Springfield's version of beautiful people when I stopped at the WalMart.
Steak N Shake? Thought the original one was in Normal, Illinois...? Speaking of Steak N Shake, there's FINALLY one in Manhattan... before that the closest one was near Pittsburgh.
Reason I posted that was the reason I was in Manhattan that time was for Steak N Shake... I went to school in the midwest and got addicted to Steak N Shake, but until a few months ago there werent any out here. This one is weird, it's a Steak N Shake Signature, limited menu, they serve beer, and it's counter service only. They also have a signature burger.
The Jalopy Journal
