Museum of Route 66 sees tremendous turnout at Grand Opening event
[July 13, 2026]
Saturday, July 11, 2026, was a
special day in the city of Lincoln. The Museum of Route 66 officially
opened to the world, and the turnout for that first official day was
tremendous. The crowd was there, taking in the sights, shortly after 10
a.m. and a large crowd was on hand for the ribbon cutting event that was
held at 11 a.m.
Front and center behind the ribbon were City of Lincoln Director of
Tourism Scott McCoy, Tourism Assistant Lexie Groves, and Lincoln Mayor
Tracy Welch. Joining them were the Miss Route 66 USA Eastern Ambassador
Jessica Anderson, Renee Radtke representing Senator Sally Turner, Logan
County Tourism Director Wanda Lee Rohlfs, LCTB Board President Molly
Pickering, former alderpersons Joni Tibbs and David Sanders, and city of
Lincoln Administrative Assistant Ashely Metelko. Lincoln Alderpersons
behind the ribbon included Kevin Bateman, Tim Becke, Dennis Clemmons,
Robin McClallen, Rhonda O’Donahue, Steve Parrott, and city Treasurer
Chuck Conzo. On hand representing the Logan County Board were Lance
Conahan and Kevin Knauer.
McCoy also introduced and invited project contractors and major donors
to join the group behind the ribbon. He acknowledged the following
people: Mark Cline, John and Darlene Ruh, Bob Duvall, Jim Oskam, Scott
Lindley, Brad Matthews Construction, Hi-AN Construction, Brady Painting
and Construction, Tarter Brothers Mechanical, Carpet House, Royce Scales
Cleaning and floor Waxing, Sherwin Williams, Hot Frog Designs, and
Lincoln Printers.
As part of his introduction of the
donors and contractors, McCoy spoke about how it takes a huge network of
people to build a project of the size of the museum. He said many would
remember the building that houses the museum was not long ago a bank. He
said the transformation was due to all the hard work of those involved
in the project.
McCoy also acknowledged and asked to come to the ribbon Terri “Nanna”
McEntire, Lexie Groves’ grandmother, saying that Terri had been an
amazing, hardworking volunteer and supporter of all the efforts at the
museum.
The ribbon cutting was being steered
along by Lincoln Daily News. Nila Smith took the microphone and offered
up one more comment before turning it over to Lexie Groves. “This has
been a project filled with big imagination, big creativity and a lot of
work.” She said that McCoy and Groves deserved a huge round of applause
for their leadership and the crowd responded accordingly.
The next person to speak was Lexie
Groves. She began by saying, “It has been an honor and a privilege to
work for the city of Lincoln.” She said that she enjoyed working for and
with McCoy and said he was a great box. She concluded by saying she was
excited to show visitors “my hometown.”
Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch spoke,
saying, “Something of this magnitude does not happen without a lot of
people.” He remembered many who contributed and made special note of
John and Darlene Ruh saying, “The Ruhs are the ones who got this whole
thing started.” He went on to talk about how he had brought the idea of
the museum to the Lincoln City Council members. He said that he told
them that they had to see and “trust the vision.” He added, “We saved a
building in downtown Lincoln and repurposed it into something that is
amazing and should spur economic growth.” Welch also sang the praises of
McCoy and Groves, adding that he had been excited when he realized
Groves was going to be available and he encouraged McCoy to bring her
into the team saying she would be a huge asset.
Welch concluded with thanks to all
those who had been part of the process and to all those who were in
attendance. The microphone was then given to McCoy for the second time.
Because Welch had mentioned his wife Annette and her support for the
project, McCoy said he was reminded to remember his wife Jennifer as
well, who was in the audience taking pictures for the museum social
media and website.
With all speeches concluded, the group
photo was taken, then the ribbon was cut with McCoy, Welch and Groves
manning the scissors.
Immediately following, everyone when to
the side of the building for a second group photo with the new giant
penny crafted by Mark Cline.
Guests were encouraged to grab a bite to eat from the Cheesed-Out food
truck, sit and visit at the picnic tables provided, take tours of the
museum and enjoy refreshments that included a nicely decorated cake and
cookies.
In the vestibule area of the museum a
large sign was hanging on the wall with volunteer Darlene Begolka
encouraging everyone to autograph as the first official visitors to the
museum.
There was also a guest book to be
signed at the ticket office. For this day, there was free admission to
the museum, but in the future admission will be charged.
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Guests are encouraged to leave the
ticket booth following the short hallway on the right. The first
site is the glassed-in area where the train donated by John and
Darlene Ruh will be on display. The design of the train layout is a
depiction of Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles. This has been a
challenge for the museum directors, as the miles of track needed for
the display were backordered and there were numerous delays. The
train is still a work in progress, but on Saturday there were a lot
of the props that will be a part of the display in place so guests
could get a hint of what is yet to come.
Continuing on the next display is a
depiction of Mark Cline’s Enchanted Castle Studios Workshop in
natural Bridge Virginia, where he builds from scratch giant figures,
over 20 of which are scattered around Route 66, including Lumi the
Pie Lady at the Country Air Restaurant in Atlanta and the giant
donut in the Mel-O-Cream parking lot in Lincoln. For this display,
Cline also provided a fiberglass image of himself in his typical
work garb. Cline is the creator of the giant penny that is outside
the museum and has also written a comic book featuring many of the
“giants” he has created, all racing to find the penny in Lincoln
Illinois.
Cline had copies of the comic book
that he was handing out as well as signing for the recipients.
Turning left from the workshop
display, visitors can take a roundabout, viewing first the original
bank vault where safe deposit boxes were housed in the days the
building was a bank. Visitors can peer into the room and see a
“gangster” depiction reminding them that Al Capone and others were
very much invested in Route 66 back in the day because the highway
was used to traffic illegal alcohol throughout the state. Capone
also plays a role in Lincoln and Logan County History.
Continuing, guests can view the
radio station, then move on to the barber shop. At the barber shop
guests can sit in the chair, while their counterparts pretend to cut
their hair, making for a great selfie moment.
Another good selfie is nearby at
the 1930s-40s diner. There guests can sit at the counter in front of
a plate of fast food or lean against the juke box and get a snapshot
of themselves in the moment.
Another big attraction is just
around the corner from the diner, and it is a phone booth. The phone
booth is a duplicate of the booth that sits atop the Lincoln City
Hall. On the wall behind the booth is a larger-than-life photo of
the view from the actual phone booth. Guests can step inside the
booth, and at the right angle get a selfie that shows them on top of
city hall looking down on the Logan County Courthouse square.
Across from the phone booth is a
Texaco station featuring the front quarter of a vintage car that
serves as a nod to the animated film Cars and its character Ramone.
The vehicle was a junk yard find that was fully redone by local auto
enthusiast Bob Duvall.
Moving on toward the front of the
building again, there is a scrap metal art statue of Abraham
Lincoln. Artist Matt Dean (Treasures of Turkey Run) was on hand and
spoke about a few of the interesting aspects of the statues. He
noted that Abe’s feet were old coal shovels. He shared that during
the civil war era there was no differential between left and right
feet, so both boots are the same on Lincoln’s feet. He also noted
that the stove pipe hat is made of real stove pipe.
The Saturday morning event continued into the afternoon, with
dozens, if not hundreds, of people coming out to enjoy the first big
day for the Museum of Route 66. While the project is still ongoing
in many areas, it will be open to the public and visitors are
encouraged to come again. As all the pieces come together, it is
sure that each visit will provide a new experience.
For more information about the Museum of Route 66 visit their social
media pages by searching for Lincoln Illinois Tourism. A new website
is also under construction that will feature all the amazing tourist
attractions in the city of Lincoln.
Museum of Route 66 Grand Opening ribbon cut sees huge turnout photo
slideshow
Museum of Route 66 sees tremendous turnout at Grand Opening event
[Nila Smith]
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