LINCOLN, Ill. (WAND) - The state of Illinois is providing $465,695 to the Logan County Tourism Bureau for Route 66 tourism development. The money will be split among various projects in the county.Â
Lincoln's Director of Tourism, Scott McCoy, said a significant portion of the grant money will go towards completing the Museum of Route 66. The building off of Lincoln's downtown square is set to be completed in May 2026.Â
"The museum is the hub where we want people to stop, check out Lincoln, Route 66 and all of the different exhibits," McCoy said. "We needed a place for people to stop where we can talk to them in person, recommend restaurants, maybe give hotel discounts."Â
McCoy said hundreds of thousands of extra people will travel Route 66 for the Centennial event. He believes the city will feel the impacts of the big anniversary for years to come.
The grant is part of the City of Lincoln and Logan County's plan to beef up Route 66 attractions ahead of the 2026 tourism season.
"Our request for that grant was really to build some new attractions to encourage people to stop and get off the Mother Road as they came through," said Lincoln Mayor Tracy Welch. "As [tens of] millions of Route 66 travelers are coming through town to see the other attractions we have, we wanted to create this opportunity to give them something else to see."Â
The grant will also fund restoration of the Mill Museum, which was built in 1929. According to the Logan County Tourism Bureau, renovations will include new outdoor seating and restoration of the windmill sails. There will also be a new 12-foot-tall penny and signature Watermelon Benches.Â
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