It’s not often that we describe a gas station as adorable, but it’s not often a gas station has hanging baskets of flowers, windows framed by shutters and a cheery green and white clapboard office and workshop with flower boxes and a porthole window. You’ll find this adorable Ambler/ Becker vintage Texaco station at the intersection of Old Route 66 and Illinois Route 17 in the tiny town of Dwight Illinois. Incredibly, this adorable site (have we mentioned its adorable?) w

We do have a soft spot for Muffler Men, and the 30 feet tall Gemini Giant is one of the greatest muffler men in existence (even though his “space helmet” does rather resemble a muffler man welding mask). Like most Muffler Men, he currently does not stand in his original location, having enjoyed a few different locations around his hometown of Wilmington Illinois, along Route 66. When we visited him, he was living his last few days beside The Launching Pad diner, where he

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no it’s the bluesmobile, complete with giant speaker tied to the roof, sitting at a zany angle, on top of a 25...

We love city welcome murals - larger than life postcards celebrating a town or cities highlights within the letters of its name….. and...

The big guitar sits on top of the Illinois Rock’n’Roll Museum, in Joliet, on Route 66. (in fact, the body of the guitar is in the shape...

Not too far from the Old Joliet Prison, former home of incarcerated Joliet Jake of Blues Brothers fame, you’ll find a giant mural...

We weren't there to pick up Joliet Jake, nor were we on a mission from God, but still, we were most excited to see the Old Joliet Prison...

Glorious neon sign, glorious vintage dining room, glorious chicken. The Dell Rhea Chicken Basket is an OG Route 66 roadside stop,...

Yes, he is holding a giant chicken wing …. yes, he is also holding a bottle of hot sauce … yes, he’s smoking a cigar…. yes, he has a giant Herman Munster scar across his forehead and on his wrists … no, I don’t know why he has any of these things. He is also sitting on top of a building, which houses a local restaurant, kind of hiding in plain sight. The restaurant is called Cigars and Stripes BBQ Lounge, and The Berwyn Muffler Man is also known as The Cigars and Stripes

Stop the car!! - giant neon hot dog alert!! Hot dog king Bill Henry took the plunge from mobile hot dog wagon to drive-in restaurant in...

Come for the neon sign … stay for the giant pretzel. The Berghoff German restaurant is an incredible 125+ years old, opening in Chicago...

Let’s start at the very beginning, it’s a very good place to start. If you’re going to wind from Chicago to LA, getting your kicks on...

Shaw's Oyster Bar, and it’s more high falutin’ adjacent crab house, is a Chicago Institution. It’s been around since the early 1980’s,...

This decaying Flintstones themed park is one of our greatest finds ever in the history of Roadside Wonderland. Hanna Barbera’s "The...

So many giant baseballs! A plethora of giant baseballs! A cacophony of giant baseballs. An over-abundance of giant baseballs. If you’re...

Just down the road from Little League headquarters (which is a must visit in its own right), stands the Giant Little Leaguer. Standing at...

We probably wouldn't have added the spirit shop if we had not seen it in its peeling faded glory prior to its recent refurbishment - but...

We absolutely LOVE people with eclectic collections of vintage everything in their private yards, and this is one of the best. (yes, it is private property, but you can see a LOT from the street) In addition to the muffler man, there is a myriad of hubcaps, outboard motors, an airplane, a phone box, a big chicken, and wait … is that the statue of liberty!??? (no, it’s just her head) But we came to see the muffler man, and he is a good one. Dressed in the typical Paul Buny

Welcome to the World’s second Largest rocking chair, also known as the Route 66 Rocker. (It was also once known as the Route 66 RED...

Come for the “Welcome to Yukon” sign - stay for the Centennial Cow! The Centennial Cow was erected in it’s place of honour by the Yukon...