West End Service Station, Edwardsville

2026 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for Stewardship

The West End Service Station is a collaborative stewardship project that transformed a vacant service station on historic Route 66 into a visitor center with interpretive historical exhibits and community event spaces. This project was led by the City of Edwardsville with support from Millennium Construction, LLC; Henderson Associates; and the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau. The property served as a fuel stop and service center on Route 66 from 1927 to 1964. When Route 66 was rerouted to bypass Edwardsville, the building became a dentist’s office until 2019. It has been vacant since and was set for demolition until the City of Edwardsville obtained the building from the Illinois Department of Transportation through public auction.

In its work to restore the property, the City of Edwardsville collaborated with architects and building professionals to create a visitor information center and a small, community-led museum on the significance of Route 66 – a particularly critical endeavor on the centennial of the Mother Road’s founding. The project has reinvigorated the local community and brought economic development to Edwardsville.

Additional information

This project was funded with a $460,000 grant from the Illinois Office of Tourism’s Route 66 Grant Program. It has preserved an iconic property on Route 66 in Illinois that now also serves as a vital community hub, thanks to partnership and creativity on the part of city and state officials.

Project Principals

• Mayor Art Risavy
• Alderman SJ Morrison
• Alderman Jack Burns (deceased)
• City of Edwardsville City Council
• Director of Parks and Recreation, Nate Tingley
• Superintendent, Matt Taul
• Director of Economic Development, James Arnold
• City Administrator, Eric Williams
• Communication Coordinator, Cathy Hensley
• Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau President/CEO, Cory Jobe
• Henderson and Associates, Jamie Henderson
• Creative Options Graphic Design, Sherrie Hickman
• Millennium Construction LLC, Mark Kabureck
• Illinois Office of Tourism

(Opening day in June 2023.)

Why is this place important to you?

James Arnold, Director of Economic Development, City of Edwardsville

This station is important because it was significant to so many people for so many reasons, big and small. To travelers who visited during Edwardsville’s Route 66 era, it was a means to an end, whatever their destination was, serving as a welcoming pit stop that provided the essentials, directions and fuel to keep traveling that amazing road. To those residents who frequented the station, it was as familiar as their favorite restaurant and preferred grocery store – a weekly or daily part of the fabric of their everyday lives.
To an older generation of people who were born here, educated here and chose to raise a family and retire here, the stories of the station are plentiful. It was near the high school, on the Homecoming parade route and in a busy corridor that teemed with life and commerce when Route 66 wove through this town. In its previous form and now, as a Route 66 visitor center, it’s a placeholder, transporting visitors to that special place and time. For some, it’s a chance to remember; for others, it’s a window shining a light into a bygone period.

(Part of West End’s Route 66 Centennial exhibit. Credit: City of Edwardsville)

How did saving this place impact people in your community?

James Arnold, Director of Economic Development, City of Edwardsville

The West End Service Station’s impact was akin to a puzzle piece—Route 66 in Edwardsville wasn’t complete without it. It was an essential service provider whether you lived in Edwardsville or were passing through just once in your life. It complemented so many of the other businesses that sprang up along Route 66; you bought a vehicle at the nearby dealership, and you’d inevitably need fuel or service from the station (or a similar business). As you made the many periodic trips to the grocery store, or to area restaurants or to work in the nearby stores and service providers, you’d find yourself in need of the station’s services to keep your vehicle running and keep you running your daily life.

(Before restoration. Credit: City of Edwardsville)