Day 14: West of St. Louis

Let’s start with some statues. This 1960s era fiberglass buffalo in Lebanon, MO is located at JR’s Western Store:

Another fiberglass statue — these elephants were produced by the Plycrete Mold Co. This one is located at the Riverside Wildlife Center in Stanton, MO:

A modern frozen custard statue at Spooner’s Frozen Custard in Eureka, MO:

The only intact Dairy Isle in Missouri — this one in Steelville. More info and examples of Dairy Isles at my website here:
https://www.roadarch.com/eateries/disle.html

A very abandoned Howard Johnson’s motel gatehouse in Rolla, MO:

Its companion restaurant now houses a Mexican place:

A former Phillips 66 gas station in Eureka, MO:

A couple of 1920s/1930s gas stations in Washington, MO. This one at a used car lot:

And this one housing a law office now:

Moving on to a batch of signs. This one with a Superior Electrical Advertising bulb arrow in Bourbon, MO:

This key-shaped sign was originally installed in Villa Ridge. The cafe is gone now but this sign was saved and moved to the Route 66 State Park Visitor Center in Eureka, MO:

The very famous sign in Lebanon, MO was based on Rest Haven Motel sign in Springfield (with their permission) which, yes, was inspired by the Holiday Inn “Great Sign” like so many others:

This sign is in Kirkwood, MO. This much-loved restaurant closed earlier this year but was immediately purchased and will be reopening soon.

This replica sign in Sullivan, MO was built and installed in 2022. The stone-faced motel rooms are being restored and the motel is expected to reopen next year:

This corrugated plastic sign is located in Lebanon, MO:

The Gardenway Motel in Villa Ridge, MO was demolished in 2023 but this sign down the street is still hanging on:

Let’s wrap up with the Uranus Fudge Factory in St. Robert which has some modern signs (in addition to statues, food, souvenirs, and other fun stuff). There’s another location in Anderson, IN and they are building another in Richmond, IN:

This sign on the side of one of their buildings was built by Fossil Forge (which has restored a lot of vintage signs) and depicts some famous Route 66 landmarks: