State offers $267K to install Route 66 sculptural monument

Springfield City Council will consider an ordinance to accept $267,000 in state funds to install an illuminated monument at an entryway of historic Route 66 into the downtown area.

The Queen’s Gate 66 sculptural monument is designed to be nearly 20 feet tall on a 2-foot plinth. It features a central archway marked “Birthplace of Route 66” and topped by a radiated crown. All of this is contained within a larger arch identifying, “Springfield, Missouri.”

The state funds were awarded to Visit Springfield, Missouri, and transferred to the city of Springfield for street and right-of-way improvements necessary to support the installation of the monument near the intersection of St. Louis Street and Glenstone Avenue.

The proposed street improvements will ensure the site is prepared for safe installation, long-term durability and appropriate integration into the existing roadway and right-of-way infrastructure, according to a news release from the city.

Queen’s Gate 66, designed by Kansas City-based Farris Wheel Studios and Amie Jacobsen, will serve as a gateway for Route 66 visitors. Plans call for it to be installed in time for the national Route 66 Centennial Kickoff Celebration in downtown Springfield April 30-May 3. A public dedication of the monument will take place at 11 a.m., Friday, May 1.

Gordon Elliott, owner of the Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven, a landmark for Route 66 travelers, provided right of way and additional parking at a property adjacent to the Rail Haven that he also owned, to accommodate parking for visitors who want to take photos at the monument, the release states.

Visit Springfield received $1 million from a state allocation to manage the Queen’s Gate 66 project. State Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, was instrumental in securing the state allocation, according to the release. 

Springfield is frequently referred to as the Birthplace of Route 66 because businesspeople John T. Woodruff and Cy Avery proposed the name from the Colonial Hotel which once stood downtown at St. Louis Street and Jefferson Avenue.

Another sculpture, “Ghost of the Colonial Hotel” by Spanish artist Juan Garaizabal, is planned for the site where the historic hotel once stood. A Route 66 plaza is in the works, and Garaizabal’s sculpture is also anticipated to be installed before the centennial celebration, according to past Springfield Business Journal reporting.