A few brief news items from Route 66:

• Reviews of Grand Canyon Skywalk have become so bad, its operators have hired a lawyer to send letters that threaten legal action against critics, reports East Valley Living. A prominent First Amendment attorney has scoffed at Skywalk’s alleged intimidation efforts. Money quote from a nearby landowner: “We never thought it was possible to confuse or mess up a visit to Grand Canyon, but these guys are certainly challenging that assumption.”
• Noted Route 66 photographers Jim Ross and Shellee Graham are displaying their work at the Route 66 Museum in Clinton, Okla., through June 24.
• A reader pointed out this excellent multimedia series in the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal World & News about the history and long-term impact of southeastern Kansas’ lead-mining operations. It covers the Route 66 town of Galena and other mining towns near the road in far northeastern Oklahoma.
• Rory Schepisi, who soon will open her Boothill Saloon & Grill in Vega, Texas, sent this publicity photo of herself for the “The Next Food Network Star” reality show that airs in June. “All they need to do to make this picture a little better is put a AK-47 in my hands,” she laughed.

Here’s a photo of the 1929 Marathon service station in Miami, Okla., that I mentioned a couple days ago. The City of Miami wants to restore it.

Amanda Davis at the Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau was kind enough to e-mail a photo of it.

Apparently a Marathon station this old is very rare. It’s currently a beauty shop. It will remain that way, although the property eventually will be decked out in a more nostalgia-friendly way.

A few days ago, we noted a dedication ceremony for the completed restoration of the historic Ambler’s Texaco Station on Route 66 in Dwight, Ill.

Now, as the Bloomington Pantagraph reports, the Ambler’s station no longer pumps gas, but has settled into a new role as a welcome center for Route 66 travelers and other tourists.

It’s a scene right out of the 1940s, but the setting is contemporary Dwight. Inside the restored Ambler’s Texaco Station is a potbellied stove alongside small-sized Coca-Cola and 7UP bottles. There’s also an ancient cash register and a plaid stamp saver book.

Outside the restored gas station is a sign: “Welcome to Dwight.” [...]

Starting May 26, the welcome center will be staffed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days a week. [...]

Their effort is expected to benefit the village through increased tourism.

“We make a conscious effort to promote Route 66,” said McNamara.

Terri Ryburn’s parents drove Route 66 from Bloomington, Ill., to California when she was 5 years old.

She never forgot that exciting experience. She since has driven the length of the road several times. Her history doctorate focused on Route 66 tourism efforts. She’s written several books about the Mother Road.

Now she’s the owner of an enormous, historic gas station at 305 Pine St. in Normal, on the less-noted Illinois 4 alignment of 66, reports the Bloomington Pantagraph:

She bought the 75-year-old Tudor Revival-style gas station, restaurant and garage, most recently Hodge’s Bridal, at 305 Pine St., and plans to remodel it into a Route 66 visitor center, gift shop, restaurant, bed and breakfast and tea room.

She’s already got the two-story, 3,600-square-foot building accepted for the National Register of Historic Places because it’s one of few Route 66 gas stations in the country with an owner’s apartment and a tenant’s apartment on the second floor.

“It’s really unique,” said Mike Taylor, manager of the national Route 66 Corridor Preserve Program, saying he knew of only two other Route 66 gas stations in the country with living quarters. “The one in Normal is really incredible because of its size.”

Local historians figure the gas station dates to 1930 or ‘31.

Ryburn figures it’s going to be at least two years to shore up the property because of its deteriorated condition. She’s also asking for help so that she can restore the station properly:

To reach the building’s original look and feel, with accurate signage, gas pumps and other characteristics, Ryburn is looking for photos of the original gas station or stories of the building. Anyone with information can e-mail Ryburn at tlrybur(at)ilstu.edu

I’m not 100 percent positive, but from the available evidence and satellite photos I’ve reviewed, I’m nearly certain sure this is a picture of the aforementioned gas station, shot by Guy Randall, the Road Wanderer, a few years ago.

Local officials say that the first Illinois Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor weekend, scattered 90 miles over a dozen towns, was a success, reported the Pontiac Daily Leader.

“I think it was a very successful run,” said Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy, who drove the entire corridor, with his son on Saturday and his wife on Sunday. McCoy said he was “thoroughly amazed” at the scope of the endeavor and at the cooperation that developed among people in towns participating.

“I definitely see it growing,” he said of the multitown event, which is patterned in part after the successful Spoon River Drive, now in its 40th year. [...]

McCoy credited Ellie Alexander, Pontiac’s tourism director, as “the right person” to have become the coordinator for the organizers and planners of the corridor.

“I think it was a success,” Alexander said this morning, noting that the people she talked with in Dwight, Gardner and Towanda were happy with the inaugural effort.

Almost 500 people on Saturday attended the flea market that was held at the Community Recreation Center, based on sign-in sheets. The total was far lower on Sunday, however.

Next year’s event probably will be more centralized in Pontiac, which has several prominent Route 66 attractions.