Michael Campanelli’s traveling exhibit of photographs from Route 66 will be making a stop at the Illinois Route 66 Association Hall of Fame and Museum in Pontiac starting March 7.

However, that’s not the big news. On to the press release:

“There was a call put out to all the Route 66 states that photographer Michael Campanelli was looking for a permanent home for his largest Route 66 exhibit, and we answered the call,” said Patty Ambrose, executive director of the Historic Illinois Route 66 America’s Byway. “This exhibit has been featured in several of the western states … Our organization now has stewardship of this display, and we want to share it with Route 66 visitors starting their journey here in Illinois — where the road begins.”

I briefly met Campanelli during the Route 66 Festival in Clinton, Okla., last year. Here’s a photo of him with several of his works:

It’s great that the Illinois museum, which is still in relative infancy, keeps improving. This exhibit is a terrific addition, and will help draw tourists into Pontiac and spark more interest in the Mother Road.

According to the Joplin (Mo.) Globe, a bunch of Drury University architecture students hired by the nearby Route 66 town of Webb City is about to provide conceptual drawings of what Main Street should look like.

Chuck Surface, Webb City director of economic development, said anyone who is interested in Webb City, its downtown or Route 66 history might want to attend the meeting at 2 p.m. Friday in the council chambers at City Hall, 200 S. Main St.

“We don’t just want downtown folks, and merchants and property owners, but also the general public to come,” Surface said. “There are a lot of people interested in the downtown area.”

The presentation will feature a room full of renderings for the city’s potential face-lift, Surface said.

“I’ve seen a little bit of what they’re proposing for the Route 66 theme, and everybody I’ve shown it to has loved it,” he said.

It’s gratifying to learn that these youngsters latched on to Webb City’s Route 66 history in the designs.

Apparently Drury isn’t a newcomer in this field. In the past two decades, its architecture students have performed 75 such downtown projects.

A final report on the revitalization proposal is expected in May.