Slylark Motel St Clair MO Route 66 DSC09120

by Greg Kluempers

Title

Slylark Motel St Clair MO Route 66 DSC09120

Artist

Greg Kluempers

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

The former Skylark Motel tower on old Route 66 in St. Clair, Missouri, shined with the glow of neon again after a ceremony Saturday night at the building, which now serves as the VFW Post 2482.
According to a news release about the event, about 150 people attending cheered when the light switch was thrown on Nov 23, 2014 about 5:20 p.m.
The most unique feature, not found anywhere else on Route 66, is the glass block tower illuminated by red, gold, blue and green neon tubing behind it. It is a gleaming, sparkling sight at night, visible from a long way off, that no Route 66 roadie should miss on their tour of the Mother Road.
In addition to the tower, there is red striping around the eaves of the building, the word ￿Skylark￿ on the west side in blue neon, and ￿VFW￿ in green on the east side of the building.
The VFW membership celebrated the event in grand style with a BBQ dinner after the ceremony, which featured a tribute to all the veterans that were present, and speakers from the VFW State Commander￿s office, the local community and the Route 66 Association of Missouri. The celebration also included music, vintage cars on site, and a special t-shirt to commemorate the event.
The VFW Post received a $22,000 cost-share grant from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program for the restoration of its neon. The VFW also received help from the Neon Heritage Preservation Committee of the Route 66 Association of Missouri.
The Skylark opened in 1952 and operated as a motel for about 25 years. It eventually was purchased by the St. Clair VFW in 1993.

Uploaded

December 4th, 2014

Colors

Embed

Share

Tags