Springfield and the country plan to celebrate the 100th birthday of Route 66 this month. A new destination in downtown Springfield hopes to keep the city’s unique connection to the Mother Road alive for years to come.
Michael Wehrenberg is a project lead for the Springfield Rotary President's Council.
"The fact that rotary had such an intimate involvement in the naming of route 66 was brought to my attention About 15 years ago,” Wehrenberg told KSMU.
The project he’s been leading? An effort to celebrate Springfield and the Rotary Club’s connections to Route 66.
100 years ago, in 1926, when the famous telegram was sent from Springfield deciding the name Route 66 for the planned highway, the people sending that telegram were in town for a major Rotary Club convention. The civic organization brought those leaders together in Springfield
"I was like, man, we need to tell that story, right? It's very unique, very interesting. And there's several other members of our particular club that that also felt the same way... fast forward, to about three years ago, the Rotary Clubs of Springfield, were given an opportunity to provide some programing for the birthplace of Route 66 festival”
Springfield’s Rotary Clubs began hosting programming at the festival, fundraising and planning something big for the 100th anniversary.
“This centennial project is kind of that next step, and the Birthplace Plaza is that next step to make a huge impact in our community.”
The dedication of Birthplace Plaza will be a major part of centennial kick-off events later this month on April 30. Wehrenberg said he and others in Rotary, as well as their partners, have worked to create a space along historic Route 66 in downtown Springfield that celebrates the arts, capitalizes on our history and puts that history at the forefront for visitors.
He said they see it as an economic development project as much as a historical one, one goal is pulling tourists off I-44.
“From what we have found,” Wehrenberg explained, “people that are traveling Route 66 don't always stop in Springfield because there isn't anything significant for them to do, or they don't feel that there's anything significant for them to do or see.”
Soon there will be.
The Plaza, located at the intersection of Jefferson and St. Louis in downtown Springfield is made up of five elements.
A six-story mural painted in cooperation with the local group Overlay, an information kiosk made to look like car keys, those are both up now, the other pieces are in progress, including a sculpture titled “Ghost of the Colonial Hotel” by Spanish artist Juan Garaizabal, a mosaic map of Route 66 designed by local artist Christine Shilling and a section of commemorative pavers to honor donors.
Wehrenberg said the plaza is about celebrating Rotary and Springfield’s part in an iconic piece of Americana history.
He said Rotary has had support from Missouri State University, who gave the land for the plaza, the City of Springfield, Sculpture Walk Springfield, Missouri’s Route 66 Centennial Commission and the broader Rotary community outside of Springfield.
You can see progress on the plaza in downtown Springfield now, it will be dedicated during a special event, 4 p.m. April 30.