Normal Route 66 Monument Sign

Pine St. at Beech St., Normal IL
Phone:

East < GO > West

This one sits on the former site of the 1865 Civil War Soldiers Orphans Home. City name signs similar to this one have popped up in Illinois Route 66 communities in preparation for the Centennial of Mother Road in 2026.

GPS: 40.517928,-88.975949

The sign is 43 feet long, the letters are 8 feet tall and the Route 66 shield is 10 feet tall. That's big, but it's still pretty easy to miss because it sits back quite a bit from Pine Street. Similar (but smaller) monument signs can be seen in Carlinville, Chenoa, Edwarsville, Lexington and McLean and maybe more.

Soldier's Orphans Home 1869 - 1979

"This is where daddy lived when he was a boy"
That's what a mom wrote to one of her children when she sent the postcard shown below in 1922.

From 1865 to 1931 the Home was known as the Illinois Civil War Soldiers Orphan's Home.

From 1899 to 1931 it was known as the Illinois Soldiers and Sailors Orphans Home.

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Vintage Adertising Highlights

Main Building, Soldier's Orphans Home
Normal, Ill.

NOTE: This postcard is postmarked 1922.

Photo(s): 2023