Route 66 State Park Visitor Center

When it was new the Bridgehead Inn included a bar, a dance floor and on the second floor, some overnight guest rooms. Edward Steinberg bought the property in 1946 and renamed it Steiny's Inn. Then in 1972 it became the Bridgehead Inn again when William Klecka and his wife purchased the place. In 1980 it became they Galley West which closed a few years later. Some of the time between 1980 and 1997 when it was turned over to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to become a park it was used by the federal EPA as office space. Now it is the Route 66 State Park Visitor Center.

The very cool neon sign for the long gone Sylvan Beach Restaurant is one of the many interesting things on display at the Visitor Center.

The key shaped neon sign for the Keys Twin Bridges Cafe is on display outside the visitor center. The cafe was named for both the owners, Noble and Nellie Key, and the cafe's location near the Twin Bridges on Route 66 in Franklin County.

The visitor center is located on the east side of the Meramec River. That might seem a little odd since most of the park is located on the site of the town of Times Beach on the west side of the river. But the bridge right outside the front door of the Inn connected the two parts of what became the State Park.

The entire town of Times Beach was demolished and all the residents relocated because of the discovery of serious Dioxin contamination in the early 1980s. The cleanup of the Times Beach site took until 1997 and the EPA used the old Bridgehead building as an office during the cleanup. When the cleanup was completed the town site and the Bridgehead property were turned over to the state and eventually became the Route 66 State Park. At the time the Meramec River Bridge still provided direct access to the park on the west side of the river.

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Vintage Adverting Highlights

(Front of card)
Steiny's Inn, Famous for Fine Food

Overlooking the Meramec, Highway 66, Eureka, Mo.

(Back of Card)
Steiny's Inn is located 17 miles west of St. Louis city limits on Highway 66 overlooking the Meramec River at Times Beach.
Willow 7-****, Eureka, Missouri

NOTE: This card appears to be from the late 1930s or the 1940s based on the cars parked out front. That "Famous for Fine Food" line always make me wonder ... what kind of Fine Food ... Steaks, Chicken, Seafood, Italian ... all of the above ... why don't they say?
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Photo(s): 2017