(rock music) - My name is Scott Dahl.

You're in Springfield, Illinois, the heart of Illinois Route 66.

Springfield has been preparing for the Route 66 centennial since 2019 We've completed over 12 projects including the Illinois State Fairgrounds Route 66 Experience.

- So we are located on the state fairgrounds here in Illinois on the corner of Route 66 and Salem and Avenue at th Illinois Route 66 Experience.

And it's a micro version of Illinois Route 66.

The purpose is people can come o they can walk the entire route, see what's out there, and then plan a trip.

And we just felt that the story, the entire story of 66 and Illin needed to be in one central loca And what better place than the Illinois State Fairgrounds?

(rock music) - Today I wanted to get like a little taste.

It's a preview of what I' going to see in about 10 days.

- [Casey] So there's over 90 com in Illinois that 66 traverses.

You know, we start in Chicago and go all the way down to Madison, Illinois and all 90 in between.

- [Scott] We like to say that Il has more sites and attractions p than any state on Route 66.

- [Casey] All communities on Illinois Route 66 are represented in some way, shape, or form out here.

Inside the individual barns, which we know these barns and bridges were very common back in the '20s, '30s, and '40s which is why we left them in place when we started.

But inside each one of the barns is a geographical section of Rou There's new photographs, so some of the new businesses that are out there are highlight And then we have old photos photos you can't find anywhere.

- This is my favorite statue here in the park, and this is the reason I came here originally today because I wanted to get picture of my own picture of it, and I got to see everything else that's around it, so pretty splendid.

And this statue is really creati and kind of modern take on Route - [Casey] My favorite part is pr Legends Neon Sign Park, right?

It's the culmination of those five signs behind me.

It's become iconic.

It's become just in the couple years it's been open, it's been on a Super Bowl commer it's been on the cover of multiple magazines, and it's really becoming a visual representation of Illin (rock music) So here, the experience we feel is the educational component, ri It's also the "Oh, I had no idea that existed" component.

So we need to make sure that we're educating the students, the young, and we talk about it.

So inviting parents to bring their kids out here, get, you know, conversations goi and then taking them out on road Even in the dead of winter, I'll come out here and there are people walking aro which is really great, right?

This is not just a nice weather experience, if you will.

It's open 365 days a year, and we get international travele We get locals.

I have a couple locals that tell me they're out here we just walking through it because they love it.

(rock music) - It's just a beautiful way of learning about Route 66 because every little building has the little towns that are in Illinois and it's real informative.

- You don't see neons like this much anymore, right, and in a central location.

Back in the '30s and the '40s, you saw them all the time.

They were lining streets.

But to come out here and the barns are lit at night so you can walk in and you can see what's in there, but then just to take a step bac and take a photograph with the n it's really just kind of, it's heartwarming, and it just brings you back to nostalgia of what the road is (rock music)