Launching Pad - Route 66 - Wilmington, IL
by Susan Rissi Tregoning
Title
Launching Pad - Route 66 - Wilmington, IL
Artist
Susan Rissi Tregoning
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The Launching Pad on Route 66 in Wilmington, Illinois, is home of the Gemini Giant.
In 1956, the restaurant was known as the Dari Delite, a small hotdog and ice cream shop, when it opened along Route 66 in Wilmington, Illinois.
By 1960, John and Bernice Korlic had purchased the diner and, after an expansion in 1965, renamed it the Launching Pad Drive-In since it was the Atomic Age, the era of the Space Race, and everyone was crazy about everything that had to do with space and space exploration.
After a trip to the National Restaurant Convention, where Muffler Men were on display, the Korlics spent $3,500 on a 28-foot-tall 438-pound fiberglass giant. They had him outfitted as an astronaut, complete with helmet, green jumpsuit, and miniature spaceship; he was the perfect attention-getting prop to attract people to their diner. The spaceman arrived at the Launching Pad in 1966 and was named the Gemini Giant through a local naming contest in honor of the Gemini space missions. The Korlic family ran the restaurant for 47 years, finally selling it in 2007.
The next owners closed after five years in operation, and the building sat empty for another five years before being purchased in 2017.
The current owners, Holly Barker and Tully Garrett, have completed an extensive renovation on the Launching Pad, saving the building from ruin. The diner has been restored to its original look and feel. It is also a Route 66 Welcome Center, gift shop, and Americana mini-museum.
Be sure to stop in; it's a true gem! The Launching Pad and Gemini Giant were inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000.
Copyright 2022 Susan Rissi Tregoning
Uploaded
May 25th, 2022
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