Atlanta, IL: J.H. Hawes Preserved Wood Grain Elevator and American Giants/US-66 Texaco Station

Elevator: (Satellite)

Texaco Station: (Satellite)

See Minier Junction for more information about the Penny route that went through this town.

Note the Pennsy position signal in the foreground and the preserved windmill in the background. This is looking East.

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Bloomington/Normal, IL ❤ Remember When.... posted
The J.H. Hawes Grain Elevator in Atlanta, IL., built in 1903 and closed in 1976. The 55-foot-tall elevator is the only such structure in Illinois listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 2013 photo by Larry Senalik.
Jim Sherer Would make a great picture puzzle.
Michael L Johnson https://www.jigidi.com/created.php?id=A8U72CCZ
The higher resolution picture you have, the more puzzle pieces you can get...
Michael D Fortney The elevator is a real gem - it's unusual to see one still in original wood sheathing and not clad over in corrugated metal. The Wabash double-door automobile boxcar is a rarity also - as many as eight new autos could fit inside during the Model T era. As autos grew too large to haul economically, the boxcars were relegated to other uses such as grain service.
Michael D Fortney While doing research for an article a couple years ago, an associate and I had the chance to interview the long-time manager of the Union Elevator (a few miles west of Atlanta in Logan Co.), Lyle Nafziger. A very affable person and sharp as a tack nonagerian, Lyle explained all aspects of operation. The plain exterior of a typical old-time elevator hid quite a system of hoists, chutes, and a number of bins to hold the various grains. Lyle broke down the usual consist from the 1960s as 60% corn, 30% beans, and 10% wheat and oats. Lyle passed away recently - I recall this as a very fun interview. People really seem to open up when someone asks about their work-a-day career.
Bob Kraft I remember going there with my great uncle Merle Liesman and unloading corn. About 1969.

Ted Lemen shared
Dennis DeBruler Near the end they show the flexible chute used to fill boxcars. This is a reminder that covered hopper cars were not developed until the 1960s by Southern Railroad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rp-X50sb-I&feature=youtu.be

23:37 video @ 18:31

There are several interpretative signs on the property. Here are two of them.

It is open only on Sunday afternoons. But I was able to get some photos through the windows.

Here is the wagon dump

And I almost got the engine.

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American Giants/US-66 Texaco Station

The museum was still being built in Jul 2023. This was a vacant lot in the previous view of Aug 2022. Also the downtown is a museum of Italianate architecture, and the grain elevators are a museum of grain elevator technologies. The original Route 66 would have gone past this station. Once again, an example that Google's AI can't tell the difference between a face on a person or a statue.

Street View, Jul 2023

I was hoping that they would add some historic gas pumps out front.

Illinois Family Destinations posted
This giants museum is one of the quirkiest places! https://familydestinationsguide.com/tiny-giants-museum-illinois/

FamilyDestinatiosGuide