Vanishing Postcards

“I’m very proud of my age,” says Mary Alice Davis. Having been born in 1936 this attitude is
well deserved as she can claim to be ten years younger than Route 66 itself. More than this,
she had a front row seat to its early evolutions and mid-century Golden Age as she spent
many formative years at Springfield’s long shuttered A. Lincoln Motel.

Built by her father she recounts, “In 1945, he decided that with gas rationing going out and
building supplies becoming somewhat abundant again, he would start a lumber company and a motel because people were going to be building and they were going to be traveling.”

Demolished in 1996 well after her family had moved on, the motel is probably best remembered for its sign which featured a profile of Abraham Lincoln. Advertising air conditioners, TV and telephones, it was the first neon piece built and designed by the local Ace sign company. While little is known about what happened to the original, to Mary’s
surprise it experienced a resurrection a few years ago when it was rebuilt in advance of The
Route’s centennial for the Illinois State Fairgrounds’ Neon Village. Its design was also included on a float in 2024’s Rose Bowl Parade. Sponsored by Illinois tourism, seeing it on national television was an unexpected thrill. “It’s just amazing that something far back in my childhood, almost 80 years ago, is suddenly in the Rose Bowl Parade.”

Hear Mary Alice share her story in this clip from Springfield’s Stewards of 66- an oral history project we’re honored to share in conjunction with .

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Check out this latest excerpt from “Springfield’s Stewards of 66”- An oral history project we’re honored to share in conjunction with Visit Springfield.