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Shea's Gas Station Museum in Springfield, IL
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Shea's Gas Station Museum

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Shea's Gas Station Museum on Route 66 in Springfield, IL, is gone: after owner Bill Shea died in 2013, the station was sold and its collection auctioned in 2015. For years Bill and his wife Helen filled a former Texaco and Marathon station with pumps, signs and phone booths, drawing visitors from Europe and Asia. By 2015 Fulgenzi's Pizza & Pasta was using the old station, about 1 mile off the old road.

What is Shea's Gas Station Museum?

The museum grew out of a working service station, first a Texaco and later a Marathon, that the Sheas turned into a showcase. Over some fifty years they gathered original pumps, wooden phone booths, signs, photographs and other reminders of Route 66 service stations. The centerpiece was the Mahan Filling Station, reputed to be the state's oldest filling station, which was moved 21 miles in February 2000 to its site at Fulgenzi's and fully restored.

History of Shea's Gas Station Museum

In 1993 Bill Shea and his shop entered Route 66's Hall of Fame for his work preserving the road's history, and in 2002 the rest of the Shea family joined him. After Bill died in December 2013, the station was sold, and the museum's contents went to auction in 2015.

Visiting Shea's Gas Station Museum: tips

There is no museum to visit now. The Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack is about 0.5 mile away and the Lazy A Motel about 0.7 mile, while the Museum of Funeral Customs is about 1.1 miles off.

Practical info

Address
2075 N Peoria Rd, Springfield, IL 62702
On site & nearby

Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix

Where to eat near Shea's Gas Station Museum

All diners on Route 66 →
  • Charlie Parker's Diner in Springfield, IL
    Diner & restaurant

    Charlie Parker's Diner

    Springfield, IL · 4.7 mi from Shea's Gas Station Museum

    A Springfield diner dating from 1992, handy for a meal while exploring the Illinois capital on Route 66.

  • Cozy Dog Drive In in Springfield, IL
    Diner & restaurant

    Cozy Dog Drive In

    Springfield, IL · 4.8 mi from Shea's Gas Station Museum

    A Springfield drive-in known for its cornmeal-battered Cozy Dogs, Route 66 memorabilia and guest book.

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Stops near Shea's Gas Station Museum

All of Illinois
Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack in Ridgely, IL

Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack

Ridgely, Illinois · 0.2 mi from Route 66

The Springfield Mile: a one-mile dirt oval at the state fairgrounds that has hosted car racing since 1910.

Historic districtPhoto credit

0.5 mi from Shea's Gas Station Museum

Lazy A Motel in Springfield, IL

Lazy A Motel

Springfield, Illinois · on Route 66

A late-1940s Route 66 motel in Springfield with stucco walls and garages tucked between its rooms.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

0.7 mi from Shea's Gas Station Museum

Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfield, IL

Museum of Funeral Customs

Springfield, Illinois · 0.2 mi from Route 66

A closed Springfield museum of mourning customs; its building now tells African-American history.

MuseumPhoto credit

1.1 mi from Shea's Gas Station Museum

Springfield and Central Illinois African-American History Museum

Springfield, Illinois · 0.2 mi from Route 66

A Springfield museum telling the Black history of central Illinois, backed by hundreds of oral histories.

Museum

1.1 mi from Shea's Gas Station Museum

Rippon-Kinsella House in Springfield, IL

Rippon-Kinsella House

Springfield, Illinois · 0.1 mi from Route 66

An 1870s Italianate house given a Classical porch by a Springfield paint dealer and baseball scout.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

1.2 mi from Shea's Gas Station Museum

John F. Bretz House and Warehouse in Springfield, IL

John F. Bretz House and Warehouse

Springfield, Illinois · 0.2 mi from Route 66

The 1880s Queen Anne home and brick warehouse of the contractor who began paving Springfield in brick.

Historic buildingPhoto credit

1.3 mi from Shea's Gas Station Museum

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