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Sprague's Super Service

Historic building
In Normal, Illinois
On Route 66
National Register of Historic Places

Sprague's Super Service stands on Route 66 in Normal, IL: an independent service station built in the Tudor Revival style. It carries three honors, a National Register listing, Town of Normal Local Landmark status and a place in the Illinois Route 66 association's Hall of Fame. For anyone driving the Illinois stretch of the old road, it is a chance to see a service station that has been recognized at every level.

What is Sprague's Super Service?

This is an old filling station built in the Tudor Revival style, the look of English cottages and manor houses that many American builders borrowed in the early 20th century.

It was also independent, meaning it was not a company-built station tied to one of the big oil brands. Stations like this one served drivers on Route 66 as the road carried traffic between Chicago and St. Louis, and many of them have since closed or vanished, so the survivors draw real attention from fans of the highway.

History of Sprague's Super Service

The station earned recognition at three levels. Nationally, it holds a National Register listing, the country's official roll of places worth preserving. Locally, the Town of Normal named it a landmark. And among fans of the road, the state's Route 66 association inducted it into its Hall of Fame, which honors the people and places that shaped the highway in Illinois.

Visiting Sprague's Super Service: tips

Sprague's sits on Route 66 in Normal, so it is an easy stop on a drive through town, and the setting is family-friendly. Allow 15 to 30 minutes for photos of the building from all sides. Downtown Normal is close: the Normal Theater, a Streamline Moderne movie house that the town reopened in 1993, is about 0.5 miles away, and the Illinois Museum of Natural History and Fell Arboretum are each about 0.8 miles off, so a single stop here can easily turn into a relaxed afternoon.