Donut Drive-InLighting Ceremony

     The National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program announces the Grand Lighting Ceremony to commemorate the restoration of the historic Donut Drive-In’s newly restored neon sign and fluorescent signage. Since 1952, the Donut Drive-In signs have beckoned to weary travelers and St. Louis residents have consistently voted the Drive-In’s donuts “best in the city”; Alton Brown of the Food Network called them “my personal favorite” in “the best doughnut town in the United States.”

     The neon sign, taken down in 2007 for safety reasons, has been fully reconditioned with assistance from a grant from the NPS Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program—matched by funds from the Drive-In. Through a close collaboration with the Missouri Route 66 Association, the work was completed in an awe-inspiring two months to ensure the lighting ceremony coincides with the annual National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program Federal Advisory Council meeting. The Donut Drive-In lighting ceremony will be held Thursday, November 6, at 5:30 PM, at Chippewa Street and Watson Road.

     The NPS Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program Federal Advisory Council advises the NPS on program related activities, and will meet November 6 and 7, 2008, in St. Louis. The Advisory Council will tour the Donut Drive-In as well other Route 66 restoration projects, including the McKinley Bridge and Walter’s Market. The public comment period for the Federal Advisory Council will be held Friday, November 7, from 9:15 to 10:15 AM, at the Old Courthouse in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, located at 11 North 4^th Street.

     For more information on these events or to set up interviews, contact Kaisa Barthuli, Deputy Program Manager, Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, at 505-988-6701.