Iconic Shea's Gas Station on historic Route 66 gets a grand reopening

Randy Pickett of Chatham said he has always viewed himself as "a caretaker" of Shea's gas station.

Pickett has owned the building, which operated as a Texaco and later a Marathon gas station from 1946 to 1982 and then was transformed into a nostalgic museum by owners William "Bill" and Helen Shea, since 2017.

With a State of Illinois grant and on the brink of Route 66's centennial in 2026, visitors to the 2075 Peoria Road destination are about to get up close and personal with it again.

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For the first time in over 10 years, the grounds of the gas station will be re-opened.

A ceremony will mark the occasion at 4 p.m. Monday, said Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau director Scott Dahl.

"What the traveler is telling us is they want to get on-site, so we're going to allow them to do that by opening up the gates," Dahl said. "I think we're going to make a lot of people happy this summer and the coming summers."

The $623,000 grant from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity accepted by the city of Springfield last year went to upgrade the grounds area and helped in paving the parking area, repainting the building and putting up reproduction signage from Ace Sign Co., Dahl added.

The original signage from Shea's is at Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill, which also maintains a museum. Gas pumps, other signs and license plates are from Pickett's collection.

Pickett hasn't ruled out operating a "pickers" store inside the station. A Route 66 organization, he added, has expressed interest in promoting a visitors center inside.

"I'm glad it's getting revitalized," said Pickett, who is retired from the Illinois Department of Transportation and works as an over-the-road truck driver.

Pickett met Shea, who died in 2013, a few times as a tourist "like everybody else," though his grandfather, Wiley Shoup, knew Shea well.

Pickett was looking for something to do after retiring in 2015 and his interest in classic cars was "a perfect fit" for the gas station.

A planned auto-repair and maintenance shop with a Route 66 theme never came to fruition and Pickett said he rebuffed overtures to turn the building into other businesses.

Although "definitely a fan of Route 66," Pickett admitted he isn't versed in its history, although he and his family traveled the route between the Springfield area and California.

The international appeal of Shea's dawned on Pickett when it was chosen to be part of Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity's New Year's Day Rose Parade float promoting Illinois tourism.

"I hope the allure is still there after the centennial," Pickett said.

Dahl said that shouldn't be a worry.

"I believe (Springfield is) the hub of Route 66," he said. "I believe we have more assets than any city in Illinois. I love the entire Illinois route, but not only are we centrally located, we have the assets, and this is an asset we're bringing back to life."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Iconic Shea's Gas Station on historic Route 66 reopening in Springfield