Things to Do in Pontiac, Illinois
The best things to do in Pontiac, Illinois, are the Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum, the downtown mural walk and the Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum. Pontiac is a city of 11,150 people and the seat of Livingston County, on the Vermilion River.
Henry Weed and the Young brothers laid out the town in 1837, and Jesse W. Fell named the post office for the Ottawa leader Pontiac. In the early 1920s, the first paved highway between Chicago and St. Louis ran through here, and in 1926 it became U.S. Route 66.
Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum
The Route 66 Association of Illinois fills Pontiac’s former city hall and fire station with thousands of pieces of Mother Road memorabilia. You move through the exhibits town by town, from Chicago down the Illinois route. Bob Waldmire’s 1972 Volkswagen microbus, the inspiration for Fillmore in Pixar’s Cars, is part of the collection, along with the 1966 school bus he turned into his two-story Road Yacht.
★ Good to know Admission is by donation, and it’s open daily year-round, with shorter hours from November through March.
Murals on Main Street
Downtown has more than 20 outdoor murals on local history. In 2009, a crew of sign painters called the Walldogs painted 18 of them in four days. The biggest is the Route 66 shield mural from 2007, billed as the world’s largest painted Route 66 shield.
★ Good to know Many murals have QR codes you can scan for the story behind each one; the tourism office at 115 W. Howard St. is a good first stop.
Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum
This museum is devoted to cars from the Pontiac and Oakland brands, with antique and classic vehicles and automotive artifacts. Its resource center library holds thousands of historical documents for serious car buffs.
★ Good to know Admission is donation-based.
The museum complex exhibits
The old city hall holds more than the Route 66 museum. The Livingston County War Museum covers local military history, and the Museum of the Gilding Arts recreates M. Swift & Sons, a gold leaf company founded in 1887. Smaller exhibits cover life on the Titanic, music of the Civil War and life in the 1940s.
★ Good to know These sit in the same building as the Route 66 museum, so plan a half day for the whole complex.
The swinging bridges
Three pedestrian swinging bridges cross the Vermilion River in Pontiac. Two date to the 1890s and the third to the 1970s.
★ Good to know Pair a bridge walk with a picnic at Chautauqua Park, a 26.5-acre park with an auditorium and picnic grounds.
Livingston County Courthouse
The first courthouse burned on July 4, 1874, and this Second Empire replacement by Chicago architect J.C. Cochrane went up in 1874 and 1875. Its clock tower was added in 1892, and it’s on the National Register of Historic Places. Lincoln visited Pontiac several times, including a speech in January 1860, and a Lincoln statue is one of the town’s historic sites.
★ Good to know The Abraham Lincoln Story Trail is a self-guided walk that ties the Lincoln sites together.
Old Log Cabin Restaurant
This log-cabin restaurant on Old Route 66 has been feeding travelers since about 1926. It’s the classic sit-down stop for road trippers who want a meal with the museum visit.
★ Good to know Hours change by season; check before you go.
Also in town
Downtown has The Cup & The Scone, Bob & Ringo’s Grill & Smokehouse, Route 66 Roadhouse, Lola’s Homestyle Filipino Cooking, Mill St. Tap and B’s Rally Point for food, Jurassic Gemstones and Tickled Pink Fabric Shop for browsing, the Greater Livingston County Arts Council gallery, and The Eagle Performing Arts & Conference Center for shows.
Is the Route 66 museum in Pontiac free?
Yes. The Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum runs on donations, with no set admission fee. The Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum and the War Museum are donation-based too.
How many murals are in Pontiac, Illinois?
More than 20 downtown, and the count keeps growing. The Walldogs painted 18 of them in four days in 2009, and the largest is the giant Route 66 shield.
Where is Bob Waldmire’s van from Cars?
Bob Waldmire’s 1972 VW microbus, the model for Fillmore in Cars, is part of the Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum collection in Pontiac, along with his Road Yacht school bus.
What other Route 66 towns are near Pontiac?
Pontiac is one of the main Illinois stops between Chicago and St. Louis. For more places to stay and explore, see our small towns in Illinois, including Ottawa to the north.
Where to find them
- Route 66 Hall of Fame & Museum 110 W. Howard St., Pontiac, IL 61764 Website Directions
- Murals on Main Street 115 W. Howard St., Pontiac, IL 61764 Website Directions
- Pontiac-Oakland Automobile Museum Website Directions
- Swinging bridges Directions
- Livingston County Courthouse 110 N. Main St., Pontiac, IL 61764 Directions
- Old Log Cabin Restaurant 18700 Old Route 66, Pontiac, IL 61764 Directions
Plan your trip: for events and current visitor info in Pontiac, see the official visitor site →
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Where to stay in Pontiac
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