Granite City, IL, is quite the hotbed of Route 66 Muffler Men!

Rusty is a “sentinel of the working class.” He represents all the immigrants that worked the gritty, blue-collar jobs at the steel mill, the railroad, and the river.

Earl stands guard at O’Brien Tire & Auto, the oldest auto repair shop in America:

And this conductor, cleverly placed next to a playground shaped like a train, is so new, I don’t even know what his name is!

We even found Abe Lincoln in the style of the Muffler Man!

Rumor has it there’s at least one more new statue in Granite City…a firefighter. I don’t know if he’s the final one, or if there will be other giants ready to celebrate the Route 66 Centennial…they’re a cool piece of mid-century road trip history!