NORMAL — As cities and towns along historic Route 66 prepare for its 100th anniversary in 2026, the iconic Sprague's Super Service Station in Normal is already at work restoring the site to its original state from the 1930s. "It was always my dream to take it back to the original footprint," said Terri Ryburn, owner of Ryburn Place Gifts & Gab at Sprague's Super Service Station, 305 E. Pine St.
in Normal. "All the contractors have been wonderful." Ryburn operates the gift shop, which sells all sorts of Route 66 souvenirs and memorabilia, inside the first floor of the station, while she lives in the second-floor apartment above the shop.
Work continues at Sprague's Super Service, 305 E. Pine St., Normal, to restore the Route 66 landmark back to its original appearance from the 1930s.
In early September, the restored Tudor Revival building — one of only five two-story gas stations left on Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, California — had two non-historic additions demolished from the original portion of the building. The Normal Town Council approved a roughly $300,000 contract in October 2023 to restore the exterior elements of Sprague's Super Service Station , along with separate restoration projects at Broadview Mansion, 1301 S. Fell Ave.
, and the Hewett House, 202 W. College Ave., where the Ecology Action Center is located .
The contract was awarded to Normal-based developer J. Spencer Construction LLC, and the town allocated $100,000 toward Sprague's Super Servi.