Wilmington's Gemini Giant

“What seems real one moment is fiction the next
and gone out of existence the moment after that.
Nostalgia is the greatest enemy of truth,
and change our only constancy.”

― David Budbill, Judevine: The Complete Poems, 1970-1990

Gemini Giant at Launching Pad Drive-In

The Dow chemical plant announces the approach of Wilmington, home of the Gemini Giant. Entering town from the north, the huge fiberglass statue greets Route 66 travelers at the historic Launching Pad Drive-In. Originally named the Dari Delite, the restaurant opened in 1960, selling only hot dogs and ice cream. In 1965, owner John Korelc expanded the menu and changed the name to Launching Pad Drive-In, presumably to honor Project Gemini, NASA's second manned spaceflight program (1965-66), which completed the first American spacewalk, plus missions long enough to support a future trip to the moon and back.

Why not honor the historic achievements of the time by putting a giant space man in your parking lot? Korelc obviously thought this would be a great idea, and so have countless of travelers on Route 66 just like us who have stopped here since the sixties.

Gemini Giant is one of a few hundred remaining "Muffler Men" stationed along Route 66 to attract travelers' attention and advertise a host of products and services. International Fiberglass, Inc. manufactured thousands of these commercial statues in the 1960s and '70s, customizing a single statue mold for various retailers and selling additional eye-catching accessories, such as mammoth mufflers and gigantic golf clubs. Clad in his green flight suit and silver space helmet, Gemini Giant is certainly an attention-getter on East Baltimore Street, especially with that rocket in his hands!  

Launching Pad Drive-In waits for a dreamer to awaken

Alas! The Gemini Giant has withstood the test of time better than the Launching Pad itself. We don't see a For Sale sign, but we suspect that the property is on the market: There's no greeting or daily special listed on the marquee; no cars are parked in the lot. Letters have fallen off the sign on the storefront. We circle the shabby exterior, looking in the windows to see what we can of this iconic restaurant. The interior looks clean and ready for customers, but it exudes the feeling of the mock drive-in at the Route 66 Experience in Joliet: plenty to see from the outside looking in through a window to the past, but closed to a real experience in the present.

Nostalgia is like that.

While we are ruminating on the constancy of change, a car pulls up in the lot. Our suspicion about the restaurant holds true: The driver is a Realtor, and he is here to assess the property to list on the market. We strike up a conversation about the status of the place. He tells me about the restaurant's struggles during the past few years, and I offer some suggestions for making it viable once again. I point out that the custom-made tables alone, featuring the Gemini Giant and a map of Route 66, are worth a fortune to 66 collectors but are priceless icons as fixtures of this hallowed historic shrine.

Custom-made Route 66-theme dining tables

The Realtor admits that he didn't realize Route 66 is such a big deal because he's lived in the area all of his life. I suggest that he contact the Illinois Route 66 Association and the National Route 66 Federation for help with marketing the business to someone with a rocket of a dream that needs a launching pad. He expresses his appreciation for fresh ideas regarding how to bring this iconic establishment back to life on the Mother Road. Sometimes all it takes is a conversation to initiate the change you wish to see in the world. 

On our way out of town, we wish that we could stop at some of the other attractions in Wilmington that are described in the guidebook: the Eagle Hotel (100 Water Street), which has been catering to travelers by riverboat, stagecoach, and automobile since 1836; the Mar Theatre (121 S. Main Street), which has been showing first-run movies since 1937; and the historic downtown, which is full of antique shops and good restaurants, such as Hayden's Crossing, Michelle's Restaurant, and Nelly's on Rt. 66.

We're getting hungry, but we decide to press on to Braidwood, which is another five miles down the road. Like countless travelers of Route 66 who have come before us, at least we stopped to meet Wilmington's most famous resident: the Gemini Giant.