View source for Belvidere Café, Motel, and Gas Station

{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Belvidere Café, Motel and Gas Station
| image = Belvidere Café, Motel, and Gas Station.JPG
| caption = Route 66 Café
| locmapin = Illinois#USA
| coordinates    = {{coord|39|10|09|N|89|40|02|W|display=inline,title}}
| location = 817 Old Rte 66, [[Litchfield, Illinois|Litchfield]], [[Montgomery County, Illinois|Montgomery County]], [[Illinois]], United States
| nearest_city =
| area =
| built = 1936
| architect =
| architecture = [[Tudor Revival architecture|Tudor Revival]]
| added = February 21, 2007
| established =
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| refnum = 07000060
| mpsub=[[Route 66 through Illinois MPS]]
| governing_body=
}}
'''Belvidere Café, Motel and Gas Station''' is a historic building in [[Litchfield, Illinois]], United States, along [[U.S. Route 66|Route 66]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history.montgomeryco.com/History/tabid/1138/ID/178/Montgomery-County-Historic-Places.aspx|publisher=Historical Society of Montgomery County, Illinois|date=June 16, 2009|title=National Register of Historic Places Listings for Montgomery County Illinois}}</ref>  The site also has a residence and two motel units.
==History==
In 1929, Albina and Vincenzo Cerolla built a one-room, frame [[filling station|gas station]] with a single pump to serve motorists on [[U.S. Route 66|Route 66]]. The station also sold [[motor oil]] and other automobile accessories and necessities. The station operated under a lease as part of the Johnson Oil Refining Company of [[Chicago]]. In 1936, they expanded with a new brick gas station, a café, four motel rooms with individual automobile garages, and a small house for the owners. The restaurant was known as Cerolla's Café.
Edith, the daughter of the Cerollas, and her husband Lester "Curly" Kranich continued the business after the death of Edith's parents. The Kraniches demolished the original house on the property in the 1950s and built a new one with a garage. They also expanded the motel at this time, adding two identical wings. The Kraniches also had to reorient the entrances when a new four-lane [[Bypass (road)|bypass]] opened on the other side of the property in the 1940s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/belvidere_cafe_motel_station_litchfield.html|title=Belvidere Café, Motel and Gas Station|publisher=US [[National Park Service]]}}</ref>
The construction of [[Interstate 55]] in the 1970s marked the end of the once-thriving family business by diverting highway traffic westward. The café closed in 1971. The Kraniches retired in 1975, closing the facility. The café, motel, and gas station buildings were kept in relatively good condition but were used primarily for storage. The property sits largely vacant; the buildings are for sale. The current owner occasionally rents a room in one of the wings.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://illinoisroute66.org/belevidere-cafe-and-motel|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709031137/http://illinoisroute66.org/belevidere-cafe-and-motel|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-07-09|title=Belvidere Café and Motel|publisher=illinoisroute66.org}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[List of motels]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181203235258/http://history.montgomeryco.com/ Historical Society of Montgomery County Illinois]
{{Registered Historic Places}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belvidere Cafe, Motel And Gas Station}}
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Illinois]]
[[Category:Litchfield, Illinois]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures on U.S. Route 66]]
[[Category:U.S. Route 66 in Illinois]]
[[Category:Restaurants in Illinois]]
[[Category:Motels in the United States]]
[[Category:Hotels established in 1936]]
[[Category:Retail buildings in Illinois]]
[[Category:Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois]]
[[Category:1936 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:Gas stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois]]
[[Category:Hotel buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois]]
[[Category:Restaurants on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:Gas stations on U.S. Route 66]]