Ariston Café
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The Ariston Café is a historic restaurant located in
Litchfield, Illinois Litchfield is a city in Montgomery County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,605 at the 2020 census. It is located in South Central Illinois, south of Springfield, Illinois, and part of the Metro East of St. Louis. History Litchfi ...
along Old
U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
. It was added to the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2006.


History

The Ariston Café in Litchfield was built in 1935 for original owners Pete Adam and Tom Cokinos, two experienced restaurateurs. Pete Adam had operated an Ariston Café in
Carlinville Carlinville is a city and the county seat of Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. It is also the home of Blackburn College, a small college affiliated with the Presbyterian church, and the former home of Prairie Farms Dairy. As of the 202 ...
since 1924; after 1930 a highway realignment moved
U.S. Route 66 in Illinois U.S. Route 66 (US 66, Route 66) was a United States Numbered Highway in Illinois that connected St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The historic Route 66, the ''Mother Road'' or ''Main Street of America'', took long distance automobile ...
further east. Work began on April 4, 1935, by hired contractor Henry A. Vasel and the building was completed on July 5, 1935.


Design

The design of the Ariston Café does not reflect any particular architectural style. Instead, it was built in a
utilitarian In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charac ...
style, common for small commercial buildings of its time. Despite being non-stylistic, the building does contain echoes of the popular
Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
style of the time period in its interior booths. On its exterior the Ariston's most distinguishing features are the curved
parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...
wall on the front façade and its fine and varied brick work. Originally, the Ariston, like many Route 66 businesses, had two
fuel pump A fuel pump is a component in motor vehicles that transfers liquid from the fuel tank to the carburetor or fuel injector of the internal combustion engine. Carbureted engines often use low pressure mechanical pumps that are mounted outside the f ...
s fronting it.


Historic significance

The Ariston Café is the longest-operating restaurant along the entire stretch of U.S. Route 66., via ''Route 66 University'' It is representative of the types of businesses that once met with great success along historic Route 66. Despite a few alterations, including the addition of a banquet room, the building still maintains a historic character from the era of its construction. The Ariston Café was listed on the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on May 5, 2006.


See also

*
U.S. Route 66 in Illinois U.S. Route 66 (US 66, Route 66) was a United States Numbered Highway in Illinois that connected St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The historic Route 66, the ''Mother Road'' or ''Main Street of America'', took long distance automobile ...


References


External links


Historical Society of Montgomery County

Official Website
{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Montgomery County, Illinois Litchfield, Illinois Buildings and structures on U.S. Route 66 U.S. Route 66 in Illinois Commercial buildings completed in 1935 Restaurants in Illinois Restaurants established in 1935 Retail buildings in Illinois Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois 1935 establishments in Illinois Restaurants on the National Register of Historic Places