The Gemini Giant is a landmark statue on

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 ...

at the eastern entrance to

Wilmington, Will County, Illinois Wilmington is a city in Will County, Illinois, United States. It is approximately 60 miles south-west from downtown Chicago (the Chicago Loop). The population was 5,724 at the 2010 census. History Thomas Cox purchased land near Alden's Island in ...

. Standing outside the Launching Pad drive-in restaurant, the 30 foot tall statue is one of many giant "

Muffler Man Muffler men (or muffler man) are large moulded fiberglass sculptures that are placed as advertising icons, roadside attractions, or for decorative purposes, predominantly in the United States. Standing approximately tall, the first figure was a ...

" advertising props found throughout the US in the Sixties. The Gemini Giant is named after the Gemini space program and holds a silver "rocket ship" in his hands, while sporting an astronaut's space helmet that resembles a welding mask. The proprietors of a Dari-Delight restaurant (opened in 1960), John and Bernice Korelc, bought a 438-pound fiberglass

figure for $3,500 at the annual National Restaurant Association convention, had it outfitted as an astronaut with helmet and rocket, and renamed the restaurant, now guarded by the Gemini Giant, as the "Launching Pad". Since then, the Giant has been the most prominent decoration of the restaurant. In 2007, the Launching Pad was purchased from Jerry and Sharon Gatties, the owners at the time, by Morey Szczecin, but, after a struggle, the landmark closed again in 2010. In October 2017, it was purchased by Holly Barker and Tully Garrett, who announced plans to restore it "to what it was in its glory days," with the Gemini Giant remaining as a recognized Route 66 landmark. Both the Launching Pad and the Gemini Giant were inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000.

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* Buildings and structures on U.S. Route 66 Roadside attractions in Illinois U.S. Route 66 in Illinois Buildings and structures in Will County, Illinois Tourist attractions in Will County, Illinois {{WillCountyIL-geo-stub