COLLINSVILLE – The City of Collinsville is finishing up a mural to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Route 66.
Located at the former Rich’s Tire Service building in uptown Collinsville, the “Welcome to Historic Uptown Collinsville” mural features several iconic scenes from the region. Caitlin Rice with the City of Collinsville expressed her appreciation for the new mural and what it means to the community.
“It’s definitely drawn a lot of excitement for us,” Rice said. “We’re very lucky to be a part of it and getting some cool things for our community. It’s been fun.”
The Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau provided the city with a Route 66 grant to promote beautification and mark the centennial anniversary of the route, which will be celebrated in 2026. This grant will provide two murals, including the uptown Collinsville mural and a mural at Old Herald Brewery and Distillery.
The uptown mural was designed in part by Bailey and Jeremy Martin, the owners of the Schroeppel/Brown House, who recently purchased the former Rich’s Tire Service Building. Rice explained that the city contacted the Martins about the possibility of putting a mural on their building, and they were eager to be a part of the program.
The city connected them with St. Louis Sign & Mural so they could collaborate on the design. Daniel Pricketts worked with the Martins to create a mural that embodies Collinsville and Route 66. Once the City Council approved the design, the city then reimbursed the artist and applicant with the money from the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau grant.
“It’s been a lot of fun working with the property owners because a lot of them are really excited about it,” Rice said. “The grant is a good sum of money to get these going. It covers all the costs, basically. So they get this really nice work of art on their building and they get to have a say and know what it looks like. It’s a good community effort.”
Rice noted that Collinsville has acquired two other murals through the Route 66 program over the past two years. She said the residents of Collinsville have enjoyed watching the murals’ progress, and the art has brought a lot of hometown pride to the region.
“[The murals have] been a lot of fun,” she shared. “When they were going up, people were taking selfies with them and pictures. They’ve brought a lot of interest to the community.”
She added that the Great Rivers and Routes Tourism Bureau has done “a phenomenal job” working with cities that will be affected by the Route 66 centennial to promote this anniversary. The community looks forward to all the celebrations next year, but in the meantime, they’re excited to welcome a new piece of art to their city.
