Joliet Area Historical Museum wins auction, Route 66 Gemini Giant stays in Wilmington

The city of Wilmington announced in a news release Wednesday that the Gemini Giant, an iconic Route 66 landmark, will remain in Wilmington along its portion of the historic road.

Wilmington Mayor Ben Dietz said the Joliet Area Historical Museum placed the winning $275,000 bid on the Gemini Giant before immediately donating it to the city of Wilmington. The purchase was made possible through a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity received last year with support from 80th Illinois House District Rep. Anthony DeLuca.

“For over a year, the Joliet Area Historical Museum and the city of Wilmington have been working together in the common goal of saving the Gemini Giant to preserve its historic place along the world’s most famous road,” Dietz said in the release. “As the operator of two of Will County’s leading Route 66 attractions, the museum has always been an enthusiastic proponent of the Gemini Giant in its ‘hometown’ of Wilmington along the Mother Road.”

Dietz said Wednesday’s winning bid reinforces the cooperative spirit that defines the Route 66 community.

The VFW Post 5422 JR Miller, left to right, Jerry Mass, Wally Wink and his wife Marian, and Scott Durano (not pictured) has teamed up with Ryan Jandura to try and save the Launching Pad restaurant’s Gemini Giant in Wilmington. (Gary Middendorf/gmiddendorf@shawmedia.com)

The Wilmington community came together to save the Gemini Giant once they learned it would be available. The Herald-News on March 11 reported that members of the community donated to a GoFundMe page and raised $7,244 in an effort to make a bid of their own.

The bid at that time, however, was listed at $45,000. Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5422 also raised money that would have been used to purchase the Gemini Giant.

Dietz said he met last week with representatives from the Joliet Area Historical Museum, the VFW and the people running the GoFundMe page to discuss the plan if their efforts came to fruition.

They had the shared goal that the Gemini Giant should stay in Wilmington.

“In short order, guided by the technical expertise of the American Giants Museum, the Gemini Giant will be carefully taken down, protected and transported off-site for temporary storage,” Dietz said. “The American Giants Museum, located in Atlanta, Illinois, is dedicated to helping preserve and share the story of the Muffler Man and the Bunyan Giants that sprang up in the 1960s. Their assistance in this project, again, shows the cooperative nature that makes Route 66 a truly American experience.”

The Gemini Giant then will be placed alongside the Route 66 monument at South Island Park, which Dietz said will ensure the Gemini Giant is in a secure location that remains fully accessible to both travelers and residents. Having the two together, Dietz said, will make it a must-see photo op for travelers.

Wilmington will host a public meeting in the coming weeks to discuss additional goals for the Route 66 park, and the city will work toward gaining historical status for the Gemini Giant.

The Paul Bunyon Hotdog Statue, left; Gemini Giant, center; and the Lauterbach Muffler Man, right.

“I cannot begin to thank everyone in the community and around the world for your support in helping preserve this iconic piece of history,” Dietz said. “I wanted to highlight the massive effort from our local VFW post and Ryan Jandura with the GoFundMe team for sharing the story of the Gemini Giant and what it means to our community.”

Dietz also thanked the American Giants Museum for its expertise and the Joliet Area Historical Museum for its dedication to preserving Route 66 history.