The Launching Pad Site (Historic)

The original Launching Pad Drive-In building still sits at 810 E Baltimore Street, recognizable by its low-slung roofline, the empty concrete pad where the Gemini Giant stood, and the distinctive painted lettering on the facade. The restaurant is closed and the property is not currently open to the public, but the exterior remains a popular photo subject. Most travelers spend ten minutes walking around the perimeter, then continue south to South Island Park where the Giant now stands.

The site has functioned as an unofficial Route 66 memorial since the relocation. Visitors leave handmade signs, photo prints and the occasional bouquet on the empty pedestal where the Giant once stood. The current property owners have generally tolerated this informal pilgrimage activity, although there is no formal interpretive signage or guided access. Be respectful, do not enter the building, and take only photos.

Pair a visit with a stop at the new Landing Pad gift shop a few blocks south. Run by JAHM (Joliet Area Historical Museum), the Landing Pad opened on May 1, 2025 and sells Gemini Giant and Route 66 themed merchandise, postcards, books, and ahead of the centennial, a steadily expanding selection of 2026 commemorative items. Proceeds support the maintenance of the Giant and ongoing JAHM Route 66 preservation programs.

John and Bernice Korelc were Wilmington locals who opened the Dari-Delite in 1960 as a small-town soft-serve operation. The rebrand to Launching Pad in 1965 was tied directly to the Space Race and to the Gemini astronaut program that was capturing American imaginations. The Giant arrived from International Fiberglass in California, where Muffler Men were being mass-produced as advertising figures. The Korelcs paid extra to have him outfitted as a space-themed character with the silver rocket and green helmet that would become his trademarks.

A naming contest at the Wilmington grade school produced the winning entry: the Gemini Giant. He was inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000. For decades, the Pad operated as a classic Route 66 stop, with a small dining room, a walk-up window, and a parking lot where motorcycle clubs, tour buses and rental-car travelers from Europe and Asia would queue for photos with the Giant. The Korelcs sold the business in the early 2000s and it changed hands several times.

Tully Garrett and Holly Barker bought the property in 2017 with the explicit goal of restoring it as a long-term Route 66 destination. They sandblasted, repainted and refurbished both the building and the Giant, opened in 2019 to widespread Route 66 community celebration, and then ran into the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down so many small businesses. The Pad closed in 2020 and never reopened as a restaurant.

The relocation of the Gemini Giant to South Island Park, completed November 29, 2024, was timed specifically with an eye on the Route 66 centennial in 2026. JAHM and the village of Wilmington wanted to ensure that one of Illinois's most photographed Mother Road icons would be visible, well-lit and centrally located during the centennial year traffic. The new pedestal includes a Route 66 medallion at its base and interpretive signage explaining the Giant's history.

The Landing Pad gift shop and de facto visitor center opened in May 2025, also timed to anchor the centennial. JAHM expects a major increase in visitor numbers across the year, with Illinois tourism officials projecting that Route 66 traffic will more than double during 2026. Wilmington is investing in additional parking, restrooms and seasonal events to capture this surge.

For Route 66 historians and photographers, the original Launching Pad site remains an essential photographic destination. The empty pedestal, the unchanged building facade, and the painted lettering are all visible from the public sidewalk on Baltimore Street. The combination of original site and relocated Giant tells a story of preservation, loss and renewal that is one of the defining narratives of Route 66 in Illinois during the centennial era.