“I knew my late wife since she was eight years old. “You know, my dad and my late wife and I started this adventure and she had cancer for 11 years,” Hammond said. Hammond said another big supporter was his wife, Cheryl, and that he will never forget all their adventures together. There is even an alien that greets customers at the door that was created after the image of Hammond’s father. Hammond said his dad would go on all the trips when new statues or buildings were bought. He said his dad always said, “do what you want.” Hammond says he started this business venture with his father, David Hammond, who supported him through all his decisions. We got every kind of old-school candy, if we don’t have it, we’ll try to get it. “They can go over to the candy fudge shop and eat, get some candy to take with them,” Hammond said. Nostalgia is what their consumers are looking for when they travel Route 66 and stop at the many locations. Hammond said part of his job here is to sell the 60, the 50s, and 40s. “They’ll buy it because of that feeling they had when they were a kid and the memories take them back.” “They can find that thing that they had when they were a kid or when they went to their grandma’s house for brownies and played with the toys there,” Hammond said. But that’s just the gym, there are booths up on what used to be the stage, both downstairs, and booths on an upper level. It is easy to get lost for hours in its hidden treasures. The gym is full of different types of booths that visitors can shop around in. “And we ended up turning it into an antique mall.” A lot of dealers need a place to go,” Hammond said. “But, one of the antique malls up the road called me and said that they were closing. They had plans to put sand on the floor and make the gym into a volleyball area. They originally bought the school to make it into a teen hangout. They added on the candy shop and added on the diner. The last class to graduate was in 2004 and they bought the building in 2005. Hammond said the building was originally Livingston high school. Hammond found the statue for sale and bought it He brought it back to his business where he found a permanent home. They chopped his legs off and his arms off and stuff and kind of discarded him.” “It shows the actresses around him, like twice, two or three times in the movie and that’s it,” Hammond said. The legs of the statue can be seen with the scaffolding around it. To take a peek at what Hammond is talking about check out this link it is the third photo down on the list. Trending: Adam Wainwright greets Chick-fil-A customers in Des Peres “It makes me happy to see people from town, bringing their kids, pulling them in a wagon to come down here and get ice cream or something to eat.” “They come here, they smile, they take their pictures and they’re happy and it makes me happy,” said Hammond. The restaurant looks as if they stepped into Pop’s Diner in an Archy comic or a Riverdale episode. You can even get a meal from the Route 66 themed dinner. When visitors enter the antique mall they can leave a message in the sign-in book to let everyone know where they are from. On the day I visited they had a couple from England and Australia. Hammond said that they have visitors all over the world. “So if you’re taking a trip down Route 66, there’s a new destination at every stop.” “Route 66 has thousands of destinations along the way,” Dave Hammond said. Pink Elephant Mall co-oner, Dave Hammond, at the fudge counter. Just roll into the Pink Elephant Antique Mall just off I-55 in Livingston, Illinois.ĭave and Bernice Hammond have owned multiple antique malls over central Illinois but wanted to set roots in one spot at the Pink Elephant. The business has been offering tourists something interesting sine 2005. LIVINGSTON, Ill.– You can “Get your kicks on Route 66” but one stop offers giant kitschy statues, fudge, candy, antiques, souvenir photos, and much more.
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