Scott McCoy guest speaker at LCGHS Annual Dinner

 

[November 28, 2023] 

The Logan County Genealogical and Historical Society annual November dinner meeting was held at Daphne’s Restaurant with a presentation by Atlanta Tourism Director Scott McCoy.

McCoy has worked in the tourism industry for 19 years and was previously a mayor of Pontiac. When McCoy started serving as mayor, he said Pontiac had no tourism whatsoever.

During McCoy’s time as mayor, he helped Pontiac develop Route 66 attractions including a museum. He has also created a Route 66 Ultimate Guide app, which is the number one app used. Currently Scott and his wife Jennifer live in Bloomington.

Over the summer, McCoy helped set up the Atlanta Giants Museum on Arch Street. Right now, there are several artifacts inside the museum. A Texaco sign, Snerd, “the half-wit” giant and two gas pumps are outside.

Atlanta’s water tower and Paul Bunyan Statue (AKA Hotdog Guy) draw hundreds of visitors to Atlanta every month. McCoy said these types of roadside attractions pull people in from all over the world who are touring Route 66.

Elaborate signs have been used throughout the route to get people to visit or stay in their towns. McCoy said some hotels had neon signs. Cars were even placed on sticks. One leaning water tower was made that way to attract people.

The giant statues are a class all their own. McCoy said some of these statues are what were called the “Muffler Men” and they originally held mufflers. Many hold other items like hot dogs or rockets now. Newer statues have been modified to look like the old ones.

A man named Joel Baker became fascinated by the roadside giants and began to explore them, documenting and recording them. Baker was trying to find out where the giants came from or how they were modified. McCoy said Baker discovered some of these artifacts had been lost, torn down or buried.

One day when Baker was using a GoPro on a stick to record in Atlanta, he met Bill Thomas, who works with the Atlanta Betterment Fund. Baker told Thomas about the Muffler Men he was trying to restore to save Americana.

These giants were all in a warehouse in Southern Illinois and other locations. Thomas said the Atlanta Betterment Fund could be used to help do something with the giants and asked if Baker would bring his giants to Atlanta if something was built. Baker said yes.

The American Giants Museum was built over an old 1960s era Texaco gas station. It is in downtown Atlanta on Arch Street.

Years ago, McCoy said Texaco stations designed their giant statues to look like station attendants who serviced cars. The Texaco Big Friend is a complete redesign of the muffler man from International Fiberglass in California.

All the giant statues were made of fiberglass and were hollow, so they are not extremely heavy. McCoy said 300 of these statues were built in the 1960s and moved around to various stations to draw people from Route 66.

Because the statues were hollow, McCoy said some blew over, smashed cars, broke windows in buildings or caused other problems, so the giants were being latched down with ropes. Because of the problems, McCoy said most of the giants were eventually destroyed. Only six of the giants survived.

The American Giants Museum is a project by three entities: Joel Baker, the Atlanta Betterment Fund and the city of Atlanta. It is created in the likeness of an old Texaco station. McCoy said the Big Friend statue will be installed in spring 2024. Last week, the gas pumps were delivered.

Though Snerd is the only giant now, McCoy said there will eventually be five other giants. Four of the giant statues will be on platforms near Snerd on the right side of the museum. The Big Friend statue will be placed on the left side.

Snerd was brought in this past June. McCoy said Snerd’s legs had to be completely rebuilt. Since Snerd arrived, McCoy said the statue has become a sensation that attracts many visitors from all over the world.

Artifacts like the Esso tiger, Uniroyal gal’s shoe and A & W Root Beer mama and baby are inside the museum. McCoy said the inside of the museum is still a work in progress. Kids and adults are allowed to touch the artifacts, which is something McCoy loves about the museum.

By setting up the museum, McCoy said the entities involved are making something out of nothing. They are gearing up for the upcoming 100th anniversary of Route 66, which will be in 2026.

Next, McCoy asked whether anyone had questions about the museum.

There was one question about whether they would rotate the items in the museum. Others asked about the hours of the museum, whether there is an entrance fee and whether they can get grant funding.

Eventually, McCoy said they will rotate some of the items from Baker’s collection of artifacts.

This year, McCoy said the museum has had flexible hours from Tuesday through Sunday. It is usually open from 10 to 4 or 10 to 6. He said Saturday, Sunday and Monday tend to be the busiest travel days for Route 66 tourism. There is no entrance fee.

Many people travelling Route 66 start in Chicago and are westbound. McCoy said Route 66 tourism is a very unique industry.

There are some grants they can get from the state. McCoy said these must be done through the Atlanta Betterment Fund using the city’s name. He said Atlanta did not spend its tax dollars on the museum. The city funding used came from the business district. McCoy said money comes in from people travelling through.

In answer to a question about the restoration of the giants, McCoy said Joel Baker and some of his friends are restoring them. The giants are assembled and then transported to the sites where they will be placed.

Someone asked how the fiberglass giants were destroyed.

McCoy said many of the Texaco giants were destroyed by being smashed and were then put in landfills. The surviving ones have been modified so much that McCoy said they do not even look like the originals.

Kathy Horn, who is on the Atlanta City Council, serves as a volunteer at the museum. She said they keep a guestbook and have already had several thousand visitors.

Some tourists are specifically looking for giants, while others are touring Route 66. McCoy said hundreds of thousands of people tour Route 66 every year.

The Atlanta Giants Museum is predicted by many to be one of the top ten to twelve spots on Route 66. McCoy said Route 66 is an untapped resource for many communities.

When McCoy became the mayor in Pontiac, they had almost no tourism. After the Route 66 Association began, McCoy said Pontiac tourism took off. They went from zero tourism to 15,000 people a year. He said now there are probably 60,000 people who visit Pontiac yearly.

Marketing is something McCoy said has helped increase Route 66 tourism. When people come to Atlanta, McCoy wants them to spend money in town. He said many businesses had record months this past season and the museum is not even fully on the map yet.

People often buy hats, shirts and other Route 66 memorabilia when they visit Atlanta, which McCoy said is part of the white carpet corridor of the route.

The museum and other places in Atlanta like the Hawes Elevator Museum and Coal Mine Museum help promote the community. McCoy said that is the purpose of tourism.

[Angela Reiners]

Related Links:
AtlantaIllinoisTourism.com