Lost and Found

Lost

So much has changed since historian Brian A. Butko wrote The Lincoln Highway (1996) that Stackpole Books will publish a revised edition in 2002. Mid-twenti­eth-century businesses along the coast-to-coast highway, including gasoline stations and drive-in movie theaters, are rapidly being replaced by huge shopping plazas and sprawling housing developments. One of the most recent causalities is the Willows Motel and Restaurant, east of Lancaster on Route 30, which was opened in 1931. Tourist cottages were added to the property, which quickly became a landmark in a largely rural area. The entire complex was demolished in 1996 for a music theater, leaving this stretch of the Lincoln Highway with few remnants recalling its heyday.

Found

Near the western end of the Lincoln Highway, in West­moreland County, is Ligonier Beach, a four-hundred-foot-long swimming pool opened on July 4, 1925, by Cono “Nick” Gallo, whose family operated it until 1998. At various times in its history, the popular attraction boasted a miniature golf course, band shell, open air wooden dance floor, bathhouse, and snack bar. For years, the buildings were ringed with double tubes of neon. Todd Graham and his family recently purchased Ligonier Beach and began reviving it for today’s pleasure-seekers. Individuals interested learning about this and other sites along the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, which preserves the history of the famous roadway, may telephone (724) 837-9750; or visit the Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor website.