Route 66 business adding larger-than-life attraction in Springfield

A Route 66 mainstay in the Springfield area just got a larger than-life-addition.

Say hello to Big Ron. He’s three stories tall, surrounded by old-fashioned gas pumps and is the latest art installment at Motorheads Bar and Grill, Museum and Entertainment Complex at 600 Toronto Road.

Sporting a blue Motorheads hat, the spectacle of Big Ron started as an idea for tourism between longtime friends Dino Dinora and Ron Metzger, the owner of Motorheads.

More: Change of scenery could be coming to high-end steakhouse, sushi restaurant in Springfield

Originally, the intention was to buy a giant secondhand to place near the sign that towers over the bar to compliment the Route 66 emblem, which is the largest on the spanning 2,278-mile road.

Metzger quickly realized however, that buying a giant wouldn’t be easy—because finding one was near impossible.

“This started out as small talk and as the time went on (Dinora and I) were going to try and retrofit an old one but we realized we couldn’t do it,” Metzger said. “So, I made a rendering and sent it out to have (the statue) custom built to suit us.”

Instead, Metzger employed Mark Cline of Enchanted Castle Studios , an art character creation team in Natural Bridge, Virginia to build from scratch. A first draft drawing of the original "Mr. Motorhead" was sent to Cline before the final vision was mocked up, featuring the classic fuel pumps that attach around the base of the seven-story Motorheads sign.

“Once I built the sign, I knew I had to enhance that,” Metzger said. “The giant is three-stories so when we get all done, it won’t be the world’s largest but it’ll be pretty impressive.”

Metzger says the project cost around $100,000 and received funding through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunities’ Route 66 3.0 grant. The annual grant develops tourism and preservation of the historic route for the upcoming 100th anniversary of the road’s opening and pulls from the in-state fiscal budget.

Motorheads was able to apply and receive $90,000 in funding, according to Springfield director of tourism Scott Dahl.

Over the years, Metzger has added handfuls of unique and beautiful art to his museum which welcomes people from outside the state every single day.

Metzger hopes that a giant roadside attraction will draw more eyes to stop into Springfield and his museum, so Big Ron will become an attraction as popular as the B lue Whale of Catoosa of Oklahoma and the Blue Swallow Motel in New Mexico.

More: Hiking trails, waterfalls, lakes and more: 10 most visited Illinois state parks

“When I say all over the world, I mean we get tourists from all over the world,” Metzger said. “This weekend, I guarantee we had 100 different groups in two days. It’s overwhelming and fact of the manner is we’re planning on putting a scheduled tour on every hour… we’re putting together a whole package now.”

Big Ron is ready for his official public debut on Thursday, August 1, at 5 p.m. with live music and fresh food for guests who want to see for themselves a larger-than-life version of Metzger, holding up a piece of route history.

Claire Grant writes about business, growth and development and other news topics for The State Journal-Register. She can be reached at CLGrant@gannett.com; and on X (Formerly known as Twitter): @Claire_Granted

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Route 66 business adding larger-than-life attraction in Springfield