DWIGHT - It's a scene right out of the 1940s, but the setting is contemporary Dwight. Inside the restored Ambler's Texaco Station is a potbellied stove alongside small-sized Coca-Cola and 7UP bottles. There's also an ancient cash register and a plaid stamp saver book.

Outside the restored gas station is a sign: "Welcome to Dwight."

The Texaco station, built in the early 1930s, has been restored to its 1940s appearance and is becoming a welcome center for the many tourists that travel historic Route 66 through Dwight and a half dozen other Central Illinois communities.

Preservation of the gas station at Route 66 and Illinois 17 began two summers ago and was helped by a federal grant of $10,400.

Village Administrator Kevin McNamara thinks the "new" station will be the perfect place to welcome tourists.

"It's on Route 66 and is on the National Register. In Dwight, a village of about 4,300 people, they take their connection to Route 66 and their historic preservation seriously.

"We have a long history of preserving buildings," said McNamara, adding, "There's always been a community sense of preservation."

Village Board President Jim Mixen agreed.

"It's important to keep these old buildings around. We are lucky to have Route 66 running through town," he said.

The community's sense of preservation also is evident with the First National Bank of Dwight building designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It's also evident at the historic train depot, home to the Dwight Historical Society.

That same sense of preservation prevails at the Gothic Church, built in 1857, and restored by the society.

Part of Red Carpet Corridor

The welcome center is the latest success at historic preservation and was open all day Saturday and Sunday as part of the first Red Carpet Corridor event, a self-guided tour of towns along Route 66 from Joliet to Towanda in McLean County.

Starting May 26, the welcome center will be staffed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days a week.

The station was donated to the village several years ago and last pumped gas in 1999.

McNamara said the renovation project was a labor of love.

"Some work was contracted out, but most was volunteer," he said, adding Dwight resident Ken Howard spearheaded the job. Those staffing the welcome center also will be volunteers.

Their effort is expected to benefit the village through increased tourism.

"We make a conscious effort to promote Route 66," said McNamara.