The Gemini Giant is preserved🚀

Beloved Route 66 attraction is restored and reinstalled for the public to enjoy!

By Landmarks Illinois

Gemini Giant (2022) by Landmarks IllinoisLandmarks Illinois

Once-threatened, 28-foot-tall Gemini Giant has been saved!

In 2017, Landmarks Illinois first listed Route 66 on its Most Endangered Historic Places in Illinois to bring attention to sites along Route 66 that were in need of maintenance, investment and promotion such as the Gemini Giant in Wilmington.

Launching Pad sign (Website) (2025) by Launching Pad RestauratLandmarks Illinois

Origin Story

From 1965-2024, the Gemini Giant stood outside the Launching Pad restaurant in Wilmington.

The statue is one of the many “Muffler Men” along Route 66. It was named after Project Gemini, NASA’s second human spaceflight program that ran from 1961 to 1966. In 2024, the Joliet Area Historical Museum acquired the Gemini Giant with the goal of preserving it. On March 20, 2024, crews lifted the giant off its pedestal and moved it to safe storage. Months later, it was installed at its new home alongside a Route 66 monument in Wilmington’s South Island Park.

Launching Pad and Gemini Giant (2022) by City of WilmingtonLandmarks Illinois

Wilmington Mayor Ben Dietz:

“For over a year, the Joliet Area Historical Museum and the City of Wilmington have been working together in the common goal of saving the Gemini Giant to preserve its historic place along the world’s famous road,” release posted March 20 to the city’s Facebook page.

Gemini Giant Support Team (2024) by Jeannine Smith (Wilmington City Administrator)Landmarks Illinois

60 Year Old Giant finds new home!

It's rewarding to see enthusiasm towards the Gemini Giant, and other iconic Route 66 monuments. Landmarks Illinois Regional Advocacy Manager Quinn Adamowski, who also serves as board chair for the Joliet Area Historical Museum, was in Wilmington on March 20 to celebrate the news. Congratulations to all involved in this successful preservation effort!

Gemini Giant, City Of Wilmington, 2017, From the collection of: Landmarks Illinois

SIV1 Cover, SIV1, 2022, From the collection of: Landmarks Illinois

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Read More In The News: Gemini Giant statue moved from its post of nearly 60 years in Wilmington, Illinois
CBS News, March 20 Gemini Giant sells for $275K, will remain in Wilmington
Kankakee Daily Journal, March 25 Gemini Giant Leaves Launching Pad, New Wilmington Spot Revealed
Joliet Patch, March 2024. Check out WBBM’s TikTok post on the news here.

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