Disappearing roadside icons: Chicago’s Des Plaines Oasis
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If you've ever driven south or east through Chicago, you know this spot...
The Des Plaines Oasis that spans Interstate 90 is as close to iconic as anything is on the long drive to civilization. It's the last chance for gas before the grind of driving through Chicago.
If you had/have kids, there was a reason they call it an oasis. The "are we there yet" crowd could be easily mollified by eating fairly bad food while cars passed underneath. Hey, any port in a storm!
Kiss it goodbye.
The oasis is closing for good in 10 days, officials announced this week. Then it's going to be torn down, the road will be widened, and an all-electronic toll road will be in place by 2025, connecting I-90 to O'Hare.
The five original oasis stops were built by Standard Oil in 1959 and remodeled in 1984 when fast food companies took them over from Howard Johnson's.
Here's a video created for the Illinois Tollway in 1959, starring a character named "Mary MacToll."
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