Big Ron (Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill)

Springfield, Illinois, United States

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

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Big Ron is a 30-foot fiberglass giant in a blue Motorheads cap at Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill in Springfield, Illinois. Built by Mark Cline of Enchanted Castle Studios, he was unveiled on August 1, 2024 beneath a large Route 66 shield.

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Big Ron (Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill)

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Site-level location · 39.7129° N, 89.6472° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

A 30-foot fiberglass giant in a blue Motorheads cap stands beneath a towering Route 66 shield on the south side of Springfield, Illinois, easy to spot from Interstate 55.

Big Ron was unveiled on August 1, 2024 at Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill, Museum & Entertainment Complex on Toronto Road. According to the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway, owner Ron Metzger has expanded the complex since it opened in 2017, and its foundation is an original Stuckey's restaurant on the final alignment of Illinois Route 66, used from 1940 to 1977. The giant stands under what Metzger touts as the World's Largest Route 66 Shield, built by Ace Sign Company in Springfield, and Roadside America notes two retro-style gas pumps beside him.

The idea began as small talk between Metzger and a friend. The State Journal-Register, quoted by Route 66 News, reported that they first meant to buy a secondhand giant, then to retrofit an old one, but found neither workable, so Metzger sent a rendering to Mark Cline of Enchanted Castle Studios in Natural Bridge, Virginia, to build one from scratch. Metzger put the cost at about $100,000, with Route 66-related funding from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Visit Springfield says Big Ron pays homage to Metzger himself.

Accounts of the figure's origin differ. Roadside America describes a former Big John statue, originally designed to hold sacks of groceries, reworked so his arms rise overhead to hold the shield sign, and says he is lit at night. Visit Springfield, the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway and the State Journal-Register credit Cline as builder; the newspaper describes the work as built from scratch.

Visit Springfield's January 2026 guide to the city's giants lists Big Ron alongside the Lauterbach Giant on Wabash Avenue and other roadside figures. Motorheads is a working bar and grill with a motor museum, so combine the photo stop with a meal.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

Big Ron stands outside Route 66 Motorheads Bar & Grill, Museum & Entertainment Complex, a working restaurant and bar with a museum of cars and Route 66 memorabilia. Roadside America lists him as lit at night, and Visit Springfield describes the complex as easily viewed from Interstate 55.

ACCESS

At 600 Toronto Road, Springfield, on the south edge of the city, near Interstate 55 exit 90. He stands on the business's own grounds, so venue hours and rules apply.

COMMUNITY