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Gemini Giant, Wilmington, IL

Photo: David Quigley, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingQuirky Fun

Gemini Giant

Snap a photo with a fiberglass astronaut holding a rocket, a Route 66 landmark standing at a Wilmington park entrance.

201 Bridge St · Wilmington, IL

About Gemini Giant

The Gemini Giant began as a Muffler Man statue bought in 1960 for a Wilmington restaurant, later renamed the Launching Pad, and outfitted as an astronaut for the space age. After the restaurant closed, the Joliet Area Historical Museum bought him at auction in 2024, had him restored and installed him at the entrance to South Island Park. He was inducted into the Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame in 2000. The Landing Pad visitor center opened nearby in 2025.

  • #route 66
  • #roadside attraction
  • #muffler man
  • #photo stop

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