Red Cedar Inn
Pacific, United States · built 1934
The Red Cedar Inn is a historic former inn located in Pacific, Missouri along the U.S. Route 66. Opened shortly after the construction of Route 66 in Pacific and repeal of Prohibition, the Red Cedar Inn provided a significant economic boost to the city. In 1932, Route 66 reached Pacific, and the town got an economic boost. Before that, Pacific's main commerce had been the mining of silica used to make fine glassware and construction materials, such as bricks. The Red Cedar Inn was a full-service restaurant and served cocktails, since Prohibition had been repealed just before its opening. The inn became popular with travelers on Route 66 and was visited by baseball players Bob Klinger, Dizzy Dean, and Ted Williams. Brothers James and Bill Smith constructed the inn with rustic materials, such as log and knotty pine interior walls and lines of white chinking on the outside. The logs used to build the restaurant came from the brothers' family farm. They wanted the inn to reflect Missouri pioneer days and attract tourists. The brothers had made their living bootlegging liquor from their family farm at Villa Ridge. However, when Prohibition ended in 1933, their business folded. James and Bill both opened taverns, in Eureka and Fenton, respectively. They built the Red Cedar Inn around the same time on the newly designated Route 66. The restaurant's location made it very successful, an
Hotel data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).