Thousands visit new Route 66 visitor center in Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) - More than 16,000 people have visited a Route 66 visitors' center that opened in Bloomington last year.

The Cruisin' with Lincoln on 66 Visitors Center will mark its one-year anniversary on April 25 with a celebration and free admission to the McLean County Museum of History. A study last fall from Illinois Wesleyan University found that in the first four months it was open the center generated as much as $445,000 in visitor spending locally.

Jeff Woodard is the museum's marketing director. He tells The (Bloomington) Pantagraph (http://bit.ly/1M6N5Yu) that the center opened midseason last year so the tourism numbers don't reflect a full season. He says officials expect the 2016 numbers to outpace last year's total.

Museum director Beth Whisman says the visitors are bringing new dollars to the community.

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Information from: The Pantagraph, http://www.pantagraph.com