REMINDER/Meteor City Making History Again; World's Largest Route 66 Mural To Be Revived By Hampton Inn National Preservation Campaign.

News/Assignment Editors & Travel Writers

REMINDER...for Wednesday (Oct. 23)

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

WHAT:           First it was a giant crater that made travelers stop.
                More that 60 years later, Meteor City Trading Post
                became known as the home to the World's Longest Map of
                Route 66. Before the site closed, its famed mural was
                painted over with billboard advertising. Now, the
                trading post is re-opened and the landmark is coming
                back brighter and bigger than ever. This Wednesday,
                October 23, volunteers from across the state will
                converge outside Winslow to bring the Meteor City
                Trading Post, with its new 100-foot Route 66 mural and
                six tee pees, into full color. The preservation will
                involve painting all six tee pees on-site, as well as
                re-creating the 100-foot map of Route 66. Hampton Inn
                will fully fund the restoration, including providing
                employee volunteers from hotels across the state.

                The "Explore the Highway with Hampton,
                Save-A-Landmark(TM)" program, now in its third year,
                has adopted Route 66 as a national cause, restoring
                landmarks and posting historic Route 66 signs. This
                Wednesday, Meteor City Trading Post and Winslow's
                Standin' On the Corner Park, will receive "Roadside
                Attraction" recognition, becoming designated by the
                national program as a "site worth seeing" along Route
                66.

                Meteor City Trading Post Site Restoration:
WHEN:           9:00 AM - 2:00 PM, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 23
                (Sign unveiling at 10:30 a.m.)


WHO:            --  Mayor of Winslow, James Boles

                --  Executive Director, California Route 66
                    Preservation Foundation, Jim Conkle

                --  Richard Benton, owner, Meteor City Trading Post

                --  Hampton Inn volunteers

                --  Yvonne Howeth, Standin' on the Corner Foundation,
                    Winslow


WHERE:          Located in Meteor City, Ariz., (10 miles east of
                Winslow, Ariz.), along the stretch of old Route 66
                that runs from I-40, exit 239

WHY:            For the past three years, Hampton Hotels have provided
                the labor and one-half million dollars toward
                refurbishing historic and unusual roadside landmarks
                across the country, from the world's largest "Big
                Duck" in Flanders, N.Y., to the Bell Markers of the
                historic California missions. Meteor City Trading Post
                is the 13th landmark to be restored by Hampton Inn
                Hotels, and the 4th restoration along Route 66.

VISUALS:        --  Volunteers painting and re-creating "World's
                    Longest Map of Route 66"

                --  The unveiling of a "Roadside Attraction" sign for
                    Meteor City Trading Post.

                --  Tourists and passersby watching the unusual
                    landmark being re-painted

                --  Interviews with the Mayor, Meteor City Trading
                    Post owner, Hampton volunteers and Route 66
                    Association spokesperson

HOW:            To nominate a landmark to receive a Route 66 sign or
                restoration, the public can go to www.hamptoninn.com