The Coliseum Ballroom in Benld, Illinois, a Route 66 landmark, was gutted by fire over the weekend. Fire officials have not yet determined what caused the fire, but there's a lot of talk that it may have been electrical. There were no serious injuries during the eight hour battle.

The Coliseum Ballroom, built in 1923, played host to some of the biggest names in music, such as Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington and Count Basie.  - Legend has it, that Al Capone was among its early patrons. When the popularity of the big bands faded, the Coliseum still drew crowds for acts such as the Everly Brothers, Fats Domino, Johnny Rivers, Ray Charles and Tina Turner. In its later years, the ballroom, with its' 10,000 foot dance floor, featured local rock bands before closing about a decade ago. But the curtain finally came down permanently Saturday evening when 150 firefighters from 16 departments battled the blaze.