Streator in LaSalle County, Illinois — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

The Flight of the Vin Fiz

Calbraith P. Rogers

Flight of the Vin Fiz Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 24, 2021

1. Flight of the Vin Fiz Marker

Inscription. The first transcontinental flight was completed in 1911 by Cal Rodgers, who learned to fly after only 90 minutes of instruction from Orville Wright. Answering a challenge by William Randolph Hearst to fly cross country in 30 days, Cal was sponsored by the Armour Company to promote their new “Vin Fiz” grape soda. Streator was one of his landing sites as he flew into the history books of aviation.

Erected 2018 by Murals & Milestones, Streator Walldogs Mural Festival.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1911.

Location. 41° 7.259′ N, 88° 50.167′ W. Marker is in Streator, Illinois, in LaSalle County. It is on West Main Street (Illinois Route 18) just west of North Bloomington Street ( Route 23), on the right when traveling west. Marker & mural are mounted on the south wall of the building at the northwest corner of the intersection. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 204 West Main Street, Streator IL 61364, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern Illinois

and specifically in the Illinois River Valley.

It is also in the American Midwest

and in the Corn Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture

and also the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Streator Baseball (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); George "Honey Boy" Evans (about 600 feet away); Colonel Ralph Plumb (approx. 0.2 miles

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away); World War II (approx. ¼ mile away); American Heroes Mural (approx. ¼ mile away); Vietnam Veterans Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away); Streator Civil War Memorial (approx. ¼ mile away); Dedicated to the Soldiers, Sailors, and Patriots of the American Revolutionary War (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Streator.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.

Also see . . .
1. A $50,000 Prize and a Pilot Named Cal…. Rodgers covered the 4,321 miles in 82 hours and 4 minutes of flying time. Unfortunately, he far exceeded the 30-day limit set by Hearst and lost out on the $50,000 prize. He did secure his place in history by making the first U.S. transcontinental flight.

“I expect to see the time when we shall be carrying passengers in flying machines from New York to the Pacific Coast in three days.”
—Cal Rodgers (Submitted on November 2, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. First Transcontinental Flight. Rodgers persuaded J. Ogden Armour, of Armour and Company, to sponsor the flight, and in return he named the plane after Armour's grape soft drink

Flight of the Vin Fiz Mural image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 24, 2021

2. Flight of the Vin Fiz Mural

"Vin Fiz". Rodgers left from Sheepshead Bay, New York, on September 17, 1911, at 4:30 pm, carrying the first transcontinental mail pouch. He crossed the Rocky Mountains on November 5, 1911, and landed at Tournament Park in Pasadena, California, at 4:04 pm, in front of a crowd of 20,000 people. He was accompanied on the ground by a support crew that repaired and rebuilt the plane after each crash landing. The trip required 70 stops. (Submitted on November 2, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

3. Calbraith Perry Rodgers. The feat made him a national celebrity, but he was killed in a crash a few months later. On April 3, 1912, while making an exhibition flight over Long Beach, California, he flew into a flock of birds, causing the plane to crash into the ocean. He died a few moments later, a few hundred feet from where the Vin Fiz ended its transcontinental flight. Among his ancestors, Rodgers had Commodores John Rodgers, who was his paternal grandfather, Oliver Hazard Perry, his maternal great-grandfather, and Matthew Calbraith Perry, his great-grand uncle. (Submitted on November 2, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Flight of the Vin Fiz Mural Dedication image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, June 24, 2021

3. Flight of the Vin Fiz Mural Dedication

Murals & Milestones
Streator Walldogs
Mural Festival 2018
Celebrating Streator’s Sesquicentennial
Flight of the Vin Fiz
Dedicated to those who have had the drive,
courage & entrepreneurial skill
to build local industry.
Sponsored by:
Streator Dependable
US Truck Body
Anthony Lift Gates

Credits. This page was last revised on November 5, 2021. It was originally submitted on November 2, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 722 times since then and 34 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 2, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.