Boots Motel honored by National Park Service

The Boots Motel in Carthage, Mo., was honored Saturday by the National Park Service’s Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program for removing a gabled roof and restoring the Route 66 landmark to its original, flat-roofed appearance.

According to the Joplin Globe newspaper:

A plaque was presented to Debye Harvey, a co-owner of the motel, by Kaisa Barthuli, program manager of the Park Service’s Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. A $12,000 grant from the federal program paid half the costs of the project.

The complex was opened as Boots Court, then later renamed Boots Motel. The original name is part of a now-glowing neon sign at the front of the complex.

“We’ve been calling it the Boots Court Motel so people won’t be confused,” Harvey said. She and her sister, Priscilla Bledsaw, are restoring the complex after purchasing it about two years ago.

Here’s Harvey with the plaque:

According to a news release from the Boots Motel:

In attendance was NPS representative Brook Stafford, Tommy and Glenda Pike of the Missouri Route 66 Association, the Carthage Chamber and CVB directors and Carthage City officials.

Ms. Barthuli will be in-route to Cuba for another presentation before returning to attend the Joplin International Route 66 Festival.

That presentation likely was for the Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, which also received a $12,733 grant for roof repairs.

(Images courtesy of the Ron Hart)

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