Joplin dedicates Route 66 Mural Park

Most of it has been up for months, but Joplin, Mo., dedicated its Route 66 Mural Park on Thursday night with a ribbon-cutting and other downtown events.

The park near at Seventh and Main — where two alignments of Route 66 intersect — features one-half of a 1964 Corvette embedded in a wall as a photo op and two tile murals as photo ops. The two Route 66-themed murals – “Cruisin’ into Joplin” and “The American Ribbon” — were created by Joplin-based Images in Tile.

Interesting excerpt from the Joplin Globe‘s report:

Josh Schmutz, 34, of Joplin, took the chance to get a picture of a replica 1964 Corvette anchored to the wall by the lower mural. He said the display helped his kids understand the road more — he noted that his daughter’s mother lives in Tulsa, Okla., which is named on the mural as one of the key stops along Route 66.

“She didn’t realize that Tulsa was on 66,” Schmutz said. “A lot of the younger generation don’t really know what an important asset the road was. It’s nice to see Joplin continue to associate itself with 66, because it’s helped make Joplin what it is today.”

Ron Hart of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce also supplied these photos from the event. Images include a Route 66 shield on a wall that’s backlit with blue neon; and a big 45 rpm record of “Route 66” embedded in the concrete near the display:

KSN-TV reported from the event:

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