State may provide grant for Santa Rosa warehouse February 21, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Gas stations, History, Museums, Preservation, Railroad.3 comments
A photo illustration of the proposed Route 66 museum inside the Ilfeld-Johnson Warehouse in Santa Rosa, N.M.
The New Mexico Legislature was set to give $325,000 to help revitalize the historic Ilfeld Warehouse in downtown Santa Rosa and create a Route 66 museum there, according to the town’s newspaper.
The Guadalupe County Communicator, in its print edition, reported that the legislation would “set aside the funds toward creation of a Route 66 museum in the old railroad warehouse,” along with several other county projects.
Now owned by the City of Santa Rosa but sitting on railroad property, the building is being eyed for a transformation into a museum, with officials hoping it would help bring new life to the economically troubled downtown business district. [...]
Historian Johnnie Meier, proprietor of the Classical Gas Museum in Embudo, N.M., is proposed leasing the Ilfeld, bring his vas collection of antique gas pumps and other vintage memorabilia to jump start a New Mexico Route 66 Museum modeled after other state museums along the old “Mother Road.”
One document on the Legislature’s website indicates only $150,000 for the Ilfeld Warehouse. However, that document is dated Feb. 10, and may not reflect later amendments to the proposal.
Both houses of the Legislature approved the capital-outlays package that contained the Ilfeld proposal. However, Gov. Susana Martinez vowed to veto any line item she deemed as “pork.” The governor has until March 7 to decide.
The city of Tucumcari, about 55 miles to the east, also is trying to woo Meier’s collection for its own Route 66 museum. Santa Rosa also applied for a National Scenic Byways grant to help fix up the warehouse.
The capital-outlays bill also contains at least $250,000 in improvements for Santa Rosa’s Blue Hole, which is a Route 66 attraction.
Blue Whale vandalized February 19, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Preservation.1 comment so far
It was discovered Saturday morning that the Blue Whale of Catoosa, Okla., was vandalized in recent days.
According to KOTV in Tulsa:
Vandals wrote what is believed to be their names on the cultural icon, which was built in 1972, and Catoosa police are investigating. Police are not releasing photos of the graffiti because they feel it will hinder the investigation.
It is unknown when the act occurred, but a member of the Catoosa Arts and Tourism Society/Fins of the Blue Whale took to Twitter Saturday afternoon to address the situation.
“I’m kinda sad….some vandals have defaced my new paint job. I don’t know why people feel the need to do that, I’m just so disappointed.”
According to another report by KTUL-TV in Tulsa, the Route 66 landmark had 15 areas of graffiti.
I happened to be at the Blue Whale that morning to help volunteers remove Christmas lights from it and the nearby Ark. A few observations:
- As indicated in the KOTV report, the vandals very likely implicated themselves with their own graffiti. Within an hour, locals already had a pretty good idea who at least two of them were.
- Members of Catoosa Arts and Tourism Society/Fins of the Blue Whale initially didn’t want to publicize the vandalism, but had a change of heart by afternoon.
- It probably would be overstating it to say the vandalism “defaced” the Blue Whale. The graffiti was done with what appears to be a Sharpie marker over small areas. The graffiti isn’t apparent until you get close to the whale.
- I’ve visited the Blue Whale site dozens of times over the years, and this was the first incident of vandalism I can recall to the whale since it was restored in the late 1990s. The Blue Whale is such an icon, the perpetrators will become pariahs in their community if they’re caught.
- Even before the graffiti, the Blue Whale was scheduled to get another coat of paint within a few weeks by the Bill Haynes Co., which made some much-needed initial repairs to the landmark last summer.
New history museum in Springfield, Mo., may open by 2013 February 17, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in History, Museums, Preservation.add a comment
The History Museum of Springfield-Greene County in Springfield, Mo., is running out of room, and it hopes to reopen in a former downtown department store sometime in 2013, reported KY3-TV in Springfield.
The station said:
Three years ago the museum bought the old Barth’s department store building on the northeast quadrant of Park Central Square.
Construction on a new museum was slowed down because of the economy. There was also less money rolling in from donors, the city, and county.
But the project is once again well underway. Leaders of the museum say the new “Downtown History Center” will have twice the exhibit space, and will be a lot more visible for visitors.
The square also is on the original Route 66 alignment in Springfield, and the museum contains plenty of artifacts from the Mother Road.
According to the museum’s website, the new museum location will feature “hands-on” history for kids, walking tours, costumed re-enactors, and additional history exhibits. The museum also seeks to add more traveling exhibits.
Here’s an artist’s rendering of the renovated building:
The Barth’s building, by the way, is listed on the city’s historical sites and landmarks list. A Google Street View image of the building now can be found here.
A video report can be viewed here.
More on the Boots Motel’s reopening February 14, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Preservation.add a comment
The Carthage Press today posted more information about the reopening of the historic Boots Motel in Carthage, Mo., scheduled for May 8. The opening date was announced a few days ago.
A few factoids from the article:
— New owners Pricilla Bledsaw and Deborah Harvey had planned to use the back building of the historic Route 66 motel as office space. However, demand for office space in Carthage wasn’t as great as anticipated, and the demand for room was greater than once was thought. Also, renovation of the other rooms in the front of the complex was more daunting than anticipated. So they’re opening the back rooms for overnight guests so the motel can generate revenue to fix up the rest of the property.
— The sisters already have three of the five rooms booked for opening night.
— Bob Boots, son of the motel’s builder, Arthur Boots, has asked to be the first reservation. Room rates that night will be $2.50, the same rate as in 1946, when the back building was constructed.
The latest Route 66 Village project February 13, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, History, Preservation, Railroad.1 comment so far
The Route 66 Village in southwest Tulsa contains an old steam locomotive, several rail cars, and a gigantic replica of an oil derrick.
Here’s the latest project that volunteers are working on, via KOTV:
Boots Motel set to reopen May 8 February 10, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Preservation.add a comment
The historic Boots Motel, a Route 66 landmark in Carthage, Mo., that was endangered for several years, will reopen for business starting May 8, according to KODE-TV in nearby Joplin.
According to the station, the motel will price its rooms for $2.50 for opening night. After that, rooms will be $66 a night. Those interested in reservations should email bootsmotel(at)hotmail(dot)com .
According to the motel’s website, five restored rooms will be ready by the reopening. Its new owners are renovating the rest of the 14-room motel as money becomes available.
The Boots Motel’s Facebook page contains a number of photos showing the renovations and the restored rooms.
Debye Harvey of Georgia and Priscilla Bledsaw, who are sisters, purchased the motel last summer after the property went through foreclosure. For years before that, the Boots Motel had been used as apartments.
The sisters, along with property manager Ron Hart, want to restore the motel to 1940s splendor, including “a radio in every room.” The motel was built in 1939, and is one of the few surviving Route 66 motels to still have built-in carports. Movie star Clark Gable stayed in the motel overnight at least once.
The Boots Motel also created this map for Route 66 travelers coming from the east. The Spring River Bridge on the east edge of town is scheduled to be replaced starting in the spring, necessitating a detour off the usual path throughout tourism season. The map guides you straight to the motel.
Route 66 Task Force in Tulsa report February 10, 2012
Posted by Ron Warnick in Businesses, Events, Preservation, Towns.2 comments
So what happened at the inaugural City of Tulsa Route 66 Task Force meeting Thursday night at the Campbell Hotel?
The answer: Not much. That doesn’t mean it was a waste of time. The meeting was more of a reception and fact-gathering mission than a planning session. The Task Force isn’t going to be one group, but a bunch of subcommittees to divvy up responsibilities. The wish list is long, but basically the city wants to exploit Route 66 more as an economic engine.
(Disclosure: I volunteered to be on the Task Force; my duties will be known at a future date.)
I had planned to write something about the event, but other projects got in the way. And Laurel Kane of Afton Station did a good job reporting what happened, so you can read it on her blog and be well-informed.
My impressions: First, a lot more people showed up for that meeting than I expected. I would have been satisfied if 25 people showed up. But the number was closer to 100.
Second, the meeting wound up being a nice showcase for the recently restored Campbell Hotel. I think a fair number of people came away impressed with the facility, and will encourage out-of-town guests to use it.
Finally, I have to give new city councilor Blake Ewing a lot of credit for getting this started. He assumed office barely two months ago, but apparently told the city fathers that Route 66 was going to be a top priority. He regards the Mother Road as “low-hanging fruit” that the city has for too long ignored or under-appreciated.