The new Route 66 Center in downtown Webb City, Mo., isn’t set to open until Oct. 1, but it’s already received visitors, reported the Joplin Globe.
It even had its first official visitors this week — tourists from London who were traveling the famous highway from Los Angeles to Chicago, said Chuck Surface, director of economic development. […]
The focal point of the Route 66 Center will be a mural by Mayor John Biggs. Measuring 8 feet tall and 16 feet wide, the painting will depict 1940s travelers along a portion of Route 66 that is located near Lakeside Park between Carterville and Carthage, Biggs said.
And don’t be surprised if the vehicle in the foreground of the mural contains a famous face or two — Biggs is considering putting cowboy Will Rogers in one of the seats.
City officials also plan to develop the city’s east entrance into a Route 66 park and welcome center. Surface said he hopes to start work on that project next spring.
The Route 66 Center is housed in a rehabilitated gas station. For photos and more information about the center, go here.