Two sisters officially took over ownership on Wednesday of the Boots Motel in Carthage, Mo., pledging to reopen at least part of the 1939 property by spring.
Debye Harvey of Georgia and Priscilla Bledsaw of Illinois had the electricity and water turned back on at the Route 66 property, and will spend the rest of this week obtaining permits, licenses and other utilities, reported Ron Hart of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce.
An open house is set for Sept. 9-11 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day, and all the motel’s rooms and its underground tunnel will be open for viewing during that time before the restoration work begins.
KSN-KODE-TV in Joplin also filed a report about the Boots and the sisters’ plans:
Their goal is to make the battered and worn down property new again – a tourist attraction on historic Route 66.
“Experience just like it was in the ’40s,” Bledsaw says.
With a radio in every room.
“No TV, don’t look for flatscreens or queen beds – they hadn’t invented queen beds at that time,” Bledsaw says.
Carthage Hometown Bank bought the motel for $101,000 during a foreclosure sale in late June, after the motel was on the market for several months for $225,000. The Boots had no longer operated as a motel, but as apartments.
The Boots a few years ago was sold, then reportedly would be razed for a Walgreens. Outcry from the Carthage Press newspaper, preservationists, and Route 66 fans scared the drugstore chain away.
Reputedly, movie star Clark Gable stayed at the Boots Motel overnight during a cross-country trip.
UPDATE 9/26/2011: The sisters are wanting old photos of the motel to help with the restoration, reported the Carthage Press:
They are especially looking for pictures that show whether the Boots ever had any cabins anywhere around it.
“Does anyone remember the cabins at the Boots?” Bledsaw said. “In the earliest pictures that we can find of the Boots, over the front door, it says cabins. It doesn’t say vacancy, it doesn’t say office, it says cabins.
“We want them to dredge up their memories, because this restoration project is not going to be based on what we think would have been a fun thing to be at the Boots, we want it to be an actual historic restoration project. If they had the ugliest bedspreads in captivity, we’re going to have the ugliest bedspreads in captivity. We may have to pay someone to buy the ugliest bedspreads in captivity.”
(Photo courtesy of Ron Hart)
Just read about the sisters taking possession and restoring of the Boots motel. GREAT NEWS. I was interested in doing the same thing but could not come up with the funds. The way they will be restoring the motel is the only way to bring it back to the splendor it once had.
My wife and I take a trip on 66 ever summer. We will definitely make this one of our next stops. I will be watching for more updates on the restoration. We need for people like these two to help keep Route 66 alive and well.
Keep up the GREAT WORK!!!!!
Dave & Barb Raska