When we went Sunday afternoon to the open house at the Boots Motel in Carthage, Mo., tour guide Ron Hart of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce said about 500 people had already visited the historic Route 66 business over the weekend — a number that astounded him and the motel’s new owners.
The open house gave Route 66 enthusiasts and local residents a chance to see the inside of the motel before renovation efforts begin in earnest. Sisters Debye Harvey and Priscilla Bledsaw purchased the Boots a few weeks ago after the property had been foreclosed.
The sisters plan to renovate the motel to a circa-1949 look, including the original flat roof, period furnishings, and “a radio in every room.” Hart says the owners won’t be so slavishly devoted to that era to forego modern electrical wiring and Wi-Fi. But, ultimately, the plan is to return the Boots Motel to its post-war appearance, reopen it as a motel, and place it on the National Register of Historic Places.
Harvey and Bledsaw weren’t at the motel Sunday afternoon, but Hart proved a capable guide of the premises. One thing he and the sisters recently discovered was the front of the building originally served as a gas station for a short time. Cracks in the sidewalk where the gas pumps stood were visible.
At the front office is this room, which served as men’s and women’s restrooms.
It’s believed the original incarnation as a gas station lasted for a short time, due to several competing gas stations just down the street. So the owner built the motel in 1939 because it was a more lucrative venture.
Hart showed Room 6 of the 14-room motel. It’s notable because that’s where actor Clark Gable reputedly stayed overnight during a cross-country trip.
Country-music artists Smiley Burnette and Gene Autry also reportedly stayed at the motel.
One closet door contains the original teardrop-shaped doorknob hardware. The sisters are looking for more of this vintage hardware for the rest of the motel’s doors.
Virtually all of the bathrooms contain the original tile floor as well.
Another original feature of the motel is several of these lighting fixtures just outside of the carports.
The carports remain one of the most unusual features of the motel. This allowed motorists to pull their cars right next to the door of their rooms. Few motels on Route 66 with these amenities still exist.
Hart noted the carports contained a built-in cabinet in one of the walls. These cabinets were used to store motor oil or tools for the guests’ cars.
The southwest corner of the main building is leaning.
However, Hart said a structural engineer said trying to correct the leaning would create more problems than it would solve. The engineer recommended simply stabilizing the structure as is, and it would be fine for many more years.
Hart also showed the four rooms in the back building of the motel, which was built in 1946. The wood floors make the rooms quite attractive.
Hart said those four rooms would be rented out as office space to generate income for the motel’s renovations. It’s hoped to have a few of the motel’s rooms ready for overnight guests by spring 2012.
Hart guided us into the back building’s basement, which provides access to a tunnel system that snakes under the other motel building.
The tunnel was used to run electrical, water, heat, and other utility lines to the rooms. The tunnel’s latent ground temperature would prevent water pipes from freezing. Hart noted that a water heater for several of the rooms also was installed in the tunnel as well.
In the basement, Hart showed the two pink metal chairs that stood in front the motel for many years.
In a corner was a wall sign that once was used on one of the building’s exterior walls.
More about the history of the Boots Motel and its future preservation can be found here. If you have period doorknob hardware or other such furnishings that might be suitable for the motel, you’re encouraged to call property manager Ron Hart at 417-385-6966.
UPDATE 9/21/2011: The Carthage Press published a follow-up on the open house, including a visit by the son of Boots Motel founder Arthur Boots.
that was a lovely nostalgic trip thank you for sharing i enjoyed it