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.