The city of Joplin, Missouri, has embarked on a multi-pronged project to rebrand its historic East Town neighborhood, including adding new Route 66 signs along an original alignment there.
The Joplin Globe reports new “Dreams – East Town” banners have gone up on light poles along the Langston Hughes-Broadway corridor (aka Route 66), which is the area where the famed African-American poet was born. Hughes remains best-known for his “jazz poetry” and led the Harlem Renaissance in New York City until his death in 1967 at age 65.
The area now is called the Dreams District; the banners depict four characteristics of East Town — heritage, tradition, connection and community — along with images of Route 66, families, Missouri Southern State University and a jazz musician.
Melodee Colbert-Kean, a Joplin city council member and owner of ME’s Place Soul Food Cafe, told the newspaper she wants to transform East Town, which made up the original settlement known as Joplin, into a neighborhood with a distinct character and name recognition, similar to Murphysburg, the city’s first residential historic district that later merged with Joplin.
The Globe had other details behind the plan:
• Route 66 signs along Langston Hughes-Broadway.
• Crosswalks at Fourth Street and High Avenue that would connect East Town and Joe Becker Stadium and at Fourth Street near Ewert Park to connect East Town and the park.
• Hope Park, a pocket park on city property on High Avenue near the former Crosslines Ministries building.
Adding Route 66 signs will be a welcome addition to Joplin. Many, including the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce, have issued concerns about a chronic lack of Route 66 directional signs in southwest Missouri.
More about East Town:
Joplin’s first settlement, East Town, dates to 1838. In 1873, the working-class East Town merged with Murphysburg, its sister city to the west, where landowners and financiers built huge homes. We now know it as Joplin. East Town is primarily residential, bisected by Broadway, a central cultural corridor and a part of Route 66. Ewert Park holds special significance as the community’s cultural center, as it has been the site of annual celebrations of the Emancipation Proclamation since the 1920s that attract visitors, vendors, and musicians from across the region. One of Joplin’s most famous citizens, Langston Hughes, was born in East Town and in his honor Broadway is signed “Langston Hughes Blvd.”
To give to East Town projects, including sponsoring banners for $200, go to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks website, click on “Donate Online” and select the “Hope Park-Dreams District Fund” account.
(Image of one of the new Langston Hughes-Broadway banners in Joplin, Missouri, courtesy of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce)