The historic Boots Court motel in Carthage, Missouri, recently opened to the public its Boots Court Motel Visitors Center, housed in a former Sinclair gas station adjacent to the Route 66 property.
The motel opened the facility during Maple Leaf Festival weekend, which is Carthage’s biggest event.
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A grand opening for the visitors’ center is set for the spring. In the meantime, tentative winter hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
The Boots Court, known as the Boots Motel before reverting to its original name, changed owners in 2021. Two couples from the Carthage area bought the property as part of the Boots Court Foundation.
The motel came close to being demolished in the early 2000s when its owner, citing poor health, sold it to a local developer. Speculation ran rampant the motel would be razed for a Walgreens.
An outcry from the Route 66 Association of Missouri, Friends of the Mother Road and other preservationists apparently scared off the developers.
The Boots Court was built in 1939 by Arthur Boots. One of its rooms was where movie star Clark Gable overnighted during cross-country trips from his native Ohio.
(Image of the Boots Court in Carthage, Missouri, by Jeff Kays via Flickr)