The city council of Carthage, Missouri, approved a $120,000 grant to the foundation of the Boots Court motel to create green space and other improvements at its adjacent visitors center.
The vote by the council was 8-1, with the only dissenting voter saying he supported the historic Route 66 motel but wanted more information about the project.
The grant would be divvied up over three years.
According to the Joplin Globe, the motel’s manager Jeremy Morris gave more details on how the grant would be used:
Morris said the visitors center, located in a former Sinclair service station, was opened in October. He said part of the planned improvements would link the motel and visitors center with a driveway and parking spaces.
“The next phase after that is to fix up our surroundings and unite the two buildings with a green space,” Morris said. “So we want a common area for people to sit. We should have a fire pit out here, and we might have a gazebo and more walking spaces behind and in front of the visitors center.”
He said the land behind the visitors center will be landscaped and include spaces for RVs or even food trucks.
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 preservationists that included the Route 66 Association of Missouri apparently scared off the developers. Two women later purchased the property and made several improvements, including removing a gabled roof in favor of the motel’s original flat roof.
The Boots Court was built in 1939 by Arthur Boots. One of its rooms was where movie star Clark Gable stayed overnight during cross-country trips from his native Ohio.
(Image of the Boots Court motel in Carthage, Missouri, by Adam Jones via Flickr)