Ron Hart of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce passed along this information to the Route 66 yahoogroup on Saturday about the Boots Motel in Carthage, Mo.
The Boots Motel is being Auctioned-Off in a few days!
According to Clarence Hall of the Carthage Hometown Bank, the present owner has defaulted and the Bank auction will be held this Tuesday at around 2 pm. on the Jasper County Courthouse steps in Carthage. Bidding may start at $150,000. According to Mr. Hall, the bank could end-up… being the new owner of the Boots Motel, and would begin anew looking for a buyer. Yes, this is short notice as I just learned about it yesterday. It is entirely possible that the valuable land under the motel could result in another speculator buying the property and demolishing the motel.
Hart says he’ll pass along information as he gets it. Needless to say, if someone’s going to preserve this 1939 Route 66 motel, they’d better come forward quickly.
I certainly hope we don’t lose her? You would think between Joplin and Springfield, someone would be able to pony up the cash to save her, or maybe even collectively in the pot do so? This is when I get a little frustrated with things like the Alliance – WHERE ARE THEY??? Where’s our collective pot to save landmarks in danger? Banks, Attorneys and Lendors pooled together to help those on Route 66 wishing to run legitimate businesses, that just need a little break and help to get there, yet will save another one of our precious landmarks? Where’s the collective list gathered of people that would like these opportunities, but don’t know about them, nor have anyone helping them to get there?
The Boots, the Aztec, the MidPoint Cafe, Tee Pee Curios – are we going to save them and secure them for the future with successful new owners, or are we just going to watch them slowly wither away too??? That’s just 4, ALL ICONS, and they’re ALL either on the auction block, bankrupt or for sale… Everyone’s come a long way to get where we are today – but now it’s time to kick it up a whole other notch – not by talking, planning and politics, but by DOING! Thankfully the Blue Swallow has recently been secured for at least another few years, but this list of retirees and properties up for auction or bankruptcy will only grow faster within the next few years, if we don’t get something going for REAL. It’s in no way the fault of retirees, as that’s simply the natural order of life, they’ve earned their time off with a lifetime of hard work, but we’ve got to help find their NEW owners somehow?
Sorry – just venting – we REALLY hate to see the Boots go, if it comes down to it, we would have really loved to take her on, but just aren’t ready financially yet, but we’re also 100% certain someone out there at least has the funds to save her, and likely right there somewhere between Joplin and Springfield… Best of luck, we’ll keep our fingers crossed, and pray we don’t lose her to the greed of real estate. You would think the local government would care more about their own community and it’s history, hopefully they’ll see wisdom somewhere, and no matter who buys it, NEVER allow them to tear it down with a permit. Albuquerque saved the El Vado, now Carthidge needs to save the Boots, their single most significant motel in town!