Opposition from the neighborhood thwarted a zoning permit request to convert a garage apartment in Joplin, Mo., that was once used by famed outlaws Bonnie and Clyde into a bed-and-breakfast, reports the Joplin Globe.
The apartment, which was used by the Barrow gang for 12 days in 1933 before shooting their way out and killing police officers, is owned by the Rev. Phillip McClendon. He’s filled the apartment with books, copies of a BBC documentary, movies and police reports about the gang and the shootout.
A photo of the apartment garage can be seen here. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Those who supported converting the apartment into a B&B included local history buffs, businessmen and a next-door neighbor.
Scott Hutson, an owner of Cycle Connection Harley-Davidson Buell, located south of the neighborhood, said Joplin is known worldwide as a historic Bonnie and Clyde site. He often is asked about the site or for directions to it by customers visiting his shop.
“It’s just as important (to Joplin) as Route 66,” he said. “It’s a story that’s traveled worldwide. Our city will always be linked, whether we try to ignore it or not, to Bonnie and Clyde.”
One neighbor said he was troubled by “the looks” of the people who were seeking out the apartment — a rather specious argument.
But, according to the report, it looks like most of the objections to the permit request stem from McClendon flouting zoning laws earlier and renting the apartment to overnight guests anyway. And the report says that McClendon has been uncooperative in addressing neighborhood concerns.
So it looks like any chance of the apartment being converted into a B&B won’t happen as along as McClendon owns it. So maybe an ownership change is in order.
The apartment is about two miles south of Route 66, at 3347 1/2 Oak Ridge Drive. Bonnie and Clyde also had several run-ins with the law near or on Route 66. Of course, the story also inspired this now-famous movie: