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Boots Court Motel
The Boots Motel, a historic U.S. Route 66 motor hotel in Carthage, Missouri, opened in 1939 as the Boots Court at 107 S. Garrison Avenue.
It served travellers at the "crossroads of America" (US 66 and U.S. Route 71, the major roads of that era) and was built in streamline moderne and art deco architectural style, its roofline and walls accented in black Carrara glass and green neon. Arthur and Ilda Boots originally advertised "a radio in every room" and each room included a covered carport.
A filling station briefly operated at the front of the property when it opened during the Great Depression but was soon replaced by the motel's office.
The motel was one of two to bear the Boots Court name; Arthur's brother Loyd A. Boots had established a 1930 Boots Cottage Court on US 54 in Eldon which became Randle's Court upon its sale to Helen Randle in 1947. Both of these properties are being painstakingly restored to a historic "radio in every room" 1940s, by different private preservationists.
In the mid-1940s, Arthur Boots opened a drive-in across the street, offering fountain service and "breakfast at any hour." KDMO AM 1490 broadcast on-location interviews with many passing through from faraway places on US 66 and 71 as "Breakfast at the Crossroads of America". While business was initially brisk, ultimately Interstate 44 diverted traffic seven miles south of the town and the restaurant closed in 1971. Its building now houses a credit union; a replica of its curved front was incorporated into a Route 66 display at the Jasper County Courthouse.
Ples Neely and his wife purchased the motel in 1942, expanding it to 13 rooms in 1946 by adding a five-room building at the back of the property. In keeping with traditions and superstitions of the times, the thirteenth room is numbered 14 to avoid the unlucky number 13. Rachel Asplin purchased the motel in 1948 with her husband Ruben and operated it until she died at age 91 in 1991. The first television stations in the Joplin-Springfield region signed on in 1953; after that, Boots Court advertised television, telephones and air conditioning among its amenities. In the motel's heyday, notable clients included Clark Gable, Mickey Mantle and Gene Autry.
The property declined under a series of subsequent owners, at one point being rented monthly as single-room, low-income housing after a 2003 attempt to flip the property for demolition and redevelopment as a Walgreens failed after public outrage. The motel was unavailable for short-term rental to tourists on US 66 throughout the Vince Scott ownership period (October 2003 – June 2011) and deteriorated severely. By 2011, the motel buildings, though still standing, were among the Society for Commercial Archeology's ten most endangered roadside attractions in America and among the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation's most endangered buildings in the state.
It's in rough shape. They've torn it up. I've been renting it out as lower rent housing for five years, and these people have no money, so they've stolen everything they could steal. It would take some money to restore it. It's got a new roof; I put a new roof on the front, but someone would have to rewire it and replace a lot of things. It could be brought back, though, if a person had the interest."
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Boots Court Motel
The Boots Motel, a historic U.S. Route 66 motor hotel in Carthage, Missouri, opened in 1939 as the Boots Court at 107 S. Garrison Avenue.
It served travellers at the "crossroads of America" (US 66 and U.S. Route 71, the major roads of that era) and was built in streamline moderne and art deco architectural style, its roofline and walls accented in black Carrara glass and green neon. Arthur and Ilda Boots originally advertised "a radio in every room" and each room included a covered carport.
A filling station briefly operated at the front of the property when it opened during the Great Depression but was soon replaced by the motel's office.
The motel was one of two to bear the Boots Court name; Arthur's brother Loyd A. Boots had established a 1930 Boots Cottage Court on US 54 in Eldon which became Randle's Court upon its sale to Helen Randle in 1947. Both of these properties are being painstakingly restored to a historic "radio in every room" 1940s, by different private preservationists.
In the mid-1940s, Arthur Boots opened a drive-in across the street, offering fountain service and "breakfast at any hour." KDMO AM 1490 broadcast on-location interviews with many passing through from faraway places on US 66 and 71 as "Breakfast at the Crossroads of America". While business was initially brisk, ultimately Interstate 44 diverted traffic seven miles south of the town and the restaurant closed in 1971. Its building now houses a credit union; a replica of its curved front was incorporated into a Route 66 display at the Jasper County Courthouse.
Ples Neely and his wife purchased the motel in 1942, expanding it to 13 rooms in 1946 by adding a five-room building at the back of the property. In keeping with traditions and superstitions of the times, the thirteenth room is numbered 14 to avoid the unlucky number 13. Rachel Asplin purchased the motel in 1948 with her husband Ruben and operated it until she died at age 91 in 1991. The first television stations in the Joplin-Springfield region signed on in 1953; after that, Boots Court advertised television, telephones and air conditioning among its amenities. In the motel's heyday, notable clients included Clark Gable, Mickey Mantle and Gene Autry.
The property declined under a series of subsequent owners, at one point being rented monthly as single-room, low-income housing after a 2003 attempt to flip the property for demolition and redevelopment as a Walgreens failed after public outrage. The motel was unavailable for short-term rental to tourists on US 66 throughout the Vince Scott ownership period (October 2003 – June 2011) and deteriorated severely. By 2011, the motel buildings, though still standing, were among the Society for Commercial Archeology's ten most endangered roadside attractions in America and among the Missouri Alliance for Historic Preservation's most endangered buildings in the state.
It's in rough shape. They've torn it up. I've been renting it out as lower rent housing for five years, and these people have no money, so they've stolen everything they could steal. It would take some money to restore it. It's got a new roof; I put a new roof on the front, but someone would have to rewire it and replace a lot of things. It could be brought back, though, if a person had the interest."
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