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Our First Open House, September 12th, 2011
Two Route 66 “Roadies” (fans of the Mother Road) have recently been successful in their effort to obtain financing to purchase the Boots Motel in Carthage, Missouri, and closed on their purchase in late August of 2011. The new owners plan to accurately restore the historic motel to the way it was around 1949 and are re-opening at least part of on May 8th. of 2012.
The new owners of the Boots Motel are two sisters, Priscilla Bledsaw of Decatur, Illinois, and Deborah Harvey of Decatur, Georgia. Priscilla has experience in owning a retail store, and Deborah has a Masters Degree in Historic Preservation from Georgia State University. The two had been talking about buying a motel on Route 66 ever since their own road trip between Chicago and LA (and back) in 2006. After reading about the Motel's "endangered" status on the "Society for Commercial Architecture" website, they learned that the Boots was available and decided to seize the opportunity. Their intentions are to restore the Boots to its 1940s appearance inside and out, and re-open the original building as working motel, offering "a radio in every room" as advertised from the beginning years.
The rear (1946) building is being restored to it's 1949 appearance, and will be opened to travelers this Spring. Reservations are now being taken.
Deborah and Priscilla look forward to working with the Carthage Chamber of Commerce, Carthage Historic Preservation, and the Route 66 community to put the Boots back on the map. "We want to remind everyone, though, that this isn't gong to be an overnight transformation. According to Deborah Harvey, "It will take some time, possibly as long as three years, to get all of the Boots back to its original historic appearance, especially since we plan that the work will adhere to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties. Still, everyone is invited to stop by the Boots and watch its progress."
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To get their new business off to a good start, the sisters held an Open House at the Boots on September 9, 10, and 11th. of 2011. All the rooms, the basement and the "tunnel" were open for inspection, and an estimated 700+ local residents and Route 66 travelers attended the three-day event (check the photos below).
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WELCOME to The BOOTS !
Serving Route 66 Since 1939
The History of the Boots Motel
Note: Some details below were obtained from local residents and may not be completely accurate until confirmed in the future.
We are working on that.
The Boots Motel in Carthage Missouri is a classic example of Streamline Moderne influenced Architecture with its once distinct green neon, evolved into a Route 66 icon from the early days of motor tourism.
At its 1939 opening of the Boots, Arthur and Ida Boots advertised
"A Radio in Every Room". The covered carport with every room is a reminder of when cars were considered a coveted luxury rather than the necessity they have become. For its time it was indeed thoroughly modern with a radio in every room, showers with tiled floors, and a floor furnace with thermostat control. There is an underground service corridor from the garage storage area on the alley to the motel. The furnaces and utilities were accessable here as the roof was originally flat. Rooms all had a single double bed except room #8 which had two twin beds.....all with chenille beadspreads. Rooms #6, #7 & #8 were reputed to be"kitchenettes", and had an alcove with a two-burner stovetop and possibly a sink. The floors were linoleum tile, the walls were stuccco painted white and furnishings included two end tables, a dresser and several heavy chromed steel chairs with padded leather seats and backs. For entertainment, there was a radio in every room. The 1935 census listed 9848 tourist courts across the country; by 1940 there were 20,000.
Sometime later, The Boots family sold the Motel to the Neelys, who added the the detached rear building which had five larger motel rooms early in 1946. These rooms had oak wood floors and room and two double beds.
In 1946, the motel was sold to the Asplins, who ran the Motel until 1991. During that period of time, a house was constructed and later divided into two apartments. A 2-story home also was situated between the motel and the house. Three generations of the Rogers family occupied the two apartments, and Mr. Rogers Sr. operated a filling station on the south side of the house. The station still remains today. Sometime in the 60's, sections of panelling were installed in the original rooms to reduce the need for additional painting, and the original linoleum tile floors were carpeted-over in the 70's. In the summer of 1977, they added a gabled roof over the original building due to water leak problems with the flat roof, and in the Spring of 1978, a gabled roof was built over the rear building for the same reason.
In 1991, Mr. Asplin passed away and left the Motel property to the Rogers family, and one year later in 1992, they sold the motel to John Ferguson of Carthage, who also owned a motel one block to the north called the Daisy Courts Motel. He later passed away and his son sold the motel in late 2003 to Vince Scott, a Carthage building contractor. According to the Jasper County recorder's office, the purchase price was $201,000.
Scott had hoped to sell the Boots property to Walgreens for a profit, however the Carthage community rallied to save the Boots from destruction by convincing Walgreens to go elsewhere. The economy later worsened, and Scott began renting the rooms on a weekly basis to derive an income, then later put the Motel up for sale. By the Spring of 2011, Scott had been unable to find a buyer and had defaulted on his loan with his bank, so the Boots was sold at auction. Since no one bid on the motel property, Hometown Bank of Carthage became the 7th. owner of the Boots Motel by bidding $105,000., and the search for a buyer began again in ernest.
The motel has always been featured in many national and international publications. It was included in the Route 66 Missouri Historic Resources Survey and the State Historic Preservation Office. The Motel is a favorite of Route 66 enthusiasts and has hosted actor Clark Gable and singing cowboy Gene Autry, his on-screen sidekick "Smiley Burnett" (and his horse). Other notables include world famous orchestra leader Guy Lombardo. Historic Route 66 runs in front of the motel before turning west on Oak Street at Carthage's Memorial Hall, and was likely to have hosted many other notable and famous people during the forty's and fifty's who preferred highway travel to flying.
Film crews from Japan, England and other foreign countries often used footage of the motel in documentaries about Route 66, and numerous websites lament the possible loss of this iconic building that once meant so much to the Carthage community in days-gone-by.
Contact Owners via e-mail: bootsmotel@hotmail.com .
Boots Motel, 107 S Garrison Avenue (old US 66), Carthage, Missouri
Rear Alley
THE BOOTS MOTEL HAS OPENED FIVE RESTORED
ROOMS. CALL AHEAD or RESERVE NOW!
Preferred Advance Reservation Info: bootsmotel@hotmail.com
For last-minute reservations or info: Call (417) 310-2989
Walk-Ins are always welcome when rooms are available.
Note: A local TV Station mis-stated that the Boots is Booked Solid for the summer. This is not true, so come-on-in!
Boots Images from it's Past.
The Neon Sign at the historic Boots Motel
is on once more!
A local father and son check-out the "tunnel", which is actually a utility chase under the motel.
Open House visitors began their self-guided tours at the original motel office. Refreshments were served and the response was exceptional!
(Search "Save the Boots Motel")
MAP OF ROUTE 66 BYPASS IN CARTHAGE DURING THE SUMMER OF 2012 (CLICK HERE)
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