CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. At these prices, you don't have to hide your friends in the trunk! At the 66 Drive-In Theater.
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. The Route 66 Drive-In from
2008, captured in black and white to return us to the 1940's & 50's
when drive-ins where big.
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. Get there early for a good spot at the Route 66 Drive-In. No saving spaces!
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. The super colossal movie screen at the 66 Drive-In!
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. Slow down and see what's playing at the 66 Drive-In tonight. If it's Saturday, call your best girl!
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. The Boots Motel on Route
66, decked out in flags of the world to celebrate some major restoration
work. A busy Debbie Dee, caretaker extraordinaire, dropped what she doing when I showed up and gave me a tour of the restorations in process. Debbie was as delightful and enthusiastic a host as you will find on Route 66, reminding me again why traveling the old road is so much fun.
The Boots Motel was
built in 1939 with a Streamline Moderne architectural style, with curving forms, long horizontal lines and a flat roof. The plan is to restore the motel back to a late 1940's appearance, and Bob Boots, son of the original owner Arthur Boots, has been consulted to get things just right. The original flat roof was replaced in the 1970's with one that sloped, so there are plans in the works to re-flatten the roof, to make
the motel eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic
Places. Inside the buildings, five of the thirteen rooms had been restored to a 1940's look at
the time of my visit, and the work goes on.
Along with the
tour of the buildings I also soaked up some Boots history, courtesy of
Debbie. I learned that poor Bob Boots was assigned to empty the
spittoons in the old days, and that big time movie stars
such as Clark Gable liked to lodge at the Boots, just for the privacy of
the hidden carports. I was not surprised to hear that many
people today stay at the Boots to see modern day movie stars, spending an evening at
the classic Route 66 Drive-In Theatre just down the road (Route 66) in Carthage. Thanks again, Debbie, for
the tour, and thanks to the new owners, Deborah Harvey and Priscilla
Bledsaw, for restoring a large piece of route 66 history.
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. A couple of months after
my visit, the Boots Motel sign was restored and given a makeover, so for
the historical record, here is the old sign captured in 2010, in Route
66 era black & white.
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. The new owners of the
Boots Motel are conducting major restorations at the old motor court.
The refurbished rooms are just gorgeous, and they're filled with period
pieces and antiques to take you back to an earlier era of Route 66. The
restored bathrooms are clean and modern, yet with a 1940's feel, as the
original fixtures and tiles have been retained whenever possible.
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. Just about every photo of
the Boots Motel I've ever seen includes the comfy chairs out front of
the office, set up so visitors could watch the world go by on Route 66.
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. An old Chrysler parked
"outside" room 4 at the Boots Motel. Clark Gable was known to lodge at
the Boots (reportedly in room 10 during his last visit) because he could
park in the covered carport, coming and going undetected by his fans.
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. Here's how it used to work
at a "motor court" like the Boots Motel. After check-in, you pulled
your car into one of the garages on the left and parked it under cover.
As the garage also served as the motel's hallway, that's
where you found your room as well. You could pull up and park right
alongside the entrance to your room, comforted in the knowledge that you
and the car were safe and dry for the night.
CARTHAGE, MISSOURI. The classic Boots Motel.
SPENCER, MISSOURI. A Phillips 66 Petroleum
Station and cafe, on Route 66 in Spencer. This popular site was
purchased by a couple of Kansans, Francis and Marie Lynn Ryan, who have
been conducting a superb restoration. I toured all this old gas station
stuff on a beautiful summer morning on Route 66.
SPENCER, MISSOURI. Rusty Pepsi sign and
ancient cooler offered Route 66 refreshments once upon a time. At the
restored Phillips 66 station.
SPENCER, MISSOURI. "If you can't get gas, get Ethyl. If you can't get Ethyl, get Mabel." Groucho Marx, Duck Soup, 1933. At the restored Phillips 66 Station.
SPENCER, MISSOURI. Food and gas! (On chili night, especially.) Cafe attached to the Phillips 66 Station in Spencer.
SPENCER, MISSOURI. Old gas pump at the restored Phillips 66 Petroleum Station on Route 66. Just who was this Ethyl?
SPENCER, MISSOURI. Phillips 66 gas sold here, on Route 66. So says this veteran of the old road.
SPENCER, MISSOURI. A fine place to pull off concrete Route 66 for a fill up. Can't pass up those prices!
SPENCER, MISSOURI. What's
around the bend? That question runs through your mind a lot as you
travel in this part of Missouri on two-lane Route 66. The modern and not
so far away interstate may offer a clear view ahead for miles at a
time, but old 66 twists and turns through the towns and wooded areas of
this region, and what's ahead is anybody's guess.
The Johnson Creek Bridge, on the way to Spencer, Missouri, is a
steel truss bridge built in 1926, and don't you wish you lived in a
place where the creeks have names?
