Boots Court, 107 South Garrison Avenue
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Brochure for Boots Motel produced by the Fergusons in the 1990s. Features c.1940 image of motel. Displayed during 2017's exhibit "175th Anniversary of Carthage" at Powers Museum.
Sanborn Map detail of Boots Court showing configuration of rooms (D) and covered auto parking (A).
Digitization on CLIO is part of Powers Museum's "Digital Carthage" project in honor of Carthage's 175th Anniversary Celebration (March 28, 2017 through March 27, 2018).
Funding for the Walking in the Wards tour was made possible by a grant from the Missouri Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities, Spring 2017.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Boots Court is of Art Deco design from the 1930s and early 1940s featuring streamlined curves and Black speed lines on its facade accented by green neon lights. The property has carports for almost all units and once had gas pumps located near the front office (foundation for pumps still visible). The motel boasted in its heyday of having “A radio in every room” as well as having tile showers, floor furnaces, thermostat control and air conditioning making it a thoroughly modern building. The original sign with the radio boast, still hangs out front. Boots Court is one of the best known and most photographed lodging establishments on Route 66.
Sources
"Going to Bat for The Boots. "Show Me Route 66 Magazine, volume 21, number 4, no year given, pages 12-13.
The Boots Motel: A Tangible Link to the Past. Publisher location unknown: Friends of the Mother Road, 2003.
Brochure in Boots Motel Vertical File at Powers Museum.
Sanborn map in Boots Motel Vertical File at Powers Museum.