An artist and a businessman plan a pair of Route 66-related murals on the outside wall of a hardware store in Joplin, Mo., on one of the older Route 66 alignments, reported the Joplin Globe.
The newspaper said:
Paul Whitehill, of Images in Tile, is proposing to install two tile wall murals and a tourist photo opportunity on the south wall of the Pearl Brothers True Value Hardware store at 617 S. Main St. There, the murals can be viewed from the intersection of Seventh and Main streets, where the original course of the route turned west toward Kansas.
“They wanted something as close as you can get,” said Harold Berger of the Pearl Brothers’ location near the intersection of the famous route. “You can’t get much closer than that. We’re happy to let them do it. It will improve the looks of our building and attract attention.”
That part of Main Street served as Route 66 until 1955, when the alignment shifted east to Rangeline Road until the early 1970s.
An artist’s rendering of one of the murals can be seen here. They want the murals finished before the International Route 66 Festival in Joplin in early August.
Whitehill says the cost of the project will be about $63,000. He’s raising private funds to cover it. Other Images in Tile murals and artwork can be seen at its website here.
Several other cities along Route 66 are known for their murals, including Pontiac, Ill.; Cuba, Mo.; and Tucumcari, N.M.