The city council of Joplin, Missouri, voted 6-3 to approve a $14,000 architectural study on a circa-1920 garage that’s envisioned as a Route 66 welcome center, according to the Joplin Globe.
The money for the study will come from motel tax money and be used by the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau. The dilapidated garage is located at 1109-1111 Langston Hughes-Broadway. Here’s a Google Street View image:
A building inspector said the building likely was too deteriorated to be rehabilitated in a cost-effective manner. Instead, the tentative plan is to reuse the bricks from the structure for the welcome center.
The architectural firm, Paragon, estimated it would take 60 to 90 days to assess the building.
According to KOAM-TV, CVB director Patrick Tuttle dismissed a few councilors’ suggestions to put the welcome center on Seventh Street near downtown, which is a busier Route 66 alignment. He said:
“It’s a state highway, there’s too much traffic on there,” Tuttle said. “We don’t have that one-on-one time with people. When they’re on there on 7th street they’re moving. And we’ve got to get them in the neighborhoods. They want to find the Americana. We know our market. We see 10 to 12-thousand Europeans a year travel through here. People from all over the country travel through here. We talk to them. We know what their interests are. And we think broadway is the best location to manage and also capture the tourist population in the area.”
Joplin bought the property in November.