Only five days after it launched, a GoFundMe campaign to repair architectural neon lighting at the Boots Court in Carthage, Missouri, met its goal of $4,000.
That was the estimated cost to fix the neon, which was damaged by a severe hailstorm last week, with some stones measuring 2 inches in diameter.
As of early Tuesday, $4,132 had been raised from 53 contributors.
Ron Hart of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce, who launched the campaign, said “any funds left over may be used to send our contributors pieces of the 1939 and 2016 Neon with a Certificate of Appreciation!”
The Boots Court was built in 1939 by Arthur Boots. It became the Boots Motel during the 1950s. The motel came close to being knocked down in the early 2000s when its ailing owner sold it to a local developer, who reportedly was going to develop it into a Walgreens. The current owners bought it in 2011 and reopened it to overnight guests in 2012 after months of renovations. They still are restoring the motel.
The 66 Drive-In theater in Carthage also saw damage to its neon sign and its ticket booth from the storm. It continues to operate as repairs will be made; it sold out a screening the night after the storm.
(Image of the Boots Court before the hail damage courtesy of Ron Hart)
Bravo! The Boots Court is a Route 66 gem. SO glad it will be repaired.
This is wrong, for it excuses a poor business decision to not get insurance for the neon. If the cost is “only” $4,000, the owners should have enough capital to fix it themselves, using (in part) the money not spent on insurance premiums. I drove through Carthage on Thursday June 1 and looked at the damage. The glass on the north side appeared to be largely intact, while the south side’s glass was missing. I wonder if a ledge or protective barrier could be affixed above the glass to protect it.
Oops – meant to write that the neon tubes on the north side were shattered, but were largely undamaged on the south side. Above note has it backwards.