Joplin city council OKs architectural study on century-old garage

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 … Continue reading Joplin city council OKs architectural study on century-old garage

Joplin visitors-center idea may face wrecking ball

A nearly century-old gas station in Joplin, Missouri, envisioned as a Route 66 visitors center instead may be torn down, partly because city councilors are balking at the site's rehabilitation costs, according to the Joplin Globe. Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau director Patrick Tuttle wanted the property at 1109-1111 Langston Hughes-Broadway to be converted into a Route 66 … Continue reading Joplin visitors-center idea may face wrecking ball

The new old Joe Becker Stadium in Joplin

Nearly two weeks ago, the Joplin Blasters professional baseball team played the home opener of its inaugural season at the renovated Joe Becker Stadium in Joplin, Missouri. Although the stadium's seating facilities are new after $4.7 million in work, the field itself is almost a century old and once hosted the Joplin Miners minor-league team … Continue reading The new old Joe Becker Stadium in Joplin

Joplin: then and now

Patrick McPheron, an artist based in Los Angeles who is a native of Joplin, Missouri, put together this amazing video of century-old images from Joplin that deftly fades the images into current-day images from the same exact vantage point. https://youtu.be/aNLk6f3F7P8 Getting the new images from the same location must have been the most challenging part … Continue reading Joplin: then and now

Joplin installs new wayfarer signs

The City of Joplin, Missouri, on Friday unveiled one of a series of 37 new wayfarer signs to help guide travelers to attractions in the city. The first one is at 423 S. Range Line Road, according to the Joplin Globe. Joplin's stretch of the historic Route 66 highway will be marked by versions of … Continue reading Joplin installs new wayfarer signs

Joplin buys old Route 66 garage

The city of Joplin, Missouri, recently bought a long-abandoned 1920s garage building that it plans to convert into a Route 66 attraction -- most likely a visitors center, reported the Joplin Globe. Patrick Tuttle,  director of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the newspaper the city had purchased the garage at 1109 Broadway (also … Continue reading Joplin buys old Route 66 garage

Solutions for Joplin’s troubled golf course

A few days ago, the Joplin Globe published a long article about the financial issue about the city-owned Schifferdecker Golf Course, which is on Route 66 on the west side of Joplin, Missouri. The golf course runs an annual deficit of about $140,000 a year, and it draws about half the users it did a … Continue reading Solutions for Joplin’s troubled golf course

Joplin to install new directional signs

The city of Joplin, Missouri, will install more than 40 new wayfinder signs, including those that identify the original path of Route 66, reported the Joplin Globe. The newspaper said: Patrick Tuttle, director of the Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the council that the 43 new signs, predominantly blue in color, will replace the … Continue reading Joplin to install new directional signs

Joplin motor court will be restored

A historic motel along an alignment of Route 66 in Joplin, Missouri, will be refurbished and reopened as a tourist court again, according to Joplin Globe columnist Wally Kennedy. The Westport Lodge (shown above during the 1950s) at North Main Street and Fountain Road, which was on an alternate Route 66 alignment from 1934 to … Continue reading Joplin motor court will be restored

Old motel cabins in Joplin soon will be removed

Old motel cabins on Route 66 in Joplin, Missouri, soon will be razed or removed, according to a story by a business columnist Wally Kennedy in the Joplin Globe newspaper. The item was tucked into a story about Rob's Audio Solutions, which was forced to move from 2604 N. Range Line Road (aka Route 66) to … Continue reading Old motel cabins in Joplin soon will be removed