Reinstalled neon light to brighten historic Carthage motel

CARTHAGE, Mo. -- When the iconic Boots Court opened in Carthage in the 1940s, the green neon lighting that outlined the structure was an important part of the allure.

The neon, along with the building, fell into disrepair over the years until the Boots was purchased in 2011 by sisters Deborah Harvey and Priscilla Bledsaw. The two are restoring the historic motel and will mark another milestone Saturday by celebrating the return of the architectural feature that was designed to catch the eyes of weary travelers on Route 66.

The new neon lights and other electrical upgrades are being accomplished with the help of a Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program grant from the National Park Service, Harvey said. Some of the neon lights had been removed, and some did not work when the two sisters purchased the building.

"We took off the rest and saved what we thought we could reuse, but the connections were too old," she said. "We were able to use the stand-outs that hold the neon. That made it helpful because you could see where it was around the windows."

Harvey noted the style of the building is Streamline Moderne, but original owner Arthur Boots added fanciful neon curls at the windows of the front office.

"He had his own ideas about how he wanted it to look," she said.

After 1978, then-owner Rachel Aslin put on a gabled roof and added pink neon lighting. Returning the building to its original flat roof was the first restoration project, completed with an earlier Route 66 preservation grant. Both are matching grants that will pay 50 percent of actual costs after the projects are complete.

David Hutson of Neon Time in St. Charles, Missouri, did the neon restoration, Harvey said.

"He's done lots of restorations along Route 66. He has a lot of knowledge, and he knew the Boots," she said.

The neon lighting over the office door includes the traditional vacancy information and advertises available lodging as "cabins."

"That's history," Harvey said. "He didn't want to say 'motel'; that word wasn't even in use at that time, except for California. So he (Arthur Boots) put up something to recall tourist cabins," which had been a popular form of lodging along Route 66.

The grant also is helping with electrical work in the front of the building that will allow four more rooms to be opened in the motel, although Harvey said when that will happen depends on funds available for the restoration.

Six rooms at the back of the motel were restored and reopened to guests in 2012.

Harvey said business gets better every year.

"We were so busy last year, and this week, we had guests from Germany and Spain, and five Chinese students from Clemson University," she said.

The motel is an attraction for people traveling historic Route 66 and looking for lodging compatible with the era. The rooms have radios instead of televisions and period furnishings all the way down to chenille bedspreads.

The motel has board games guests can play to pass the time, and Harvey said many gather in a space between the two buildings at night and exchange stories.

"Sometimes we'll bring out the fire pit to roast marshmallows, and sometimes a wading pool so they can visit and cool their feet off," she said.

Plans call for returning the red canvas awnings over the windows in each building and repainting a barrier wall at the north side of the property. A mural may be added, she said.

A public ceremony to celebrate the new neon lights will be at 6 p.m. Saturday. The lights are set to be turned on at 8:15 p.m.