Visiting the Boots Court Motel in Carthage on Route 66

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If you’re planning on getting your kicks on Route 66, Boots Court Motel in Carthage, Missouri, should be on your list of overnight stays. This renovated historic motel, which is one of the motels on the route that can claim a stay or two by the famous classic film star Clark Gable, is the perfect mix of comfort and nostalgia on the Mother Road.

Though we haven’t stayed overnight, we have peeked inside one of the Clark Gable rooms and walked the grounds, both day and night. Since we live in nearby Joplin, Missouri, an overnight stay may not make the most sense for us. The tradeoff? I work in Carthage, and I get to see the Boots Motel every day!

The Boots Motel isn’t only a comfortable place to spend the night, but also a great example of that classic Route 66 neon of yesteryear. So, join me in a photo tour of this special place. Maybe one day, you can add this stop to your own Route 66 journey.

History of Boots Court Motel

Early Years

According to the Boots Motel website, the motel was built in 1939 by Arthur and Ilda Boots. The location of the motel was perfect; the motel sits at the intersection of Route 66 and Hwy. 71. Prior ot 1939, the office building was merely a service station, known as the Red Horse.

The website explains that the motel is built in the Streamline Moderne style using curves inspired by Art Deco. These buildings feature rounded edges rather than pointed angles. This style is also known for its stucco exterior and metal railings.

Of course, neon lighting is also a common trait of this style in the 1920s and 1930s.

When the motel opened, you could rent a room for $2.50 a night. For entertainment, every room had a radio. What luxury!

The original eight units were constructed with garage openings for your vehicle. Today’s cars and trucks are much larger, so if you stay nowadays, your vehicle may not fit.

The garage units and stucco walls remind me of the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, though its style is not an example of Streamline Moderne.

When the Boots Court Motel first opened, it had eight rooms. In 1942, Arthur and Ilda sold the motel to Ples and Grace Neely. Another notable happening in 1942 for Boots Court Motel was the stay of one of America’s most popular actors at the time–Clark Gable. Following the death of his wife, Carole Lombard, in a plane crash on January 16 during a war bond tour, Clark Gable set out on his own tour and found himself at the rather fancy for the time Boots Court. His room was #6.

The Motel’s Heyday

In 1946, five more rooms were added to the motel, including four that had two double beds. The parking cubbies for these rooms were located underneath them, but today they have been taken out of use as guest parking. Apparently, the number 13 was skipped when the new rooms were numbered. Motel owners and Ozark residents, in general, are a superstitious lot.

Also in 1946, Arthur Boots, along with his son Robert, opened a diner across the street known as the Boots Drive-In.  The architecture featured the same Streamline Moderne design. The menu was typical for drive-ins of the time: malts, root beer, and sandwiches. They even offered breakfast.

The diner was also home to a radio show known as “Breakfast at the Crossroads of America.” Today, the building is no longer home to a diner; Great Plains Federal Credit Union fills the space. This is what the building looks like today.

In the Carthage R-9 Auditorium, this mural hangs in the lobby. One section of the mural shows the Boots Drive-In.

The diner had a great run until closing in 1970.

Clark Gable returned to the Boots Court Motel in 1947, this time staying in Room #10. So, if you stay at the motel, you have two Clark Gable room possibilities to call home for the night. In the 1950s, Bob sold the diner across the street fully to his son and Jude Arney, Arthur’s brother-in-law. Later, Bob headed to Tulsa and opened a Boots Diner there in 1962. In 1968, Basil Blackburn bought the diner, and in 1971, he renamed it Mr. B’s.

Ruben Asplin, a professional wrestler, bought the motel from the Neelys in 1948. The 1950s became kind of a “golden age” for the motel, which became known as simply Boots Motel in the 1950s. TVs and air conditioning were added. More celebrities stayed at the motel, including Gene Autry, Guy Lombardo, and Mickey Mantle, who grew up in nearby Commerce, Oklahoma, also along Route 66. In 1991, Rachael Asplin’s death led to the motel changing ownership.

The Road to Restoration

Apparently, the motel changed ownership over the years and was nearly demolished in 2003. Sisters Deborah Harvey and Priscilla Bledsaw swooped in to save the motel. By 2011, they offered rooms for the night as work continued. They removed the gabled roof and refurbished the neon lighting.  In 2013, the original sign designer completed work to return the name of the motel back to Boots Court.

In 2021, the Boots Court Foundation was created. Harvey and Bledsaw sold the motel to the foundation to further facilitate the motel’s restoration. Then, in 2022, the motel received its designation on the National Register of Historic Places.

By 2025, the motel was ready to go. All 13 rooms were available to stay in, the glorious neon beamed in the night, and the visitor center officially welcomed travelers, day and overnight guests alike. If you were to ask me my recommendations of where to stay on the Route, Boots Court Motel would definitely be in my top three.

Exploring Boots Court Motel

Even if you’re not staying the night, the motel is worth a stop. Since we live nearby, we will probably never stay the night, but the property and the visitor center/gift shop are among my favorites on Route 66.

Today, guests check in at the visitor center next door, but in the early days of the motel, the office in front served as the office. If you peek in the windows nowadays, you’ll get a taste of what it may have looked like back then.

The Grounds

The property has all kinds of nods to the Route and the people who travel it.

Behind the visitor center are four RV spots and a small stage area.

They’ve done a lot of great work on the grounds.

Here is a glimpse of the stage area from the RV area. You can also see the motel expansion from the 1940s in the background.

The Visitor Center

This repurposed service station is a great place to check out. Inside is one of the best gift shops on Route 66. I’ve purchased a T-shirt, a magnet, and a Christmas ornament here, and there are lots of other goodies I’d love to return to purchase.

You can also grab a photo with the shield on the premises.

The Boots Court has gone to great lengths to make the motel and visitor center welcoming.

It’s a great place to sit a spell and talk about your journey on Route 66, literally and figuratively.

Inside is a mixture of nostalgia and great items for sale.

It’s fun to take in the details.

They have a lot of Boots-specific merch. At some stops we’ve made, it’s been a challenge to find merch related to the stop.

There are welcoming spots on the inside, too. I love the garage door window. If you gaze out towards the street, you can see the Great Plains Federal Credit Union building that used to be the Boots Drive-In.

Here’s a view of the great merch!

This painting hangs over a doorway.

This mural outside the visitor center is a popular photo op.

No speeding in Carthage! If you do, you’ll face the consequences.

Clark Gable Room

Of course, one highlight of staying at Boots Court is the possibility of staying in a Clark Gable room. We were lucky to get a tour.

Here’s a glance down the corridor to access the room entrances. Notice the ceiling is painted in “haint blue.” I’m not sure if it’s intentional, but it made me think of the Gullah Geechee tradition of painting the porch ceiling light blue to trick the spirits from coming inside the home; the spirits, perhaps, will believe the blue paint is water or sky and become lost or confused.

Once through the door, you can’t deny that you are, in fact, inside a Clark Gable room. It’s worth noting that there is only one bed. As we are a party of three, we wouldn’t fit in this room. We’ve run into this issue a couple of times on our Route 66 adventures. Specialty rooms are often designated for 1-2. So far, we’ve always found a double room at the legacy motels; it just might now be the legendary or fancy room.

As you can see, the rooms have been renovated to modern comforts while still nodding to the nostalgia of a Route 66 motel.

Clark Gable may be most remembered for the film Gone With the Wind. While the book and film may be problematic in their depictions of slavery and other racial issues, I do regard both mediums as favorites of mine. If nothing else, they spark introspection and discussion, and who can deny that the film is a cinematic masterpiece? Anyway, it’s also worth noting that Clark Gable himself was a flawed man, as all humans are. Times change; we learn to do better as a society; at least that is the dream.

But I digress….

The room’s interior also reflects the Streamline Moderne design of the exterior. I love the curved entryways.

The details do make you feel like you’ve stepped into another era. Check out the alarm clock.

And don’t forget the radio in every room!

Some additional history adorns the wall of Room 6. Below are photos of the historic Phelps House.

This may be my favorite part of the room–the vanity area.

Who can resist dressing up the paper doll version of Clark Gable?

I certainly couldn’t.

Love this ad for the nearby Route 66 Drive-In. You can read about the drive-in here.

Check out Gable’s autograph.

Though the room seems small by today’s standards, there does seem to be some storage space. This room is not the smallest room we’ve encountered on the Route.

I love the shower tile. So many motels on Route 66 have managed to keep the tile.

The tile on the floor is the best.

You even get to use Boots Motor Court toiletries! I told you that this place excels in the merch department.

Neon at Night

Of course, one of the best things about the Boots Court Motel is the neon. Below, some Route 66 travelers share stories of their adventures on the road.

Here is the old office at night.

Another look.

Here is a glimpse of the neon over the parking cubbies.

I love the curls over the windows.

Here is another look.

The visitor center has its own neon.

The Wrap Up

Boots Court Motel is definitely a highlight of the Mother Road. I’m lucky I get to drive by it multiple times a week, and I love catching glimpses of travelers stopping by, taking pictures, and making memories. I love the neon, and the merch is unmatched. If you’re driving Route 66, be sure to stop by, day or night. It’s too good to miss!

Other great places to stay on Route 66:

El Vado Motel in Albuquerque, New Mexico

El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, New Mexico

Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona

Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico

Desert Hills Motel in Tulsa, Oklahoma