Boots Court Motel
107 S Garrison Ave
Carthage, MO
Rooms, covered carports, and Clark Gable in Room 6.
About Boots Court Motel
The Boots Court at 107 South Garrison Avenue in Carthage, Missouri is one of the most intact examples of Streamline Moderne motor court architecture on Route 66. Arthur Boots built it in 1939: curved walls, clean horizontal lines, black Carrara glass accents, green neon trim, and covered carports extending from each room. Clark Gable stayed in Room 6 and returned for a second visit. The property eventually fell into disrepair. In early 2022, the nonprofit Boots Court Foundation purchased it and completed a full historic preservation project, completing the full historic preservation project in February 2023. The original Streamline Moderne exterior, Carrara glass, neon, and carports are all intact.
What Boots Court Motel Is Known For
The Boots Court was days from possible demolition when the Boots Court Foundation acquired it in 2022. The full restoration completed in February 2023 brought back every original element: the Carrara glass, the neon, the carports, the period room character. The result is a working motor hotel that operates exactly as its 1939 self did, with the rooms available to overnight guests rather than behind velvet ropes. It is the most intact Streamline Moderne motor court operating on Route 66. The nonprofit Foundation ensures that the Boots Court's future is preservation rather than conversion.
Amenities
- WiFi
- Covered carport for every room, with parking directly beside the door
- Period-accurate room furnishings: real metal keys, chenille bedspreads, monogrammed towels, chrome fixtures, built-in dressers
- Room radio tuned to 1940s music
- Free WiFi throughout
- Route 66 visitor center element on-site
What Guests Love
- Covered carport per room, with the car parked directly beside the door: the defining Route 66 motor court luxury, intact and functional
- Most fully restored Streamline Moderne motor court operating on Route 66: Carrara glass, green neon, curved walls, all original
- Every room has a real metal key, chenille bedspread, monogrammed towels, and a radio playing 1940s music: not decorative, functional and period-accurate
- Clark Gable stayed in Room 6 and returned for a second visit: one of the best documented celebrity Route 66 motel stays anywhere on the route
- Nonprofit ownership by the Boots Court Foundation ensures the building's future is preservation, not conversion or chain affiliation
Worth Knowing
- Rooms are historically sized, consistent with 1939 motor court standards: smaller than contemporary motel rooms and furnished accordingly
- Pets are not allowed
- Breakfast is not included or on-site: Carthage has a small downtown dining scene within a few blocks
- The Boots Court Foundation operates the property as a nonprofit: check the website for current availability and any seasonal operating hours
The Room
Rooms, all historically restored to their 1940s character. Each room has a real metal key rather than a key card. Furnishings include chrome light fixtures, built-in dressers, chenille bedspreads, and monogrammed towels sourced to match the period. Each room has a radio tuned to a station playing 1940s hits. Free WiFi throughout. Air conditioning is modern. The rooms are small by contemporary standards, consistent with the era, and the carport sits directly outside each door so the car is never more than a step away.
The Grounds
The Boots Court occupies its original 1939 footprint on Garrison Avenue, with a second building to the west added in 1946 that completed the original footprint. The covered carports are the defining exterior feature: each room has its own covered parking space directly adjacent to the door, which was the original luxury offering in 1939 and remains one of the most satisfying amenities of a Route 66 motor court stay. The Streamline Moderne facade of curved walls, black Carrara glass, and green neon is intact and fully operational. A visitor center element within the property provides context on the building's history and the Route 66 era.
The Experience
Carthage's Route 66 corridor is one of the best-preserved in Missouri. The courthouse square is intact, the original pavement runs through the center of town, and the Boots Court anchors the lodging experience to the original roadside era in a way that very few properties anywhere on the route can match. Precious Moments Chapel and Museum, one of the most visited attractions in the Ozarks, is about a mile from the motel. The Jasper County Courthouse, a Romanesque Revival landmark from 1895, is three blocks north. The Battle of Carthage site, one of the earliest land battles of the Civil War in 1861, is within the city. The drive-in theater on the east side of town is one of the few remaining operating drive-in screens in Missouri.
Details
Carthage, MO 64836
The Boutel designation is earned, not purchased. Boutels is editorially independent and has no financial relationship with any listed property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Boots Court Motel have EV charging?
No, Boots Court Motel does not have EV charging.
Does Boots Court Motel have WiFi?
Yes, Boots Court Motel has WiFi.
What is there to do near Boots Court Motel?
Precious Moments Chapel and Museum: 1 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk. Jasper County Courthouse: 0.3 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk. Route 66 Drive-In Theatre: 3 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can bike there.
How far is Boots Court Motel from Precious Moments Chapel and Museum?
1 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk.
How far is Boots Court Motel from Jasper County Courthouse?
0.3 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk.
How far is Boots Court Motel from Route 66 Drive-In Theatre?
3 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can bike there.
Why is it called Boots Court?
The motel was built in 1939 by Arthur Boots, who named it after himself. The name has remained through every ownership change, including the 2022 acquisition by the nonprofit Boots Court Foundation, which chose to preserve both the building and the name.
Is Boots Court Motel a working motel or a preservation site?
Both. All rooms are fully restored and available for overnight guests. The Boots Court Foundation operates it as a working motor hotel with a visitor center element: an authentic Route 66 lodging experience inside a historically preserved 1939 Streamline Moderne building.
Do rooms have real keys?
Yes. As part of the historic restoration, rooms use real metal keys rather than key cards, consistent with the 1940s character of the property.
Did Clark Gable really stay here?
Yes. Clark Gable stayed in Room 6 at the Boots Court, and returned for a second visit and signed autographs in Room 10. Gene Autry, Smiley Burnett, Guy Lombardo, and Mickey Mantle are also among the guests documented in the motel's history.
Is Boots Court open year-round?
Contact the property to confirm current seasonal hours. The Boots Court Foundation operates the property, and hours may vary. Reservations are strongly recommended given the limited room count.
Is Boots Court Motel pet friendly?
Contact the Boots Court Foundation before booking to confirm current pet policy.
What is there to do near Boots Court Motel in Carthage, Missouri?
Carthage is a small southwest Missouri city with a genuine historic downtown and a concentration of Civil War history. The Battle of Carthage State Historic Site documents the first land battle of the Civil War, fought here in July 1861. The Precious Moments Chapel, five miles from the motel, is a hand-painted Sistine Chapel-scale interior commissioned by artist Sam Butcher and open to the public at no charge. Joplin, fifteen miles west, has the Joplin Museum Complex and a growing independent restaurant scene.
Does Boots Court Motel have a pool?
Boots Court Motel does not have a pool. Boots Court Motel is in Route 66 in Carthage, where the main draw is the surrounding landscape and outdoor access.
Is parking available at Boots Court Motel?
Yes. Free on-site parking is available at Boots Court Motel.
Does Boots Court Motel include breakfast?
No. Breakfast is not included at Boots Court Motel.
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Things to Do Near Route 66 in Carthage
Precious Moments Chapel and Museum
1 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk.
The Precious Moments Chapel is one of the most visited attractions in Missouri and a genuine pilgrimage destination for collectors of the ceramic figurines created by artist Samuel J. Butcher. The chapel interior features 84 original murals by Butcher covering biblical themes in the distinctive Precious Moments art style. The complex includes a museum, gardens, and a bronze sculpture garden. Free admission to the chapel and museum.
Jasper County Courthouse
0.3 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can walk.
The 1895 Romanesque Revival courthouse anchors the Carthage downtown square and is one of the finest historic courthouses in Missouri. Built of Carthage marble, a distinctive cream-colored stone quarried locally that was used in buildings across the country in the late nineteenth century. The square around it still functions as the center of the city, with original commercial facades on multiple sides.
Route 66 Drive-In Theatre
3 miles, about a 5 minute drive, or you can bike there.
One of a small number of operating drive-in theaters remaining in Missouri, the Route 66 Drive-In Theatre runs double features through the warm months on its classic outdoor screen east of the city. The drive-in experience on Route 66 has its own history: outdoor movie theaters proliferated along the route in the 1950s and 1960s, and this one preserves that roadside tradition in a working format.