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August 20, 2006

Fill 'er up with tourists

By Roger McKinney

rmckinney@joplinglobe.com

BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. - A historic gas station in downtown Baxter Springs could have a new life as a Route 66 welcome center within a few years with the help of a grant from the National Park Service.

The National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program awarded a $26,202 grant to the Baxter Springs Historical Society to restore the exterior of the Phillips 66 station built in 1930, and to provide heating and air conditioning for the building. The historical society, which owns the building, will match the grant with $26,202 of its own or with in-kind labor.

"Kansas is a real important spot along the route," said Mike Taylor, director of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. "Even though there's a short length of the highway in the state, it's really full of some wonderful, historic properties."

He said one of them is the gas station.

"It was a real no-brainer for us," Taylor said about the grant application. "It's one of the classic cottage-style Phillips stations."

Mike Kertok, an architect in Norman, Okla., said he has found a niche in restoring the old Phillips 66 stations. He said he has restored a service station in Cuba, Mo., and is working on stations in Chandler and Tulsa in Oklahoma. He said he has identified more than 50 of the old gas stations around the country, not all of them on Route 66.

Kertok said he has not officially been contacted about working on the Baxter Springs project, but that is a possibility.

"Gas stations of this period were designed to fit into residential areas," Kertok said. He said that before Phillips 66 came up with its design, most gas stations were basically tin shacks that often did not appeal to the people living in the neighborhoods where they were located.

Kertok said the Phillips 66 stations of the 1920s and 1930s have a Tudor-style design, a chimney and a cross gable over the front door.

"They painted them in pretty garish colors," Kertok said. "The original color was emerald green with orange and blue trim, with roof shingles of all three colors in a random pattern."

Kertok said the photos he has seen of the gas station in Baxter Springs don't conform to the classic Phillips 66 design. He said the builder may have deviated from the company's plans.

Kertok said the classic Phillips 66 stations in Joplin, Mo., that once stood at Sixth Street and Pearl Avenue and at 10th Street and Joplin Avenue have been demolished.

Carla Jordan, of Cape Girardeau, Mo., wrote the grant application for the historical society and will administer it. Jordan grew up in Baxter Springs. Her maiden name was Taylor.

"I really believe in Kansas Route 66," Jordan said. "This is my opportunity to give back to my hometown."

Jordan said a chiropractor who has an office in the gas station building will be given plenty of time to find a new office location.

She said she will seek another funding source for the second phase of the project, to convert the building into a visitors center.

"It's going to be incredible," Jordan said.

Taylor, with the National Park Service, said the grant will pay for the first phase of the project to convert the building into a tourist center.

"This is a great start," Taylor said. "This property is real obvious for travelers when they go through Baxter Springs."

Taylor said that when it is complete, the visitors center could provide a bump in the town's economy by luring tourists to linger awhile.

Phyllis Abbott, president of the Baxter Springs Historical Society, said she hopes the welcome center will help promote Route 66 in Kansas and neighboring states. She said it will be a good location for tourists to stop for photos.

"Right here on the route, it will be kind of a high-profile stop," Abbott said.

66 projects

Other projects in Cherokee County that have been funded by the National Park Service Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program include the restoration of the Brush Creek bridge between Baxter Springs and Riverton, and the restoration of the Eisler Brothers Store in Riverton.

Source: www.cr.nps.gov/rt66/

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