By Emily Younker
Globe Staff Writer
WEBB CITY, Mo. —
The city’s new Route 66 Center is quickly taking shape.
It even had its first official visitors this week — tourists from London who were traveling the famous highway from Los Angeles to Chicago, said Chuck Surface, director of economic development.
The center, housed in a former gas station one block west of Main Street on Broadway, is expected to open by Oct. 1. It will hold offices for a downtown manager and the Chamber of Commerce; a retail shop of Route 66 and Webb City merchandise; and a display room and meeting space.
“Route 66 is an item for us for tourism that we have had for years and never took advantage of,” Surface said. “We’re just lucky we have it run right through the middle of town.”
The focal point of the Route 66 Center will be a mural by Mayor John Biggs. Measuring 8 feet tall and 16 feet wide, the painting will depict 1940s travelers along a portion of Route 66 that is located near Lakeside Park between Carterville and Carthage, Biggs said.
And don’t be surprised if the vehicle in the foreground of the mural contains a famous face or two — Biggs is considering putting cowboy Will Rogers in one of the seats.
City officials also plan to develop the city’s east entrance into a Route 66 park and welcome center. Surface said he hopes to start work on that project next spring.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Joplin Globe or register for our E-Edition here at joplinglobe.com.
