WEBB CITY, Mo. — Last Saturday, Patty Freeman took a drive down Webb City’s Main Street and was surprised by the size of the crowd.

“Our Route 66 Theater is open now, and that particular night cars lined the street on either side for three blocks, just like in the ’40s and ’50s,” said Freeman, a Webb City native. “There’s a restaurant open across the street, and people want to come downtown now. It’s very heartening to see it happening here.”

“Main Street has been pretty desolate. But we’re a DREAM city now, and there have been many improvements: sidewalks, lamp posts, new benches soon and flower pots. That’s encouraging new businesses to come in and restore the old buildings that need it.”

That’s exactly what another Webb City native has been hoping for.

Mayor John Biggs said he returned to his hometown in 1994, after being gone for 30 years. Back then, he took a walk downtown and noticed something he didn’t like: His town didn’t look well.

“Nothing had been done to the Bruner Pharmacy for years,” he said. “The roof had collapsed on the building next door. The Bradbury-Bishop building needed work. The old Webb City hardware story was ugly.”

Harsh words. But they weren’t the only words.

“I started stopping in and talking to people,” Biggs said. “I had coffee with them, and ideas started taking shape.”



$1 building

Frank Englert, a local businessman, has helped breathe some of that new life into the downtown, renovating buildings with a nod to the historic.

“For $1, I bought 6,000 square feet of empty storefront on Main that the city owned, completely renovated and remodeled them,” he said.

The bidding procedure stipulated that he present a plan for development and that his renovation preserve historical integrity. All four storefronts were quickly rented, he said.

Having enjoyed the project, Englert began work on what had been a metal building north of City Hall. He said he has had numerous calls from prospective tenants and expects to lease it in the coming weeks.

Next up, he said, is the completion of 2,200 square feet of second-floor space on Broadway. He’s renovating the property into high-end loft space.

“I tried to make these projects attractive, and I hope others might be inspired to take the risk,” Englert said. “If we could do this on every block, that would make a world of difference.”



Road to the future

Another boon to the city has been worldwide fascination with Route 66.

Dixie Meredith, executive director of the Webb City Area Chamber of Commerce, said visitors have come from as far away as Europe and Australia since the city’s Route 66 Center opened in November at 112 W. Broadway. Nearby, workers spent the past week finishing the new 66 Events Center — a former Assembly of God church — to accommodate this weekend’s Springtime on Broadway performances in case of rain.

“It’s a big asset to the city,” said Biggs. “It will be dual use, with court held there on Wednesdays, and the ability to have class reunions, weddings, dinners there the rest of the time.”

Work also has begun on a small, triangle-shaped parcel near Cardinal Scale Manufacturing along old Route 66 where it enters town from the east. The Environmental Protection Agency has worked with the city to excavate and haul off 6 inches of soil from the formerly polluted site. Soon it will be filled with new soil, and the city will install a Route 66 entrance park with signs and landscaping.

Route 66 is just one piece of the past that Webb City leaders are tapping. Councilman Jerry Fisher was working last week on the city’s 1894 trolley, and city employees were preparing the old train depot to house the Parks and Recreation Department.

“People love nostalgia, and we consider it an economic development tool for not just Webb City but all area towns,” said Chuck Surface, economic development director.

Surface spent an afternoon last week pointing out recent accomplishments, starting with the 1950s-era neon arrow sign that was found in a barn and installed at King Jack Park.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” he said. “It’s telling people, ‘Turn here.’ ... If people drive through and don’t stop, it’s nobody’s fault but ours.”

He also noted that the city’s population grew 19 percent, from 9,812 in 2000 to 11,676 in 2010.

A recent survey of 300 Webb City residents conducted by an independent research firm showed that 77 percent believe the city is “moving in the right direction.”

“The people who live here, we have a spirit — a really solid, small-town spirit,” said Freeman. “We want to see everything restored and improved, and I think the whole town is behind it.”