Title	Castle Kourts 2
Title-Alternative	Motels 08
Identifier	JPL10_647_303_a_A
Creator	Unknown
Contributor	Simpson, Leslie. Post Memorial Art Reference Library
Publisher	Joplin Public Library
Description	From the back of the card: "We Stopped Here Last Night." A-144; Castle Kourt. 35 cottages. Each with bath and Beauty Rest mattresses. Private garages. Phone 228. Joplin, Missouri. Motor/Tourist Courts of the 1930s through 1950sIn 1926, the federal government began constructing a continuous paved highway that meandered across the country from Chicago to the Los Angeles basin. Paving of the Missouri stretch of this famous highway, Route 66, was completed in 1932. It ran right through the heart of Joplin. At the beginning of the twentieth century, hotels were located downtown, and the railroad provided a steady stream of customers. As automobile ownership increased and more highways were built, motorists had difficulty finding convenient places to stay. As a result, a new hospitality industry arose to accommodate their needs. At first these automobile camps were merely a cluster of tents or rustic shacks positioned around a common bathroom area. But as the tourism industry evolved, the facilities (also known as tourist, cabin, or motor courts) offered well-built picturesque cottages surrounded by landscaped grounds where children and family pets could play. A 1933 AAA report touted the country's "30,000 tourist cottage and camp establishments, one of the few features of the American landscape that the depression is causing to grow by leaps and bounds." Joplin's tourism industry bore out those statistics. The 1931 city directory listed five tourist camps; six years later, that number had grown to eleven. Competition was keen among the popular cabin courts, and owners tried to attract guests with whimsical themes and fantasy architecture. The examples shown on these Joplin-area postcards range from Cape Cod cottages and rustic stone or log cabins to pseudo adobe haciendas. Amenities included bathrooms, heat, radios, inner-spring mattresses and even private garages. Sources:Joplin City Directories: 1950-1975, 2003. "Motels and Hotels." On website www.wisconsinhistory.org/archstories/motels (accessed 6/11/2004) "AAA History, 1950-1959." On websitewww.csaa.com/global/articledetail/0,8055,1008000000%257C2689,00.html (accessed 7/14/2004)Website http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA02/amacker/roadscape/lodging/html (accessed 6/11/2004)
Subject	Castle Kourts (Joplin, Mo.); United States Highway 66; Motels--Missouri--Joplin;
Language	English
Date-Creation	circa 1942
Date-Current	8/2/2004
Type	Postcards
Collection Name	Joplin Historical Postcards
Source	From the collection of Galen Augustus
Coverage	Missouri -- Jasper County -- Joplin; Missouri -- Newton County -- Joplin;
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Contributing Institution	Joplin Public Library (Joplin, Mo)
County	Jasper County (Mo.) Newton County (Mo.)
Copy Request	Contact Joplin Public Library at 417-624-5465, or email jpl@joplinpubliclibrary.org