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 Route 66 Rail Haven – An historic Best Western hotel 

Backed by a history of over seventy years as a favorite Route 66 hotel the Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven in Springfield, Missouri has now been listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The hotel gained its unique name in stages. The “Rail Haven” derives from the rough-hewn rail fence that surrounded the property from its inception. Sections of that fence still exist today. The “Route 66” part was added later as the Mother Road became a popular route across the country and from the time that Route 66 was still a major artery through Springfield. It was in 1951 that the then owner, Lawrence Lippman became an early member of the Best Western Board of directors although the hotel had joined the association of Best Western hotels as early as 1948.

Physically the hotel has evolved from the original cluster of sandstone cottages to the form it takes today. There have been many innovations that have come and gone over the years, things such as steam heating and linoleum floor covering. Those and other now antiquated features have been superseded by the up-to-date comforts that guests of today expect.

In 1993, Gordon Elliott, a local CPA entered the hospitality business in Springfield, Missouri with his purchase of the Best Western Coach House Inn on North Glenstone Avenue. Just a year later Elliott put in an offer to buy the Best Western Rail Haven. The property by that time had come into disrepair but not to be daunted Elliott set to work rebuilding and refurnishing the hotel to the standards required by Best Western today.

Still a popular favorite with guests from all over the U.S.A., the hotel hosts many tour groups from around the world who come with the specific purpose of taking a nostalgic trip down old Route 66. Some groups really get into the spirit of their journey and have restored classic American cars of the 50’s and 60’s then shipped them to the States in order to explore the Mother road in fitting style.

A Brief History of Route 66 In April, 1926, a pivotal meeting was held in Springfield, Missouri between Cyrus Avery, an oilman from Tulsa, Oklahoma and Chairman of the Oklahoma Department of Highways, and B.M. Piepmeier, Chief Engineer of the Missouri State Highway Commission among others, regarding the naming of a new east-west highway which was to run from Chicago, Illinois to Los Angeles, California.

There had been months of debate preceding this meeting about the naming of the new highway infrastructure that was proposed by the Joint Board on Interstate Highways and accepted by the American Association of State Highway (and Transportation) Officials (AASHTO) in 1925. It had been decided that all east-west highways would carry an even number designation and all north-south highways an odd-number designation. But fouling up the naming of things was the fact that certain roads already known by certain numbering.

The Chicago to Los Angeles road that would become known as Route 66 was originally proposed to be named "60" or "62" - but those numbers had already been designated to routes originating in Virginia and Kentucky, one of which ironically runs through Springfield, Missouri.

At this April, 1926 meeting, Avery & Piepmeier proposed that the new Los Angeles to Chicago highway be named "66." They wanted a prominent number that did not have any connection to any other route and which fell within the numbering guidelines for being an east-west highway. Research by the chief Engineer of Missouri showed that the designation of "66" had not yet been used anywhere. A telegraph would be sent from their meeting at the Colonial Hotel in Springfield (which, ironically was located on 66) to the Bureau of Public Roads in Washington D.C. on April 30 1926, stating: "Regarding Chicago Los Angeles Road: If California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Illinois will accept sixty-six instead of sixty we are inclined to agree to this change. We prefer sixty-six to sixty-two." Avery & Peipmeier signed the telegraph. It would August 11, 1926, before the state highway departments of the eight states through which "66" runs were officially notified that the designation of "66" was accepted by the Bureau of Public Roads. And it would be November 11, 1926, before the whole concept of the Federal Interstate Highway System would be approved by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, thus making Route 66 formally commissioned, a 2,448 mile highway linking Chicago to Los Angeles.

The idea behind Route 66 was originally to link the main streets of many small towns together to form this Interstate highway. Hence, the coining of the nickname "Main Street of America" in 1927 when the U.S. Highway 66 Association was formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma - with Springfieldian John T. Woodruff as its first president. Woodruff was an enterprising local entrepreneur who built the famous Kenwood Arms Hotel (which opened in July, 1926) and the Woodruff Building - both along Route 66 in Springfield and still visible today as a testimony to the city's place in the birth of Route 66!

The hotel Originally known as the Rail Haven Motor Court the hotel and then located on what was the northeast edge of town was soon to become a landmark for travelers on Route 66. In those early days the property grew from being the homestead of the Lippman family to a motor court consisting of a number of stone walled cabins. Those cabins were quite advanced for their day as they featured a kitchenette in each room and an adjoining garage for their newly motorized guests. It is interesting to note that several other businesses sprang up around the hotel to service the needs of a motoring and mobile public. It was not too many years later in 1946 the property grew to 28 cottages with showers, gas heat and laundry facilities. Other amenities were established such as a children’s playground, a wading pool and even baby sitters. By this time the AAA considered the hotel “excellent.” A famous travel writer/publisher of the time, Duncan Hines rated highly and often in his “Directory of Accommodations for Discriminating Guests.” This was a magnificent marketing recommendation because Hines accepted no fees for listings and recommended purely on merit that in turn was based upon his personal experience. He property continued to undergo growth and improvements with the addition of sixteen more units and air conditioning.

The Wreck of 51 A notable occurrence became know as the Wreck Of 1951 when a large truck came speeding south over the nearby railway and plowed into the Best Western Rail Haven Motor Court sign “in a most spectacular way,” as reported by Elinor Lippman. The truck ended up on its side with a car sandwiched between the truck and the sign. Amazingly no one was killed. A photograph of the incident is on display in the front lobby of the Best Western Route 66 rail Haven today and is even commemorated on T-shirts and postcards. See pictures of the wreck and other historic pictures.

In the 1950s stars such as Pat Boone and Elvis Presley played at the nearby Shrine Mosque, events that filled the hotel with fans. It is part of Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven lore that the parents of Elvis stayed at the hotel while their son was performing and that Elvis would spend quiet time with them in their room away from the madding crowds although there is no record of Elvis himself having stayed there.

By the early 1990s the once grand hotel came on the market and was bought by renowned entrepreneur, Gordon Elliott. Much work and money has been has been invested in the property in the last twenty five years to keep the property up to the high standards required by Best Western of its member hotels without losing the magic touch of nostalgia that celebrates over sixty years of the history of Route 66. See the property as it is today.

References: Pages 84-85, The First Name in Hospitality, a Best Western publication, ISBN: 1-88-2771-22-2

Route 66 Rail Haven: An Offspring of the “Mother Road” by Reta Spears-Stewart, ISBN: 1-892477-08-4

The National Register of Historic Places (listed May 10, 2010)

Show Me Route 66, a publication of the Route 66 Association of Missouri, 4th Quarter, 2005