Discover 7 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Carthage (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: 66 Drive-In Theatre, Historic Phelps House, and Jasper County Courthouse. Also, be sure to include Colonial Apartments in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Carthage (Missouri).
Table of Contents
66 Drive-In Theatre
Movie theater in Jasper County, Missouri. 66 Drive-In is a historic drive-in theater national historic district located on U.S. Route 66 in Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri. The theater opened on September 22, 1949, four years before the first local television stations signed on in the Joplin-Springfield area. In an era before widespread adoption of transistors and before the invention of integrated circuits, car radios were not standard equipment in all vehicles. The few radios installed in vehicles were of vacuum tube design and power-hungry by modern standards. A series of poles in the car park of the nine-acre site were therefore deployed to hold loudspeakers so that viewers could hear the movie.
When television became a rival to cinema in the 1950s, movie studios went to widescreen format to differentiate their product from broadcast TV; the drive-in's screen was widened sometime after 1953 to accommodate the change in format. A playground was added on-site during the baby boom era.
The cinema was closed in 1985, but was renovated and reopened in 1998. It now shows two movies Friday, Saturday, Sunday every week.
The speakers are now gone, although the poles which once supported them remain.
A drive-in movie venue with many strong similarities to the original 66 Drive-In design (such as the original 4:3 screen aspect ratio, pole-mounted speakers and neon signage on the marquée) appears during the epilogue of Pixar's 2006 film Cars. The fictional drive-in is depicted as screening parody versions of other Pixar feature films.[1]
Address: 17231 Old 66 Blvd, 64836-7619 Carthage
Historic Phelps House
Historical place, Specialty museum, Museum
Address: 1146 Grand Ave, 64836-2832 Carthage
Jasper County Courthouse
Carthage Courthouse Square Historic District is a national historic district located at Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri. The district encompasses 42 contributing buildings in the central business district of Carthage. It developed in the late-19th and early-20th centuries and includes representative examples of Italianate and Romanesque Revival style architecture. Located in the district is the separately listed Jasper County Courthouse. Other notable buildings include the Bank of Carthage, Ben Franklin Store, Farmers and Drovers Bank / Miller Clothing Company, Belk-Simpson Building, Carthage Water & Electric Co. Snyder Building, Drake Hotel, Fire Department, Leggett and Platt, McNerney Block, and Carthage National Bank.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[2]
Address: Courthouse Square, 302 South Main Street, Carthage
Colonial Apartments
Apartment in Carthage, Missouri. The Colonial Apartments are two historic apartment buildings located at 406 Walnut St. in Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri. They were designed by Neville, Sharpe, and Simon in the Colonial Revival style and built in 1948 by the B&G Construction Group. They are two-story, red brick building designated Building A and Building B. They have low-pitched hipped roofs with segmental arched dormers.
The complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[3]
Address: 612 S Garrison Ave, Carthage
Jasper County Courthouse
Courthouse. The Jasper County Courthouse is a 106-ft tall historic courthouse located at Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri. It was built in 1894–1895. This highly photographed Richardsonian Romanesque edifice designed by architect Max A. Orlopp Jr. was constructed with local Carthage marble and has medieval castle features that include turrets, towers, and arches. It is the second most photographed building in Missouri. It remains in use by Jasper County officials.
The county clerk at the time the courthouse was approved was Annie White Baxter, the first woman to be elected a county clerk in the United States. As a member of county government, she exerted a significant degree of influence in the planning of the building, and she is memorialized on the grounds.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[4]
Carthage South Historic District
Carthage South Historic District is a national historic district located at Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri. The district encompasses 491 contributing buildings in a predominantly residential section Carthage. It largely developed between about 1875 and 1925 and includes representative examples of Late Victorian and Bungalow / American Craftsman style architecture. Notable buildings include St. Ann's Catholic Church, Former Westminister Presbyterian Church, First United Methodist Church, Carthage Senior High School, First Christian Church, Former Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and Carthage Public Library.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[5]
Cassill Place Historic District
Cassill Place Historic District is a national historic district located at Carthage, Jasper County, Missouri. The district encompasses eight contributing buildings in an exclusively residential section Carthage. It developed between about 1890 and 1925 and includes representative examples of Late Victorian and Bungalow / American Craftsman style architecture. The buildings include the Macoubrie House, Former Herrin Home, Fenimore House, McFadden House, Meister House, A. H. McFadden House, Former Eugene O'Keefe House, and Dennison House.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[6]