Mural by Carthage artist to be unveiled in Joplin’s Route 66 Mural Park
On Friday, April 4, 2025, at 1:30 p.m., a Carthage artist Andy Thomas mural entitled Route 66 Tri-state Corridor will be unveiled in Joplin’s Route 66 Mural Park. The public is invited to the event.
Route 66 Mural Park is at 619 S. Main Street in downtown Joplin.
Though several important historical events connect the communities of southwest Missouri, southeast Kansas, and northeast Oklahoma, Route 66 has been a primary regional conduit for nearly a century.
Acclaimed Carthage (MO) artist Andy Thomas (https://www.andythomas.com/) created the new mural highlighting a collection of corridor landmarks popular with Route 66 travelers.
His work will be an addition to the two murals in the park. The landmarks depicted include buildings like the Carthage Courthouse and Miami’s Coleman Theatre, iconic stores such as the Old Riverstone Store and Carterville’s Supertam on 66, and the whimsical look through the lens with Cars on the Route in Galena and the 66 Drive-in West of Carthage.
Twenty-five landmarks dot the mural, with twenty-one directly on the Route. Additional notable items that travelers relate to are the Bonnie and Clyde legend, Grand Falls, the region’s Native American culture, and the Grapes of Wrath.
The Route 66 Tri-state Corridor is unique for tourism because it offers one—or two-day experiences of the culture, history, and united lives of three states, three counties, eleven communities, and four native nations.
Joplin Mayor Keenan T. Cortez, Sr., will unveil the mural with the assistance of mayors and tribal leaders from communities through which the corridor passes.
Invitations were extended to the Missouri communities of Carthage, Carterville, and Webb City; Galena, Riverton, and Baxter Springs in Kansas; Quapaw, Commerce, Miami, and Afton in Oklahoma; and the Native Nations of Quapaw, Ottawa, Peoria, and Miami.
If the weather requires the event to move inside, a modified unveiling will be held on the 1st Floor of Joplin City