Rock Fountain Court - Springfield, Missouri
Posted by: 
BruceS
N 37° 12.528 W 093° 19.505
15S E 471154 N 4118085
Historic Route 66 motor court in Springfield, Missouri.
Waymark Code: WMCYB9
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 10/25/2011
Views: 19
The Rock Fountain Court, at 2400 College Street, in Springfield, Missouri, is significant area of commerce and in the area of architecture. It is a highly intact cottage court which appears today very much as it did when it opened for business in the mid-1940s. The court was built ca. 1945 by local developer "Mac" MacCandless, and the stonework was done by Ed Waddell, also of Springfield. The cottages were built to take advantage of the travel trade of U. S. Route 66, which was established in 1926. This is a relatively late, and notably intact, example of a roadside cottage court on Route 66 in Missouri. Although cottage courts were once the most common type of roadside lodging to be found along the nation's highways, their popularity was fading by the time the Rock Fountain opened, and many of those early courts have since been demolished or altered beyond recognition. A recent survey of all of the surviving resources on Route 66 in the state found that the Rock Fountain Court is one of the most intact examples of a native stone cottage court anywhere on that roadway in Missouri, and clearly the most intact such facility in Springfield. The Rock Fountain Court is also significant as a good representative example of vernacular stone construction of the period. The cottages are all faced with split native stone, a material favored by Ozark craftsmen in the middle decades of the twentieth century. Although rock cabins were once quite common along the roadside, intact examples today are rare. The Rock Fountain Court operated in its original function for decades, and the cabins still serve as residential rentals today." - National Register nomination
The cabins appear to be in very good condition and continue to be used as rental property. The motor court was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.