MGB: The Spaces in Between

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MGB: The Spaces in Between

MGB: The Spaces in Between

Elizabeth Logan Calvin takes notes to jog her memory about her family history during an interview about her grandmother, Alberta Northcutt Ellis’s Hotel which was included in the Green Book, a series of travel guides for African Americans to help the

Silver Springs park, in Springfield, MO, is the site of Park Day, a community reunion tied to Emancipation Day, and was featured in the movie of the same name.

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Alma Clay, lifelong resident of Springfield, MO, pictured in Silver Springs Park, a historically Black park built by the Civilian Conservation Corp in the 1930s.

Much of Route 66 went through rural and semi-rural areas. The Northcutt Ellis family would stay with family friends along the way.

Irv Logan in his home in St. Louis, MO. Irv is the grandson of Alberta Northcutt Ellis, the proprietor of Alberta's Hotel (now demolished), the Snack Shack, the Farm, and other hospitality businesses in Springfield, MO during Jim Crow.

The Deep Deuce neighborhood in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was a thriving Black business district established the late 19th century. The Littlepage Hotel is one of three structures in this district on the National Register of Historic Places.

The remains of the Black business district in Amarillo, Texas. The foundation of what was likely a dance hall on the corner of 3rd and Van Buren Street marks one of the once-vibrant corners.

The De Anza motel in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a well-known landmark on Route 66, and an important stop for Black travelers.

A tourist home in Tucumcari, New Mexico, run by Joe Mitchell, a shoe shine tech at a local barbershop. According to the barbershop proprietor, Mitchell lived there with his son, Ervin, and let rooms out to Black porters coming off work from the railr

The El Rancho Motel in Holbrook, Arizona, was listed in the Green Book in 1952.

The structure of Graham's Rib Shack still stands. Graham's Rib Shack was one of the many black owned businesses in Springfield MO, in the Green Book guide, and stood across the street from Alberta's Hotel.

Phyllis Calvin Barnes stands outside her home in St. Louis, MO. Phyllis is the great granddaughter of Alberta Northcutt Ellis, the proprietor of Alberta's Hotel (now demolished), the Snack Shack, the Farm, and other hospitality businesses in Springfi

The former site of Murray's Dude Ranch, Victorville, California. In addition to hosting Black and white vacationers, Murray's was also the location set for Black westerns starring Herb Jefferies, the Bronze Buckaroo, in the late 1930s.

A lawn sign reads “You are no longer a trespasser, you are now a target” on what was the land of Alberta's Farm. Alberta’s Farm, also listed in the Green Book guide, was a larger space for black people to safely stop along route 66.

The Foothill Motel, along Route 66 through San Bernardino, California.

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