Alberta's Hotel

Alberta's Hotel. . , In the early 1950s, Alberta Ellis was determined to provide lodging for African-Americans who traveled through Springfield on iconic Route 66. She purchased an old city hospital building on North Benton Avenue at an auction for $10,000. , Miss Alberta, as people called her, remodeled the building to include rooms for guests, a large dining hall, a rumpus room, beauty salon, barbershop, and snack bar. The hotel, staffed by family members, was located three blocks north of Route 66. Alberta's Hotel was listed in The Negro Travelers' Green Book beginning in 1954, and over the years Route 66 travelers from across the United States and other countries stayed at the hotel. As Alberta's grandson recalled, “there was always something going on, it was very active.” , Miss Alberta hosted many famous entertainers who were denied lodging in Springfield's segregated hotels, including Nat King Cole, Louis Jordan, Frankie Lymon, Stevie Wonder, and The Harlem Globetrotters. , She also owned a 10-acre property known as “The Farm” 10 miles west of Springfield on the north side of Route 66. She and her family raised chickens and honey bees, and grew fruit and produce for meals served to the hotel's guests. “The Farm” also was a place for overflow hotel guests and Route 66 travelers to stay and camp. , Miss Alberta ran the hotel until the mid-1960s, when the City purchased it through eminent domain. Shortly thereafter Ms. Alberta died in 1966 at 56 years old.