Joy's Garage & Filling Station

500 Oak St., Carthage, MO
Phone:

East < GO > West

The Joy's Garage & Filling Station (G & E TIRE CO) building still has the DeSoto-Plymouth Sign hanging outside and is located at the SW corner of Oak (Route 66) and McGregor. The early history of this building is a little hard to nail down. The building appears to be comprised of at least four sections, all probably built at different times as evidenced by the varying exterior materials. I'm guessing here, but it looks like the center section facing Oak was probably the first built with the west section coming next, then the corner showroom third and the section behind the showroom last.

The filling station part is a particular puzzle, where were the pumps? They could have been on the corner part of the site where the showroom was later built. Otherwise they would almost have to have been on the boulevard between the sidewalk and curb. That was an early style of filling station.

As of late 2019 the building has new owners with hopes of restoring it.

There are still fast fading signs on the building. The large showroom windows that wrapped around the corner have been mostly filled in. They went from the "T" in tire on the side to the "E" in tire on the front.

At least part of this building was reportedly built in 1935 and by 1939 it was Joy's Garage & Filling Station, run by Joy L. Ortloff. In 1947 a city directory listed the building as Joy's Garage and Filling Station, managed by Joy L. Ortloff By 1950 the Joy (Joy-Stith) Motor Company was operating here, probably displaying a new car or two in the showroom on the corner.

They sold and serviced Plymouth and DeSoto automobiles as well as servicing other makes. This cool old neon sign still had its neon tubing on this side, except for the "E" in DeSoto when I snapped this photo in 2016. Both DeSoto and Plymouth have driven off into history, Plymouth in 2003 and DeSoto in 1961.

By 1956 the building housed the Graue Motor Company. That apparently didn't last all that long and was followed in quick succession by an assortment of auto related businesses including Downey Auto Repair, Ed Cash Garage, and Dave's Radiator Shop according to a 1993 MO SHPO Route 66 Architectural Survey.

By the early 1960s the building was home to the G & E Tire Company. G & E Tire had a decades long run here lasting until 2006 or so.

Photo(s): 2016