Springfield, MO

Springfield's claim as the birthplace of Route 66 begins with a message sent from the Colonial Hotel on April 30, 1926. John Woodruff of Springfield and Oklahoma businessman Cy Avery proposed US 66 for the planned Chicago-to-Los Angeles road, and the original alignment crossed Park Central Square before continuing east and west on city streets. An older transportation story runs south from Springfield. The road to Fayetteville established in 1836 later carried stagecoaches, a telegraph line, Cherokee families forced west on the Trail of Tears, and Civil War troops; the National Park Service preserves part of this Wire Road history near Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. Springfield had 169,176 residents in 2020 and remains the principal urban center of southwest Missouri.

Two old commercial districts show how rail and road growth divided the city. Park Central Square remains downtown's central public space, surrounded by offices, restaurants, cultural venues, and the History Museum on the Square. A mile north, Commercial Street developed after the railroad arrived in 1870 and established North Springfield as a separate town. Springfield and North Springfield merged in 1887, but the six-block C-Street district kept its own physical identity: Victorian-era commercial buildings parallel the tracks, and the Jefferson Avenue footbridge still spans the rail yard. Current storefronts include locally owned shops, international restaurants, studios, and small venues, while the seasonal C-Street City Market uses a dedicated market space. Downtown and C-Street remain separate gathering areas.

The medical campuses, university, and Bass Pro complex are also major workplaces. Education and health care accounted for 27 percent of Springfield jobs in the city's 2025–2029 consolidated plan. CoxHealth is based in Springfield and operates Cox South, Cox North, and Meyer Orthopedic and Surgical Hospital in the city; Mercy Hospital Springfield forms another large medical campus near National and Sunshine. Missouri State University's Springfield campus enrolled 25,038 students in fall 2024, placing classrooms, athletics, performances, and university employment immediately south of downtown. A different nationally known enterprise occupies West Sunshine Street. Johnny Morris began selling fishing tackle in Springfield in 1972, and Bass Pro Shops now maintains its corporate headquarters and original large-format store here beside the 350,000-square-foot Wonders of Wildlife museum and aquarium.

Springfield's markets and festivals repeatedly return to its old road and rail corridors. The Birthplace of Route 66 Festival returns downtown each August with cars, motorcycles, and music along sections of the old route; the 2026 edition marks the highway's centennial. C-Street holds market days and district events in a former rail center, while Park Central Square hosts markets, concerts, and civic gatherings. Just east of downtown, Jordan Valley Park opened in 2002 on former industrial land with plazas, paths, public art, and a seasonal fountain between the ice park and Hammons Field. During the Route 66 festival, the parade follows College and St. Louis streets through Park Central Square, bringing the centennial celebration onto the same city blocks the original highway crossed.