Updated 3/7/12: Tim Haygood Says that The Americana Theater is set to re-open on April 15th. Meanwhile, as scheduled, the Haygoods are “rocking it” every night at RFDTV, preparing segments for their show.
Feb. 29, 2012, 10:59 p.m.
Last week’s top story in the Branson Independent News spoke of the dire need for a facelift on 76 Country Music Boulevard, known to locals as “the strip.” Last night, the strip got that facelift. Yesterday evening, severe weather raced into Missouri from Kansas at over seventy miles per hour. Tornadoes spawned first in Lamar, Buffalo, and Lebanon, taking a life along the way. Another cell in the storm damaged Cassville, and Shell Knob. It was this storm that headed due east, dropping a tornado smack on the strip.
Driving the strip today, the damage was reminiscent of the damage in Joplin last May. It is more of a contrast than a comparison. The loss of life in Joplin is still palpable. So far as I know, no one lost their life in Branson. Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley said today that because the Joplin tragedy was so fresh on everyone’s mind, folks were quick to take shelter. She is probably right; many that I spoke with today told of hiding out in basements and crawling into bathtubs.
Hardly a business along the strip is unscathed. From the Branson Landing, west to the Jim Stafford Theater, roofs are missing or collapsed, or entire top floors have crumpled. Windows are shattered in condos above the stores at The Landing. It appears as if every window is out on the west side of The Hilton at the Branson Convention Center. There are reports of furniture being sucked out those windows. Today, drapes flap in the breeze. Driving west from the strip, one notices that the pylon sign in front of Wendy’s is gone.
Turning south from Wendy’s into the residential section just south of the strip, your heart sinks. Most of the homes in this section of town are damaged. One hundred year old trees have crushed cars and collapsed roofs. Power lines still crossed roads as of late this afternoon.
Tornadoes seem to have a mind of their own, picking and choosing which buildings to hit and which to miss. Across U.S. 65 on the strip, the Veterans’ Memorial Museum is devastated, and the Branson Mall, Walmart, and Jubilee Super Market are severely damaged. The Dick Clark Theater took a hit, but Dixie Stampede appears to have minor or no damage. Melody Lane Inn and its neighbor, 1st Inn both lost roofs, but the Baldknobbers’ Theater next door appears okay. A block to the north, the Plaza hotel, a tower property that sits further down the mountain, appears to have been spared. Next door to 1st Inn, Papa John’s and the Branson Variety Theatre have both lost roofs, though the majority of the damage at Branson Variety Theater seems to be in the lobby. Near the west end of the strip (and the beginning of the tornado’s path of destruction), the Blue Bayou Motel is utterly destroyed, but its sister motel, next door, the Caprice, appears to have far less damage. The Titanic seemed to be spared, but the nearby Best Western, The Hall of Fame Hotel, the Riverboat Inn, and Charlie’s Ribs have all suffered.
The real damage to Branson will be to the economy. Branson had hoped that this year would bring a comeback. The recession has been hard on Branson, especially on low-level hourly workers, those that work the front lines in the entertainment and hospitality industry. Even when the economy is good, working the front lines in Branson can mean a meager subsistence. For many, it means seasonal work, part-time work, or both. For many, front-line work means working two or three part-time jobs. Unemployment before the storm was at 9% in Taney and Stone County, but many of those had hopes of starting work in the next week or so. For some, that date may be pushed back a few weeks or even a few months while Branson rebuilds.
Branson is far from closed, though. Only half a dozen or so of Branson’s 50 theaters were damaged, some less than others. Those theaters, as of today’s reports, are The Owens Theater, The Dick Clark Theater, The Branson Variety Theatre, The Starlite Theatre, The Andy Williams Theater, The Icon Theater, The Americana Theater, and The Baldknobbers’ Theater. Much of the damage to some of these theaters was very minor. It is expected that all but The Branson Variety and The Dick Clark will be open in a matter of days.
About twenty hotels and motels in Branson were damaged, and some nearly destroyed. Besides the Blue Bayou and the Melody Lane Inn, other hotels with substantial damage include 1st Inn and the Hilton Hotel. The top floor of the four story Ozark Mountain Inn on the strip at Fall Creek Road was practically sheered off.
The storm gave the strip a facelift, or the beginnings of one, but it could have been much worse. Most of the Branson’s Theaters will be open and most (though not all) will open on time. Most of the hotels are undamaged. And, thank God, this tornado stuck on leap day, instead of three weeks later when hotels on the strip would have hosted many more guests.
Branson Passport 