Red Umbrella Project #32

Texan Motel

 Red Umbrella Project #31

Robin Hood Motel

 Red Umbrella Project #30

Crystal Motel

 Red Umbrella Project #29

Colt Motel

 Red Umbrella Project #28

Capri Motel

US 64 runs 2,326 miles from Nags Head NC to Four Corners AZ through Raton NM, although is was never as famous as its sister Route 66. In Raton US 64 is lined with mid-twentieth century motels, most standing empty with "for sale" signs. The construction of Interstate 24 curtailed tourist traffic. Raton's retro motel signs are reminiscent of times past.

del sol

 

The sun no longer shines so brightly on the Del Sol Motel.  What once must have been a great motor court with Spanish style has been reduced to apartment "rooms to rent" but with only one or two with parked cars (and BBQ grills and lawn chairs!)  The Del Sol's location was once great -- right downtown with the action-- but today's passing tourists, if they stay in Carrizozo, choose one the four more modern (relatively) motels on Highway 54. Convenience usually trumps character!

 

501 12th Street

Carrizozo, New Mexico

8.5.2015

 



vacancy

 

Today I traveled Historic Route 66 in Amarillo from west to east.  I really didn't get many "kicks" on this Route 66.  The journey was more despairing than nostalgic.  Except for a few blocks with spruced up buildings and antique shops, the "mother road" was showing its age. Newer businesses were established a few blocks south along I-40. Bars, taquerias and motorcycle shops seemed to predominate along the historic route.  The mid-century motor courts had mostly turned into cheap apartments and budget motels. The Cowboy Motel was about the only vintage sign I saw.  And nowhere did I see Buz and Tod in their Corvette.

 

Cowboy Motel

3619 Amarillo Boulevard East (Route 66)

Amarillo, Texas

yee-haw

 

I am a sucker for old neon signs -- especially those motel signs.  As I looked back over my Tucson trip, I found scores of retro signs.  According to their webpage, The Quarter Horse Motel was established in the 1940s.  The motel capitalizes on Benson's western heritage and its proximity to Tombstone.  As I pack for another adventure, I know that the Marriott sign will look just like those on every other Marriott property.  Too bad!

 

The Quarter Horse Motel

Benson, Arizona

2.28.2014

sign of the time

Back in the 1950′s and 60′s when the automobile was king, Tucson’s  Miracle Mile was a passage aglow with the neon signs of motor courts beckoning tourists with promises of swimming pools, lush courtyards, desert gardens and names like  La Siesta, El Rey, Frontier, and El Rancho.. Today, some of these  old establishments are still in business while others stand abandoned and deteriorating signs.  Preserve Tucson restored and reinstalled a series of historic neon signs along Drachman (between Stone Avenue and Oracle Road) along the alignment of Tucson's Historic Route 80 & 89 and State Route 84.  Click here neon signs to see a photo essay of the old signs.  (This blue sky is in contrast with the dreary clouds and 20 degrees welcoming me back home!)

Tucson Inn
Tucson, Arizona
2.28.2014