Earl’s Motor Court in Winslow changes hands

Earl’s Motor Court, a longtime fixture along Route 66 in Winslow, Arizona, changed owners this summer, but little else will change at the motel itself.

Angela Archibeque said during a phone interview Sunday she and her boyfriend Blas Sanchez, both Winslow natives, bought the motel for $190,000 in July after its longtime matriarch, Floranel Earl, died in February. Her husband, Lee Earl, preceded her in death.

Archibeque said they made a slight change to the motel’s name — it’s now Earl’s Route 66 Motor Court — and its phone number. Little else was altered, including the still-operating architectural neon lighting all over the building and signs.

“We’re keeping it an original Route 66 motor court,” she said. “We’re trying to restore it to keep it as original as possible. We like it the way it is.”

Earl’s Route 66 Motor Court’s website is here. It’s Facebook page is here.

Earl’s Route 66 Motor Court contains six rooms for overnight guests. Two other rooms that originally were built for overnight guests were converted long ago into a photographer’s studio and a hair salon.

Archibeque said one of those rooms may be changed into a television lounge area for guests. The other may be converted into an apartment or suite for long-term housing — namely for traveling nurses working at the hospital.

Archibeque was adamant, however, Earl’s Route 66 Motor Court would not become a local, long-term residential motel.

According to a 2006 article in the Navajo-Hopi Observer, Earl’s originally was built as the Marble Motel in 1952. The Earls bought the business in 1974.

Earl’s tended to be overshadowed by the magnificent La Posada hotel in Winslow. But many Route 66 travelers over the years found Earl’s to be a clean, comfortable choice for overnight lodging, especially because La Posada tends to be fully booked weeks or even months in advance.

(Hat tip to Lane Stripe; image of Earl’s Motor Court in Winslow, Arizona, in 2012 by Col Ford and Natasha de Vere via Flickr)

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