Apparently, Gallup isn’t the only Route 66 town that is closing its historic motels.
The River Valley Inn along Route 66 in Needles, California, was ordered shut down earlier this month by the city’s Buildings Department due to unsafe conditions.
That’s less than a year after the Best Motel, also along Route 66 in the city, was shuttered for similar reasons.
The River Valley Inn’s shutdown came to light on the Needles News, Happenings and Sports page on Facebook.
A resident posted photos of the motel at 1707 Needles Highway (aka Route 66) with notices on one of its doors stating “Dangerous Keep Out” and “Uninhabitable.”
A closer look shows the motel was cited for structural hazards, inadequate sanitation, nuisances, faulty wiring, faulty weather protection, improperly maintained materials, materials or conditions constituting a health or safety hazard and inadequate maintenance.
According to a county property records search, the motel’s owner is in Laguna Beach, California, who bought it less than a year ago., It is assessed at $359,000 — low by California standards.
Those same records state the motel was built in 1963. Whether the property will be repaired or put on the market remains unknown.
As for the Best Motel at 1900 Needles Highway, it was red-tagged last June. According to Nixle:
Detectives, with the assistance of the aforementioned agencies, made contact with individuals staying at this location and determined there were numerous health and safety code violations, as well as building code violations. These violations resulted in the business being given a 24 hour Notice of Violation, and all those residing at the location were relocated. On June 3, 2021, the business was provided a list of violations and Red tagged by the city of Needles. The business will remain Red tagged until the list of violations are corrected.
According to another property search, the Best Motel that was built in 1955 is owned by an individual in Beverly Hills, California. Its assessed value is $394,000.
Loopnet states the Best Motel is for sale, but clicking through that listing leads to no information.
We stayed at the River Valley Inn about 20 years ago, namely because it was next to the now-closed Hungry Bear Restaurant.
Gallup red-tagged six historic Route 66 motels a few months ago. A couple have been put up for sale, and their fate remains very uncertain.
In 2007, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed Route 66 motels on its annual Most Endangered Historic Places list. As many historic Route 66 motels approach 50 years old or older, this problem will become more acute due to lack of maintenance or encroaching development.
(Image of the River Valley Inn in Needles, California, via Facebook)
The Best Motel in Needles used to be the original TraveLodge which back in the day was a nice motel. The construction year of 1955 sounds about right. The TraveLodge goes back to the long-ago days when US Highway 66 was Arch Street in west Needles. The name Broadway was extended to the west with the jog along what was once N street and the Broadway name replaced Arch Street. (Now West Broadway is known as the “Needles Highway.”) The street address numbers in west Needles were also changed at that time (e.g., the TraveLodge once had an address of 600 Arch Street and then later 1900 West Broadway. The River Valley Inn was once 429 Arch Street and later 1707 West Broadway).