The neon sign for the long-closed West Winds Motel in Erick, Oklahoma, recently was hauled away by contractors so it could undergo restoration.
The workers hope the restoration project will be finished in 30 days, reported the Beckham County Record.
The City of Erick received an Oklahoma Route 66 Revitalization Grant of $35,710 from the Oklahoma Route 66 Commission, administered through the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, for the sign’s restoration.
This effort is made possible through collaboration with Bobby and Debbie Kemp and honors the vision of the motel’s former owner, Klaus Battenfeld, whose dream was to see the site restored. This project carries forward his passion and preserves the legacy he hoped to protect. […]
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and recently named one of Oklahoma’s Most Endangered Places by Preservation Oklahoma, the West Winds Motel is a piece of living history. Once restored, the neon sign will once again shine as a beacon of our past, a reminder of the days when Route 66 bustled with travelers connecting communities across the nation.
Earlier this year, the West Winds Motel was named one of Preservation Oklahoma’s Most Endangered Places.
The West Winds was built in 1948 along Route 66 in Erick. It closed about 30 years ago.
A 1993 video from Anthony Reichardt shows when the business was still operating:
(Image of the West Winds Motel sign in Erick, Oklahoma, by johrling via Flickr)