A fire on Thursday night heavily damaged the historic but long-closed Sunset Motel along old Route 66 in Villa Ridge, Missouri.
Roamin’ Rich Dinkela, past president of the Route 66 Association of Missouri and owner of two historic Route 66 motels in the Show Me State, was among the first with a video camera on the scene:
Dana Bowers also shot photographs and video while the fire was still in progress, plus images that show the extensive damage in the daylight.
More photos of the motel’s damage by Ray Morman:
The fire’s cause remains unknown, but one of the videos shows the most extensive damage in an area where power lines went to the building.
The Sunset was put up for sale for $1.1 million a few years ago.
According to Route 66 Times, the 12-unit motel at 427 Highway AT (aka Route 66) was built in 1945.
The motel’s neon sign was restored in 2009 with the help of a cost-share grant from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program. The neon sign remains intact after the fire because it is set back a considerable distance from the main structure.
At the time of the sign’s restoration, the motel’s owners said they planned to reopen four of its rooms to Route 66 travelers, but I’m unaware they ever did.