The City of Albuquerque has requested another deferral on whether to again designate El Vado Motel as a city landmark, and the owner has agreed to another 30-day delay, according to Maryellen Hennessy, senior planner with the Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission. The LUCC was supposed to decide this on Wednesday. It now looks like … Continue reading Another delay
Category: Motels
A model program for motels?
The City of Flagstaff, Ariz., may be onto something big with its Route 66 Motel Preservation Program. According to the Arizona Daily Sun, the city isn't just giving lip service to historic motel owners along the Mother Road: Through the Route 66 Motel Preservation Program, the city is encouraging local hotel owners to apply for … Continue reading A model program for motels?
Notes from the road
Road correspondent Mark Potter reports that the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, N.M., has been returned to its original 1939 color scheme of blue. For many years, the motel was mostly of a coral color. Folks in Springfield, Mo., who are fighting the proposed relocation of Missouri 266, aka Route 66, in their town have … Continue reading Notes from the road
Wigwam Motel is among world’s quirkiest
The TripAdvisor travel community released its list of the world's quirkiest motels, and a Route 66 establishment made the top 10. At the No. 9 slot is the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Ariz.: Its second year on the top ten quirky hotel list and with a unique price to match, the Wigwam Motel is a … Continue reading Wigwam Motel is among world’s quirkiest
Jewel of the Southwest
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch this weekend had an article about the history and rebirth of La Posada, a former Harvey House, on Route 66 in Winslow, Ariz. Even though it's been a major attraction for several years, owner Alan Affeldt isn't done. He's undertaking a landscaping project at La Posada that will cost about a … Continue reading Jewel of the Southwest
A motel to avoid
Usually, if someone recommends to stay away from a certain Route 66 motel, it's taken with a grain of salt. After all, standards for lodging range as widely as the Mother Road's topography. But when that recommendation comes from the commander of a nearby military base, that gets your attention. A tidbit in the Friday … Continue reading A motel to avoid
Book review: “Roadside Attractions”
Rating high on our wish list is an updated volume of "Roadside America." "New Roadside America," an irreverent but fond look at highway oddities, proved to be a critical influence to us at Route 66 News. The Roadside America site is still going strong, but the dead-tree version hasn't been updated since 1992. Brian and … Continue reading Book review: “Roadside Attractions”
A struggle to preserve what’s left
The Chicago Tribune today tells about Route 66's struggles to preserve its historic motels. The article focuses on the closed and deteriorating Palamar Motel in Pontiac, of which a recent photo of it can be seen here. The Tribune lays out the dilemmas: But old motor lodges present trickier problems because they are larger and … Continue reading A struggle to preserve what’s left
Triangle Motel rehab continues
About a year ago, Alan McNeil purchased the long-closed and long-neglected Triangle Motel on old Route 66 in Amarillo, Texas. It had been condemned, but the city gave a one-year moratorium if McNeil could show progress was being made in the cleanup. A review of the progress is coming shortly, reports the Amarillo Globe-News (free … Continue reading Triangle Motel rehab continues
All-American motels
Time magazine published an article online about Asian-Americans who own motels along historic Route 66. The article mentions the Asian-Americans who brought back dignity to the Wigwam Motel in Rialto, Calif., and who continue to improve their properties, such as the Desert Hills Motel in Tulsa. But then ... ... [I]t's a shame that the … Continue reading All-American motels