Here's another reason to go on a road trip: The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program has released a list of all the properties listed in the Negro Motorist Green Book from 1936 to 1964 during the Jim Crow era of rampant racial segregation. A full list of the properties and their statuses is here. Kaisa … Continue reading Full inventory of Negro Motorist Green Book sites released
Category: Motels
More 1993 footage from a Route 66 trip
Anthony Reichardt has uploaded more videos from a Route 66 trip he took with a friend in August 1993 in a 1959 Cadillac. The first is a visit to Our Lady of the Highways Shrine near Raymond, Illinois. The shrine has changed little, but the footage contains a chat with longtime caretaker Francis Marten, who … Continue reading More 1993 footage from a Route 66 trip
Former cop pleads guilty to Tucumcari motel arson
A former police officer and another man pleaded guilty Friday to arson charges in burning down the closed Payless Inn on Route 66 and an abandoned house in Tucumcari, New Mexico, on Sept. 3, according to the Quay County Sun newspaper and other media outlets. Dustin “Dusty” Lopez, the former Tucumcari officer, and Robert Sandoval … Continue reading Former cop pleads guilty to Tucumcari motel arson
Joplin barber shop likely to become gallery, visitors center
An automotive artist from California may buy Dale's Ole 66 Barber Shop in Joplin, Missouri, and turn it into a gallery and visitors center, according to the Joplin Globe. Len Nordmann of Lake Elsinore, California, wants to buy the property at 2312 Utica St. (aka Route 66) from Shirley Holly, widow of longtime owner Dale Holly, who owned it … Continue reading Joplin barber shop likely to become gallery, visitors center
Signs saved from the demolished Bel-Aire Motel
An article this week in the The State Journal-Register answers one question in the wake of the demolition of the Bel-Air Motel in Springfield, Illinois -- what will happen to the neon signs? The short answer: They've been acquired by two local residents, where they likely will be restored. Retired Springfield businessman Ron Metzger and … Continue reading Signs saved from the demolished Bel-Aire Motel
2015 cost-share grants for Route 66 announced
The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program announced four cost-share grants totaling more than $97,000 for 2015. Boots Court architectural neon restoration, Carthage, Missouri, $20,000 grant, $20,565 match: Built in 1939, the Boots Court Motel is an outstanding example of a mom-and-pop motor court built in the Streamline Moderne style. Once threatened with demolition, the owners … Continue reading 2015 cost-share grants for Route 66 announced
A look at Route 66 in 1993
Anthony Reichardt of Santa Ana, California, drove his 1959 Cadillac down old Route 66 in the fall of 1993 has uploaded several videos from that journey. In them, you're likely to see things you never may see again. Such as this look inside -- and out -- of the West Winds Motel in Erick, Oklahoma, … Continue reading A look at Route 66 in 1993
Alternative lender helps Route 66 motel in Moriarty
A Route 66 motel in Moriarty, New Mexico, received a half-million-dollar loan from an alternative lender that paid for needed renovations and subsequently increased its revenues so much, it is on track to pay off the loan early, according to an article in Albuquerque Business First. Mike and Debbie Pogue of the Sunset Motel tried … Continue reading Alternative lender helps Route 66 motel in Moriarty
Route 66 tourism draws Hampton Inn to Pontiac
Pontiac, Illinois, doesn't have a Hampton Inn hotel. However, that soon will change, and much of that is because of the surge in Route 66 tourism in that town. Hampton Inns is building a 79-room hotel near Deerfield Road and Interstate 55, reported the Bloomington Pantagraph. The hotel chain projects it will be open by … Continue reading Route 66 tourism draws Hampton Inn to Pontiac
Former CNN staffer kills robber at Albuquerque motel
Former CNN anchor Lynne Russell and another former reporter for the cable news network became involved in a shootout Tuesday night at an Albuquerque motel that killed a robber, according to various news outlets, including the Albuquerque Journal. Russell and husband Chuck de Caro were staying overnight at a Motel 6 a few miles north of Route … Continue reading Former CNN staffer kills robber at Albuquerque motel