A motel, also known as motor hotel or motor lodge, is a hotel designed for motorists, usually having each room entered directly from the parking area for motor vehicles rather than through a central lobby. Entering dictionaries after World War II, the word motel, coined as a contraction of "motor hotel", originates from the Milestone Mo-Tel of San Luis Obispo, California, which was built in 1925. The term referred to a type of hotel consisting of a single building of connected rooms whose doors faced a parking lot and in some circumstances, a common area or a series of small cabins with common parking. Motels are often individually owned, though motel chains do exist.
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66, also known as the Will Rogers Highway, the Main Street of America or the Mother Road, was one of the original highways in the U.S. Highway System. US 66 was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The highway, which became one of the most famous roads in the United States, originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona before terminating in Santa Monica in Los Angeles County, California, covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km). It was recognized in popular culture by both the hit song "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" and the Route 66 television series, which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964. In John Steinbeck's classic American novel, The Grapes of Wrath (1939), the road "Highway 66" symbolized escape and loss.
Seligman is a census-designated place (CDP) on the northern border of Yavapai County, in northwestern Arizona, United States. The population was 456 at the 2000 census.
Tucumcari is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,363 at the 2010 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay County was established.
Glenrio, formerly Rock Island, is an unincorporated community in both Deaf Smith County, Texas, and Quay County, New Mexico, United States. Located on the former U.S. Route 66, the ghost town sits on the Texas–New Mexico state line. It includes the Glenrio Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.
U.S. Route 66 in the state of Texas extended across the Texas Panhandle from its designation in 1926 to its decommissioning in 1985.
The historic U.S. Route 66 ran east–west across the central part of the state of New Mexico, along the path now taken by Interstate 40 (I-40). However, until 1937, it took a longer route via Los Lunas, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe, now roughly New Mexico State Road 6 (NM 6), I-25, and US 84. Large portions of the old road parallel to I-40 have been designated NM 117, NM 118, NM 122, NM 124, NM 333, three separate loops of I-40 Business, and state-maintained frontage roads.
The Rising Sun Auto Camp, also known as the Roes Creek Auto Camp, East Glacier Auto Camp or simply Rising Sun preserves a portion of the built-up area of Glacier National Park that documents the second phase of tourist development in the park. Rising Sun is located along the Going-to-the-Sun Road, approximately 7 miles (11 km) from the east entrance to Glacier National Park, Montana, United States. Rising Sun is a wayside area that has a National Park Service campground, a camp store and gift shop, picnic area, restaurant, as well as a motel and guest cabins which are managed by the park's concessionaire, Xanterra Parks & Resorts. In the immediate area, there is also a boat dock as well as sightseeing boats which allow visitors to tour Saint Mary Lake, the second largest lake in the park. "The most popular spot for [Glacier] tourists is Rising Sun, an overlook of Goose Island in St. Mary Lake and one of the most photographed spots in the park."
The U-Drop Inn, also known as Tower Station and U-Drop Inn and Tower Café, was built in 1936 in Shamrock, Texas along the historic Route 66 highway. Inspired by the image of a nail stuck in soil, the building was designed by J. C. Berry. An unusual example of art deco architecture applied to a gas station and restaurant, the building features two flared towers with geometric detailing, curvilinear massing, glazed ceramic tile walls, and neon light accents. It has traditionally held two separate business: "Tower Station", a gas station on the western side, and the "U-Drop Inn", a café on the eastern side. Though it has passed hands several times in its history, the building has consistently housed the same types of businesses it was originally constructed for.
The Aztec Motel, also known as the Aztec Auto Court or Aztec Lodge, was a historic motel located on former U.S. Route 66 in the Upper Nob Hill neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Until its demolition in 2011 it was the oldest continuously-operating Route 66 motel in New Mexico and "one of the five most important motels left" in Albuquerque.
Radiator Springs is a fictional California town and the principal setting of the Disney/Pixar franchise Cars. A composite of multiple real-world locations on the historic U.S. Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles, it is most prominently featured in the 2006 film, and is home to a majority of the franchise's characters. A section of the Disney California Adventure theme park is based upon the setting.
The De Anza Motor Lodge was a historic motel located on former U.S. Route 66 in the Upper Nob Hill neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built in 1939 by Charles G. Wallace, a local trader of Zuni art and pottery, who remained the owner until 1983. Wallace decorated the motel with a variety of Native American art, including a series of murals by Zuni artist Tony Edaakie in a basement room.
The Blue Swallow Court in Tucumcari, New Mexico, United States, is a 12-unit L-shaped motel listed on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico as a part of historic U.S. Route 66. Original architectural features included a façade with pink stucco walls decorated with shell designs and a stepped parapet, on-site office and manager's residence and garages located between the sleeping units for travelers to park their motorcars.
The Munger Moss Motel is a motel in Lebanon, Missouri. It was built in 1946 as an addition to a roadside restaurant and filling station, both of which are now gone. The site's Munger-Moss Sandwich Shop served travellers on U.S. Route 66 in Missouri, circa 1936. Located on the Big Piney River at Devil's Elbow, Missouri until 1945, it relocated to Lebanon, Missouri after World War II when construction of a four-lane bypass of U.S. Route 66 in Missouri to Fort Leonard Wood drew traffic away from the original Munger Moss BBQ site.
The El Vado Auto Court is a historic motel in Albuquerque, New Mexico, located along former U.S. Route 66. Built in 1937, it operated until 2005 and reopened in 2018 after renovations. The motel was listed on the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and National Register of Historic Places in 1993, and was also designated an Albuquerque city landmark in 2008.
The El Campo Tourist Courts is a historic motel on Central Avenue in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which is notable as one of the best-preserved prewar Route 66 motels remaining in the city. It was built in 1939 by M. H. McGraw and was one of the westernmost Albuquerque motels, located about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of the city center. The motel was later converted into an apartment complex. The property was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1993 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The Hilltop Lodge was a historic motel on Central Avenue in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which was notable as one of the best-preserved Route 66 motels remaining in the city. It began as a small three-unit lodging in 1941, and was expanded to 12 units by owner E. H. Stopple in 1946. The property was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1997 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. The motel was demolished in 2003 after being shut down by the city as a nuisance property. The remainder of the site, including the neon sign, was cleared around 2017 for a realignment of Yucca Drive due to the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project.
The Downtowner Motor Inn is a historic motel on Central Avenue in Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. Opened in 1965, it was originally part of the Downtowner chain, which operated economy-priced motels in city centers across the U.S. In 1972, the motel was sold and became a Quality Inn. It has also operated as a Ramada and most recently as the Hotel Blue, which closed in 2017. As of 2020 the motel is planned to be renovated by the Los Angeles-based ARRIVE Hotels & Restaurants to reopen in 2022. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020 as "an exceptional example of a mid-20th-century motel on Route 66 in Albuquerque."
