Glenstone Cottage Court Springfield, MO Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
Here's a vintage motel court that still looks like it belongs on Route 66. Glenstone Cottage Court welcomes travelers with a colorful old marquee advertising good rates and color TV, two things that probably filled plenty of rooms back in the day. Better yet, there's a Kentucky Fried Chicken right next door if the road has worked up an appetite.
Opened in 1947, the motel represents the transition from individual tourist cabins to the attached motel rooms that became common during the postwar travel boom. Originally built with just 17 units, some even included kitchenettes for travelers planning an extended stay. The layout has changed very little over the years, making it a nice glimpse into what thousands of families would have found after pulling off Route 66 for the night.
Glenstone Cottage Court
Springfield, MO Photo courtesy Dirk Burhans
The sign is the real attention-getter. Its unusual, crown-like design stands out from the typical rectangular motel marquees and gives the property a personality all its own. It may not be the flashiest sign along the Mother Road, but it's easy to see why it catches the eye. Signs like this did a lot of the talking before billboards and online reservations took over.
Springfield has lost a number of its vintage motels over the years, so it's always nice to find one that's still doing what it was built to do.
UPDATE: The motel is still welcoming travelers today as the Glenstone Court Motel. Better yet, the vintage marquee remains standing out front, continuing to greet Route 66 travelers much as it has for nearly 80 years. 07-26
Stanley Cour-tel Motel (Demolished)
St. Louis, MO Photo courtesy Kelly Coalier
The Stanley Cour-Tel near St. Louis offered travelers “the convenience of a motor court with the hospitality of a hotel.” Built in 1950 by Stanley and Olivia Williams, it featured 25 rooms with pastel-pink doors. Stanley even skipped Room 13 to keep the welcome inviting.
The motel stood on North Lindbergh Boulevard near the airport. Its connections with McDonnell Aircraft brought some notable guests: Mercury astronauts stayed here during spacecraft training. That’s quite a chapter for a family-run motor court.
UPDATE: The Stanley Cour-tel motel was torn down in 2003 to make way for the airport expansion in St. Louis. The sign has been purchased and moved to the Rabbit Ranch in Staunton, IL. Many thanks to Dennis Dixson for update. 11-05
UPDATE: Stanley Cour-Tel was demolished for airport expansion in the early 2000s. Its saved signs spent 2004–2017 at Henry’s Rabbit Ranch in Staunton, Illinois, before joining the Route 66 Neon Park in St. Robert, Missouri. Restored neon now keeps the Stanley name glowing in a new home. 07-26
Sunset Motel (Closed)
St Louis, MO Photo courtesy Don Gardner
The bold lettering and arrow at Sunset Motel gave Route 66 travelers a colorful welcome in Villa Ridge, west of St. Louis. This was a marquee worth catching after dark, even when the rooms behind it were no longer available.
Dating to the mid-1940s, the 12-unit motor court offered rooms accessible from the front lawn or rear parking area. Its neon sign received restoration in 2009 with help from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, bringing the old roadside display back to life.
UPDATE: Sunset remains closed, and a June 2026 fire badly damaged part of the vacant motel. Fortunately, the restored sign survived because it stands well away from the buildings. The rooms face an uncertain future, but the familiar arrow escaped the blaze. 07-26
La Casa Grande Motel (Gone)
St Louis, MO Photo courtesy Don Gardner
“Like a Fine Hotel” promised the sign at La Casa Grande Motel along Watson Road near St. Louis. The neon marquee suited the property’s Southwestern appearance, giving Route 66 motorists something different from the usual roadside court.
Dating to around 1940–1941, La Casa Grande began with individual tourist units and Pueblo-inspired styling. Its buildings later became long-term housing, while the sign took a separate preservation path. Collector Greg Rhomberg restored the display after its removal from the property.
UPDATE: The La Casa Grande Motel sign is now gone. Many thanks to Dennis Dixson for update. 07-07
UPDATE: The buildings survive in residential use. The Route 66 Association of Missouri acquired the restored sign in December 2024 for a proposed neon park. Its reported return to public display in 2026 could not be confirmed, but the sign has been preserved. 07-26
Coral Court Motel (Demolished)
St Louis, MO Photo courtesy Alan Culley
Once considered one of the finest motels on Route 66, Coral Court Motel was hard to mistake for anything else. Its sleek Art Deco styling, curved walls, glass block windows, and towering roadside sign gave it a futuristic look that must have seemed straight out of tomorrow when it opened. This was one motel that knew how to make a first impression. 06-07
Built in the early 1940s, Coral Court was unlike the typical roadside motor court. Nearly every room included its own private garage, allowing travelers to pull in, close the door, and unload without worrying about the weather. The unique design earned the motel a loyal following and, over the years, a colorful reputation as well.
Coral Court Motel (Demolished)
St Louis, MO Photo courtesy Alan Culley
As traffic shifted to Interstate 44, business slowly faded. Despite being listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a determined preservation effort, the motel closed in 1993 and was demolished two years later. It was a heartbreaking loss for Route 66 fans and lovers of mid-century architecture.
UPDATE: Although the motel has been gone since 1995, part of Coral Court lives on. Before demolition, one of the original two-unit buildings was carefully dismantled and reconstructed inside the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, where visitors can still experience a piece of this remarkable Route 66 motel. Unfortunately, the fate of the original roadside sign remains unknown. 07-26
Glenstone Cottage Court
Glenstone Cottage Court
Stanley Cour-tel Motel (Demolished)
Sunset Motel (Closed)
La Casa Grande Motel (Gone)
