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Thunderbird Motel (Closed)
Show Low, AZ
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

Standing tall along the Deuce of Clubs is the colorful sign for the Thunderbird Motel in Show Low. Its large bird emblem, geometric wings, and Southwestern colors gave highway travelers something easy to spot from the road.

The motel was built in 1955 along U.S. Route 60, the main highway passing through town. A shorter sign originally marked the property before the towering version seen here was installed during the 1960s.

Thunderbird imagery appeared on motel signs throughout the Southwest, often using similar shapes and colors inspired by Native American designs. This one fit especially well against the mountain-town setting of Show Low.

The tall replacement sign was designed to attract motorists traveling at higher highway speeds. It certainly did the job, rising well above the motel buildings and making the property difficult to miss while passing through town.

UPDATE: The motel buildings have been renovated and converted into the Thunderbird Apartments and studio units. Its landmark 1960s sign still stands along the Deuce of Clubs, although the current operating condition of its neon is uncertain. 09-26

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Cedar Motel (Rem.)
Snowflake, AZ
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

The Cedar Motel has a fine old roadside marquee worthy of Snowflake’s main drag. Its tall pylon and rustic cedar-tree design give this little independent motel considerably more character than a standard plastic highway sign.

The motel stands along Main Street and State Route 77, a busy route through Arizona’s White Mountains region. Its low-rise rooms and parking-at-the-door arrangement follow the familiar layout of a classic roadside motor court.

The original construction date is uncertain, but the Cedar has been serving travelers for decades. Modern conveniences such as Wi-Fi and flat-screen televisions have been added without completely erasing its old roadside appearance.

UPDATE: The Cedar Motel remains open as an independent budget lodging property. Its vintage sign was replaced a couple of decades ago. 08-26

Pueblo Hotel
Tucson, AZ
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

The Pueblo Hotel was not quite a roadside motel, but its wonderful neon sign certainly looked like it belonged along one of Tucson’s old motel strips. Best of all was the animated swimmer perched on top, forever diving toward the glowing “Swimming Pool” panel below.

The building began life between 1902 and 1904 as the Willard Hotel. Designed by noted Southwestern architect Henry C. Trost, it was later remodeled and reopened as the Pueblo Hotel and Apartments during the 1940s. The main neon sign was installed around 1948.

The diving woman did not arrive until 1955, when the hotel added a courtyard swimming pool. Acme Neon created the animated figure, which appeared to leap from the top of the sign and plunge toward the pool lettering. Diving-lady signs were once found throughout the hot and dry Southwest, where the promise of a cool swimming pool could pull plenty of travelers off the road.

The Pueblo Hotel closed in 1984 and remained vacant until it was restored and converted into professional offices during the early 1990s. The old neon sign survived but remained dark for years, eventually becoming an important part of Tucson’s campaign to protect and relight its historic signs.

UPDATE: The Pueblo sign was fully restored by Cook & Company Signmakers in 2012. With no known color photograph showing the diver’s original swimsuit, the restoration team gave her a playful polka-dot bikini. The former hotel remains in use as offices, while the animated diving lady is once again taking her nightly plunge. 08-26

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Butterfield Stage Motel
Deming, NM
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The neon marquee at the Butterfield Stage Motel is a real dandy. Perched at the top is a horse-drawn stagecoach racing across the sign, complete with a driver, galloping horses, and enough glowing neon to bring the whole scene to life after dark.

Opened in 1961, the motel stands along Deming’s old U.S. Route 80 and Old Spanish Trail corridor. Before Interstate 10 redirected most cross-country traffic, Pine Street was lined with motor courts competing for travelers with neon, low rates, and promises of a comfortable night in the desert.

The motel’s name pays tribute to the Butterfield Overland Mail, which carried passengers and mail across the American West between 1858 and 1861. Its route passed through southern New Mexico, giving the motel and its wonderful stagecoach sign a genuine local connection.

The marquee also advertises an entertaining collection of motel comforts accumulated over the years. “Tubs & Showers” represents an earlier era of travel, while “Free HBO” and “Full Cable TV” show how the sign kept up with changing expectations. Add modern Wi-Fi, and nearly every generation of roadside luxury is covered.

UPDATE: The Butterfield Stage Motel remains open with its traditional single-story motor-court layout. Best of all, the stagecoach marquee survives and still lights up, sending its team of neon horses galloping above Pine Street. 08-26

Copper Motel (Closed)
Superior, AZ
Photo courtesy Rob Svirskas

The Copper Motel once welcomed travelers into the mining town of Superior with a tall roadside marquee. By the time of this photograph, several pieces of the sign were already missing, a fairly common fate for old metal signs left to battle decades of desert sun, rust, and wind.

The motel stood along U.S. Route 60 near the junction with Highway 177. This rugged stretch of road carried tourists, truckers, and mining traffic through the mountains between the Phoenix area and Globe.

The Copper name was a natural fit for Superior, a town long shaped by the surrounding copper mines. The motel’s simple single-story rooms allowed guests to park directly outside their doors, following the familiar motor-court design of the 1950s.

Although the sign frame survived, the missing panels made it difficult to tell exactly how the original marquee appeared. What remained still added a bit of old highway character to Superior’s roadside.

UPDATE: The Copper Motel is closed and no longer rents rooms to travelers. The old motel buildings were repurposed for apartments and long-term housing, while the incomplete marquee remained standing near the highway. 08-26

Skyline Motel
Prescott, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Skyline Motel marquee combines a little bit of the old with the new. Its lettering appears on backlit plastic panels, but the bright colors and long swooping arrow recall the days when neon motor-court signs lined Arizona’s highways.

Built in 1957, the motel stands along White Spar Road and State Route 89 on the southern approach to Prescott. Before Interstate 17 redirected much of the traffic, this scenic road connected Phoenix with Prescott, Ash Fork, and Route 66.

The low-rise rooms sit among the pines, giving the Skyline a different setting from the desert motor courts found farther south. Guests can still park close to their rooms, while modern conveniences such as Wi-Fi and cable television have been added over the years.

UPDATE: The Skyline Motel remains open as an independent roadside lodging property. Its hybrid marquee also survives, mixing modern plastic panels with the shape and sweeping arrow of a classic 1950s motel sign. 08-26

Mile Hi Motel (Gone)
Prescott, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Mile-Hi Motel still stands along the roadside in Prescott, waiting for the occasional wayward traveler. Its old marquee remains out front, marking a little motor court that has been part of this mountain town since 1953.

The name is a nod to Prescott’s elevation of about 5,368 feet, placing the town just over a mile above sea level. The motel stood along old U.S. Route 89, only a few blocks south of downtown and the famous saloons of Whiskey Row.

Originally advertised as the Mile-Hi Motel & Cottages, the property offered 12 modern units with attached private garages. That was an especially useful feature in Prescott, where mountain weather could leave a traveler’s automobile covered in snow. The motel later moved away from conventional overnight tourism. Its cottages were converted into apartment-style rooms with kitchens and living areas, available primarily for daily, weekly, or monthly stays.

UPDATE: The Mile-Hi survives as an extended-stay apartment court and rooming house. Its original roadside marquee also remains along South Montezuma Street. It advertises Whiskey Bob's and the neon has been stripped off. 08-26