Budget Lodge (Remodeled)
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Budget Lodge featured another of Phoenix’s old Travelodge throwback signs. The motel originally operated as a Travelodge, and the shape of its familiar roadside marquee survived after the property became the independently named Budget Lodge. 11-20
The big sign still had plenty of character, with colorful lettering filling the old Travelodge-style frame. It was a nice leftover from the days when motel chains used signs that could be recognized from far down the highway.
The Budget Lodge eventually closed and was remodeled as a Rodeway Inn. The original low-rise motel layout survived, including the exterior room entrances and central swimming pool, but most of its earlier roadside personality disappeared during the conversion.
UPDATE: The old sign frame remains standing, but its colorful Budget Lodge lettering was replaced with standard Rodeway Inn panels. The motel survives and continues operating, although the vintage Travelodge appearance is mostly gone. 08-26
Deserama Motel (Demolished)
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Deserama Motel at 2853 E Van Buren Street was another colorful stop along Phoenix’s old Van Buren motel strip. Its tall neon sign pointed travelers toward the driveway while advertising a pool, television, and phones, all important roadside luxuries when the motel opened in 1953. 11-20
The name had a fine desert-road sound to it, and the sign matched with its assortment of angled panels, arrows, and lettering. Beyond it was a familiar motor court where weary travelers could park near their rooms and cool off in the swimming pool.
Like many Van Buren motels, the Deserama struggled after interstate traffic bypassed the old highway. It eventually shifted away from its original tourist trade, declined, and closed.
UPDATE: The Deserama Motel was completely demolished and its wonderful roadside sign removed. A dirt lot remained where the rooms and swimming pool once stood, leaving another Van Buren motel as little more than a roadside memory. 08-26
Desert Inn Motel (Demolished)
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Desert Inn Motel at 950 West Van Buren Street had a cool-looking motel building that seemed straight out of the 1960s or 1970s. Its low profile and bold architectural lines gave the place considerably more personality than the average roadside motel. 11-20
A multi-tiered neon sign originally stood along Van Buren before being moved closer to 10th Avenue and Polk Street. From there, it could catch the attention of motorists approaching downtown Phoenix from Grand Avenue.
The Desert Inn dated from the era when Van Buren carried travelers following U.S. Routes 60, 70, and 80. It once offered the usual comforts of a classic desert motor court, including refrigerated air, televisions, landscaping, and a courtyard swimming pool.
UPDATE: After years of decline, the Desert Inn Motel was cleared as part of an urban cleanup project around 2012. The buildings and roadside sign were removed, leaving another empty space along Phoenix’s old motel row. 08-26
Desert Winds Motel (Gone)
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Desert Winds Motel was another of the independent motor courts found along Phoenix’s old Van Buren strip. Its roadside sign and suitably desert-themed name once called to travelers passing through the Valley, but the motel’s later history is difficult to follow. 11-20
Van Buren Street carried motorists following U.S. Routes 60, 70, 80, and 89 before the interstate freeways redirected traffic. During its busiest years, the road was crowded with colorful signs advertising swimming pools, refrigerated air, televisions, and inexpensive rooms.
The Desert Winds appears to have been one of the smaller properties competing for that highway business. Unfortunately, its exact street address has been lost, preventing the motel from being confidently matched with a surviving building or modern parcel.
Desert Winds Motel
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Several unrelated Phoenix-area apartments and housing communities now use the Desert Winds name. None has been confirmed as the former motel, and old directory listings have not provided a definite answer.
UPDATE: The Desert Winds Motel no longer operates under that name. It was probably demolished, renamed, or remodeled beyond recognition, while its roadside sign is presumed removed. Until an address or old directory advertisement surfaces, its final fate remains another Van Buren mystery. 08-26
Flamingo Airporter Inn (Demolished)
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Flamingo Airporter Inn was another Van Buren motel that had seen considerably better days. Its large roadside sign, once topped with a glowing flamingo, still attempted to catch the attention of travelers even as the property declined around it. 11-20
The motel opened during the early 1950s as the Flamingo Motel. In its better years, the central swimming pool hosted family gatherings, movie nights, and swimming lessons for nearby residents as well as motel guests.
After the freeways pulled travelers away from Van Buren, the property went through a remarkable succession of names. It operated at various times as the Airport Inn, Flamingo Airporter Inn, Skyline Inn, Knights Inn, and Pay Less Inn.
The frequent changes could not reverse the motel’s decline. After years of safety problems, code violations, and police calls, the city shut the property down in 2019.
UPDATE: The Flamingo Airporter Inn was completely demolished, and its old neon flamingo sign was removed. A fenced dirt lot now occupies another space where one of Van Buren’s colorful roadside motels once stood. 08-26
Liberty Apartments (Demolished)
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Liberty Motel and Apartments was once a well-known place to stay along East Van Buren Street. Its theme was impossible to miss, thanks to a tall neon sign featuring the Statue of Liberty holding her torch above the highway. 11-20
The Liberty was one of the earlier auto courts built along Van Buren and was operated for many years by Lily and Leo Carraro. The family also had a connection to Phoenix’s unusual Tovrea Castle, giving this little motel a link to another familiar local landmark.
The property offered regular overnight rooms, family suites, and furnished kitchenette apartments. Old advertisements proudly placed it at the meeting of U.S. Routes 60, 70, 80, 89, and 93, right in the middle of Phoenix’s pre-interstate highway traffic.
Liberty Apartments (Demolished)
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Statue of Liberty sign was part of Van Buren’s wonderfully competitive roadside landscape. Nearby motels used their own oversized versions of Old Faithful and the Alamo, turning this stretch of highway into a miniature tour of American landmarks.
Unfortunately, the Liberty declined along with the rest of the old motel strip. The sign was documented as late as 1991 but disappeared before the deteriorating motel buildings were finally cleared.
UPDATE: The Liberty Motel and Apartments were completely demolished, and the property remains a dusty commercial lot. The Statue of Liberty marquee is also gone, with no record showing that any part of it was saved. 08-26
Budget Lodge (Remodeled)
Deserama Motel (Demolished)
Desert Inn Motel (Demolished)
Desert Winds Motel (Gone)
Desert Winds Motel
Flamingo Airporter Inn (Demolished)
Liberty Apartments (Demolished)
Liberty Apartments (Demolished)
