Phoenix Sunrise Motel
Phoenix, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Phoenix Sunrise Motel at 3644 East Van Buren Street once had a decent roadside sign and a low, mid-century motel building that fit naturally along Phoenix’s old motel row. Unfortunately, the property does not look quite the same today. 11-20

The motel stood near the eastern end of the Van Buren strip, where travelers arriving on U.S. Routes 60, 70, 80, and 89 once found one motor court after another. Large signs, swimming pools, and promises of refrigerated air competed for attention all the way into downtown Phoenix.

Its location near Sky Harbor Airport helped the Phoenix Sunrise remain useful after interstate freeways pulled most cross-country travelers away from Van Buren. Guests could find a relatively inexpensive room only a short drive from the airport.

The motel retains its classic single-story, exterior-corridor layout surrounding a central parking area. An outdoor swimming pool, air conditioning, and modern Wi-Fi provide the basic comforts expected by today’s budget travelers.

Phoenix Sunrise Motel
Phoenix, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Over the years, weathering, repainting, and modest alterations stripped away much of the motel’s earlier appearance. The old marquee frame remained at the roadside, but its original colors and neon character were largely lost beneath newer paint and panels.

UPDATE: The Phoenix Sunrise Motel remains open as an independent economy property. Its buildings and roadside sign survive, although both have been altered and no longer display as much mid-century character as they once did. 08-26

Plaza Motel and Apartments (Demolished)
Phoenix, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Plaza Motel and Apartments featured an old roadside sign that already looked as though it had spent several decades beneath the Phoenix sun. Its faded paint and weathered lettering gave the place plenty of genuine roadside age. 11-20

The combination of motel rooms and apartments was once common along Phoenix’s older highway corridors. Overnight travelers could rent a room, while seasonal workers and longer-term residents could settle into a furnished apartment or kitchenette unit.

The sign appears to date from the postwar motel boom, when large metal marquees lined roads such as Van Buren Street and Grand Avenue. Even without bright paint or working neon, its old frame and block lettering still made the property difficult to overlook.

Plaza Motel and Apartments
Phoenix, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

UPDATE: The Plaza Motel and Apartments no longer operates under that name and I can't seem to locate it. The property was probably demolished, renamed, or extensively remodeled, while its faded roadside sign is presumed gone. 08-26

Thunderbird Apartments (Gone)
Phoenix, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Thunderbird Apartments featured a fine old roadside sign with a stylized thunderbird and a panel proudly advertising “COLOR TV.” That was once a pretty important amenity, even if it seems about as ordinary as running water today. 11-20

The sign had the look of a classic Southwestern motel marquee, with bold lettering, a regional name, and enough colorful decoration to catch the attention of anyone passing in a car. The little “COLOR TV” panel helps place it in the years when motel owners regularly used their signs to advertise every new convenience.

Although called apartments, the property may have started as a motor court or offered a mixture of short-term and long-term furnished rentals. That kind of arrangement became common as older Phoenix motels lost their cross-country tourist traffic and began renting rooms by the week or month.

The thunderbird was a popular Southwestern symbol and appeared on everything from motels and restaurants to gas stations and bowling alleys. Here it gave an otherwise ordinary apartment complex a strong roadside identity and probably looked even better when the sign was illuminated after dark.

Thunderbird Motel Postcard
Phoenix, AZ
Postcard courtesy Chet Wilson

Unfortunately, the exact Phoenix address has been lost, making the property difficult to follow through modern maps and real estate records. Several newer apartment complexes in the city use the Thunderbird name, but none can be confidently connected to the place shown in this photograph.

UPDATE: The original Thunderbird Apartments have not been identified at any surviving Phoenix location. The property was likely demolished, renamed, or remodeled beyond recognition, while its colorful sign is presumed removed. Until an old directory or address turns up, the final chapter of the Thunderbird remains another Phoenix roadside mystery. 08-26

Travel Inn 9 Motel (Closed)
Phoenix, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Travel Inn 9 Motel had the unmistakable look of a former Imperial 400. Its two-story room block and dramatic gull-wing roof over the lobby were hallmarks of the once-familiar motel chain. 11-20

The property was built in 1960 and opened the following year as Phoenix’s Imperial 400 Motel. It was reportedly the 23rd location in the fast-growing chain, which had been founded only a few years earlier and was opening new motels across the country at a remarkable pace.

Imperial 400 used bold modern architecture to make its properties recognizable from the highway. The raised butterfly or gull-wing roof made the lobby look as though it were preparing to take flight, while the two-story exterior corridors provided plenty of rooms without requiring a large parcel of downtown land.

Travel Inn 9 Motel
Phoenix, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The motel became a Friendship Inn in 1972. In 1986, it changed names again and operated as the Travel Inn and Travel Inn 9. The reason for the mysterious “9” on the sign remains uncertain, but it gave the motel one more unusual bit of roadside character.

Around 2004, the property returned to the Friendship Inn name. The original roadside sign structure was reused through the various changes, with new lettering and panels placed over the earlier Imperial 400 and Travel Inn identities.

UPDATE: The motel was not demolished and remains open as the Friendship Inn Motel. Its original 1961 buildings, two-story exterior corridors, and soaring gull-wing lobby roof survive, making it one of downtown Phoenix’s better-preserved examples of Imperial 400 architecture. 08-26