Spanish Trail Motel (1998) (Closed)
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Spanish Trail Motel was once a well known luxury motel, restaurant and supper club and Tucson treasure. Word is the motel has been around since around the 1930s which additions made to the site including restaurant in the 1960s.

Sadly, the property has deteriorated as the decades have passed. The whole place was abandoned since when these photos were taken beginning in the late 1990s. The googie looking restaurant has been fenced off, though restaurant equipment used to still be seen on the site. Supposedly the business closed in the 1990s. 07-23

See Roadside Peek's Lost Treasures feature on the Spanish Trail Motel.

Sahara Motor Inn (Closed)
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here's the old motel sign at the Sahara Motor Inn in Tucson, AZ. Located on Stone Avenue, the motel was in a state of abandonment in the late 90s and presented a sense of nostalgia while standing on property. Perhaps the barbed wire and this huge sign brought that feeling.

This sign was originally named the Tidelands Motor Inn in 1960. The incandescent light bulbs and old neon probably made this sign quite a sight to see during its heyday. The motel became the Sahara in 1975. 07-23

See Roadside Peek's Lost Treasures feature on the Sahara Motor Inn.

Paul's Hide Away Lodge (Demolished)
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Tucked along a side street near Oracle Road, Paul’s Hide Away Lodge lived up to its name. The old motel sat just beyond Tucson’s busy Miracle Mile corridor, marked by a rather eye-catching neon sign that made this little hideaway much easier to find. The script lettering and unusual shape gave it the kind of personality that could only come from the postwar roadside era. 06-23

The family-run lodge opened around 1959 or 1960, when Tucson was filling up with motor courts for winter visitors and highway travelers. Paul’s was smaller than many of its Miracle Mile neighbors, with fewer than 20 rooms and efficiency kitchenettes arranged around a landscaped courtyard and swimming pool. It looked like the sort of place where guests might settle in for a week and spend a few afternoons beside the pool.

Oracle Road was part of the old U.S. 80 and State Route 84 gateway into Tucson, but Paul’s sat back on Flores Street instead of directly along the main strip. That slightly hidden location probably inspired the name, although the glowing roadside sign still made sure passing motorists knew where to turn.

Paul's Hide Away Lodge (Closed)
Tucson, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

As Tucson’s motel trade changed, Paul’s shifted from overnight travelers to weekly and long-term rentals. The business eventually closed, and the name and neon were painted over, leaving the old sign standing completely blank. Even the sign had apparently decided to hide away.

UPDATE: Paul’s Hide Away Lodge closed, and both the motel buildings and its blanked-out neon sign were later removed. Nothing remains of this small Tucson motor court. 09-26

Picacho Motel (Gone)
Picacho, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Traveling Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Tucson about 20 years ago, it was almost impossible to miss the enormous Picacho Motel sign rising out of the desert. The towering structure seemed big enough to advertise an entire town, with a giant arrow pointing motorists off the freeway toward the motel below. 06-23

The Picacho Motel originally served travelers along old State Route 84, the main desert highway between Phoenix and Tucson before the interstate arrived. When I-10 bypassed the original road in 1967, the little community of Picacho lost much of its passing traffic. The huge freeway sign was a rather determined attempt to get some of those travelers back.

For years, the sign glowed beside the interstate and ranked among the largest independent motel signs in Arizona. The motel had another marquee closer to the rooms, just in case anyone managed to miss the first one. By the late 1990s the giant sign was still lighting the night, although the motel’s best days were already behind it.

I will always remember driving by or standing in front of this huge sign being amazed by its size. Now that image is now just a memory.

The huge sign off the interstate for the Picacho Motel (Gone)
Picacho, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The rooms were eventually converted into low-cost apartments before the property became abandoned. Both signs disappeared as the area was cleared for the widening and realignment of Interstate 10. The remaining motel buildings were finally leveled during the 2018–2019 highway project.

Although frequently listed as being in Tucson, the motel actually stood in Picacho, about 40 miles northwest of the city. Nearby Picacho Peak is also remembered as the site of the westernmost skirmish of the Civil War. There was quite a bit of history hiding beneath that gigantic arrow.

UPDATE: The Picacho Motel, its converted apartments, and both roadside signs are gone. The former property was cleared during the Interstate 10 widening and realignment project. 09-26