El Rancho Motel
Yuma, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Tucked along busy South 4th Avenue, the El Rancho Motel. is one of those old Yuma motor courts that still welcomes travelers beneath the desert sun. The low-rise rooms, parking spaces outside the doors, and swimming pool are all arranged in the familiar roadside style of the 1950s and 1960s. It is a simple setup made for pulling off the highway, unloading the car, and getting out of the Yuma heat.
The real attention-getter was always the freestanding marquee out front. Decorative carriage-style lanterns once lined the top of the sign, giving it a little Western rancho flavor and helping it stand apart from the many other motels along the strip. Those lanterns have since disappeared, and the original neon styling has been painted over or replaced, but the old sign structure remains beside the road.
South 4th Avenue has long been one of Yuma’s main travel corridors, carrying motorists toward California, Mexico, and the surrounding desert highways. It was a natural place for a row of motor courts, restaurants, gas stations, and other roadside stops. After a long day crossing the desert, that swimming pool and a glowing vacancy sign must have looked pretty inviting.
El Rancho marquee (1998)
Yuma, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Quite a few of Yuma’s old motels have vanished or changed beyond recognition, so it is nice to find the El Rancho still operating in its traditional motor-court setting. The marquee may have lost some of its old decoration, but the motel remains tucked just off the roadside and open for another night’s stay.
UPDATE: Here is another photo of the sign from 1998. The El Rancho marquee featured little lanterns on top of its sign. Today the sign has been painted over and the lanterns have been removed losing some of the sign's character. 11-20
UPDATE: The El Rancho Motel remains open. Its vintage roadside sign survives in altered form, although the original lanterns and much of its neon character are gone. 09-26
Vista del Sol Motel (Demolished)
Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The sign outside the Vista del Sol Motel offered color television, air-conditioned kitchens, and just about everything a weary traveler crossing the Arizona desert could want. Or something like that. With its sunny name, desert colors, and wonderfully busy collection of lettering, the marquee looked right at home along Tucson’s old Miracle Mile.
Before Interstate 10, Miracle Mile was part of the main highway route into Tucson from Phoenix. The strip was packed with motor courts, glowing neon signs, swimming pools, restaurants, and cocktail lounges competing for the attention of passing motorists. The Vista del Sol joined in by advertising a heated pool, color TV, and those air-conditioned guest kitchens, all important luxuries during a Tucson summer.
Ron and Marie Majors purchased the motel in 1959 and operated it for many years as a family business. By the time this sign was photographed in 1999, the old Miracle Mile motel scene was already fading, but the Vista del Sol marquee still provided a colorful reminder of what the highway once looked like after dark.
Vista del Sol Motel (Demolished)
Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.comv
The motel and its great desert-themed sign are now gone. The property was cleared and replaced by a storage facility, another bit of Tucson roadside history traded for rows of metal doors.
UPDATE: The Vista del Sol Motel is now the site of storage units. 07-10
UPDATE: The Vista del Sol Motel was demolished, and its vintage neon sign was removed. The former motel property is now occupied by a commercial storage facility. 09-26
Tropicana Motel (Demolished)
Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
There was no mistaking the Tropicana Motel along Tucson’s Miracle Mile. Its wonderful neon sign came complete with flowing script and a tall palm tree, bringing a little tropical island scenery to the middle of the Arizona desert.
The Tropicana opened in 1960 as a Polynesian-flavored motor hotel for travelers entering Tucson along old U.S. 80. The palm tree flashed above the roadside while the motel offered its own version of a desert oasis. It was exactly the kind of bright, slightly over-the-top sign needed to compete with all the other motor courts packed along Miracle Mile.
Tropicana Motel 1999
Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Things took a much different turn around 1995, when the property became an adult bookstore, movie parlor, and prop shop. The old Tropicana name and palm tree stayed right where they were, creating one of the more unusual second acts on the strip. Tropical getaway on the outside, something quite different waiting inside.
The Tropicana "Adult" hotel/motel off the Miracle Mile still
featured a neon palm tree sign back in 1999
The deteriorated motel was condemned in March 2004 and demolished later that year, but thankfully the sign escaped the wrecking crew. It was restored through the efforts of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation and returned to glowing condition. The palm tree was officially relighted during a 1950s-style sock hop in April 2012, which seems like a fitting comeback for an old Miracle Mile neon star.
UPDATE: The Tropicana Motel along the Miracle Mile was condemned and was demolished back in 2004. 11-09
UPDATE: The Tropicana sign was restored in 2011 when the city created the Neon Art Walk. The neon itself was restored as well and lights up the boulevard at night. 04-17
UPDATE: The Tropicana Motel is gone, but its restored neon sign survives along Drachman Street near Pima Community College. It now lights up as part of Tucson’s collection of rescued roadside signs. 09-26
Cascade Motel (Rem.)
Prescott, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Pulling into Prescott along old U.S. 89, the Cascade Motel sign gave travelers a handy list of reasons to stop for the night. Its stacked panels advertised “Modern,” “Kitchens,” “Showers,” and “TV,” back when those few words could make a roadside motel sound downright luxurious.
The Cascade stood along White Spar Road, the old pine-lined southern approach into Prescott. Its small motor-court layout was built around the automobile, with rooms close to the parking lot and that tall sign doing all the talking beside the highway.
The motel complex has since been renovated into a retro-inspired collection of vacation rentals and extended-stay units. The old roadside footprint remains, but the wonderfully talkative marquee was removed around 2017. Whether the sign was saved or scrapped is unknown.
UPDATE: The former Cascade Motel remains standing and operates under its historic name as a renovated boutique rental property. Its vintage stacked-panel roadside sign was removed in 2017. 09-26
Lil' Mtn Inn (Closed)
Yarnell, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Just off the twisting highway through Yarnell, the Lil’ Mtn Inn sign once welcomed motorists climbing the steep grade toward Prescott. Its little neon mountain, jaunty lettering, and shortened name fit this small roadside stop just about perfectly.
State Route 89 was the main road between Phoenix and Prescott before Interstate 17 carried most travelers elsewhere. The property apparently operated earlier as the Boulders Motel and was later converted to residential use.
The sign survived the devastating 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire and was still standing in December 2023, although badly faded and no longer glowing. That little mountain continues to mark an almost forgotten stop along the old highway.
UPDATE: The Lil’ Mtn Inn no longer operates as a motel. Its weathered roadside sign was last documented standing in December 2023. 09-26
Tropicana Motel (Demolished)
Cascade Motel (Rem.)
Lil' Mtn Inn (Closed)
