Prescott Valley Motel (Demolished)
Prescott, AZ Photo courtesy Chris Erias
The sweeping red arrow on the Prescott Valley Motel sign was designed to catch the eye of motorists traveling along State Route 69. With its sharp angles, bright colors, and tall roadside profile, the marquee had plenty of Atomic Age personality.
Built in 1966, the 23-room property was Prescott Valley’s first motel. It opened before Prescott Valley was incorporated as a town and became a familiar landmark for travelers passing through central Arizona. The motel also operated alongside the Y-Not Lounge, giving guests a place to stop for both a room and an evening drink. After more than 50 years as a family-run roadside business, the motel closed in 2018.
Before demolition, the abandoned rooms briefly found one final use when the Prescott Valley Police Department’s SWAT team used the property for training exercises. The buildings were then cleared in late 2019 to make way for a large Circle K gas station and convenience store.
The sign nearly disappeared with the motel. It was reportedly offered through Facebook Marketplace for only one dollar, although safely removing a sign that large cost considerably more. Local preservationists Wade Crandell and Dale Johnson stepped in to save it.
UPDATE: The huge sign for the Prescott Valley Motel or also known as the PV motel was taken down on 4/1/2020. The motel closed after 50 years in business in 2018. In the fall of 2019, the motel structure and the Y-Note Lounge were demolished. Circle K bought up the property despite having a location nearby and will build over the site. Fortunately the sign was preserved after being dismantled with hopes it will be restored and set back up in the community in the future. A spotlight will be made on this motel and sign in the near future. A visit here in the Spring of 2019 turned out the be the last time I got to see the sign intact on its original site. This is truly a loss of an icon. 05-20
UPDATE: The huge Prescott Valley Motel sign was removed by crane on April 1, 2020. It was dismantled and moved into private storage for eventual restoration rather than being sent to the scrapyard. 05-20
UPDATE: A Circle K now occupies the former motel site. The saved Googie sign remains in storage, but plans for its restoration and return to public display have not been announced. 09-26
Quarter Horse Motel
Benson, AZ Photo courtesy Larry Glass
Standing above the roof of the Quarter Horse Motel & RV Park is one of the best surviving Western-themed motel signs in southern Arizona. Its neon cowboy and horse still watch over passing traffic along 4th Street in Benson.
The motel was established in 1946 along what was then U.S. Highway 80. A family photograph dated July 1949 shows the motel already operating, while roadside sign records indicate that the rooftop cowboy has been there since at least that same year.
Quarter Horse Motel
Benson, AZ Photo courtesy Devil Doll
Rather than placing the marquee on a tall pole, the owners mounted it directly to the motel roof. The cowboy appears to be handling the reins while standing beside his quarter horse, creating a complete little Western scene above the building.
Old postcards advertised the motel as being on Highway 80, six blocks west of Benson. That description gives a good idea of how undeveloped this end of town must have seemed when the Quarter Horse first opened.
Back then, U.S. 80 was one of America’s great transcontinental highways, stretching from the Atlantic coast to San Diego. Travelers crossing southern Arizona passed directly through Benson, where motels, cafes, and service stations competed for their business.
Quarter Horse Motel
Benson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Quarter Horse name was a natural fit for the area’s ranching and Old West image. It also gave the motel a ready-made theme for its sign. No generic vacancy panel here. Put a cowboy and horse on the roof and let them do the advertising.
Check out the cowboy
character on this sign on the rooftop of the motel that was built in 1949.
The motel has reportedly remained under the same family ownership since 1969. While many other small motor courts disappeared after Interstate 10 redirected highway traffic, the Quarter Horse adapted by adding spaces for trailers and recreational vehicles.
Today, the property has only a handful of motel rooms, but the RV park offers around 50 spaces with water, sewer, and electrical hookups. Showers and laundry facilities make it a practical stop for modern highway travelers following the old route.
Benson is also very much a railroad town, and active tracks remain nearby. Between the vintage motel sign, highway traffic, RVs, and occasional sound of a passing train, the Quarter Horse still feels like a real roadside stop rather than a polished chain hotel.
Quarter Horse Motel
Benson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
UPDATE: The Quarter Horse Motel in Benson, AZ, just south of Tucson, has had its sign repainted in recent years. The "quarter horse" on the marquee still rears its head proudly off the Arizona roadside. 04-09
UPDATE : Here are more photos of the Quarter Horse Motel. 06-23
UPDATE: The Quarter Horse Motel & RV Park remains open at 800 West 4th Street. Its rare rooftop cowboy-and-horse sign also survives, continuing to welcome travelers more than 75 years after it first appeared above the old highway. 09-26
Amazon Motel
Tucson, AZ Photo courtesy Bob Jagendorf
Another survivor along Tucson’s Miracle Mile is the Amazon
Motel, marked by a tall roadside sign that looks straight out of the 1950s or 1960s. Its stacked lettering, metal grid, and neon outlines once helped the motel stand out after the desert sun went down.
The name itself seems a little unexpected for the Arizona desert. Perhaps that was part of the attraction. Among so many Western, Spanish, and desert-themed motel names, “Amazon” offered passing travelers something different to remember.
The sign which lights up in neon appears to date back from the 1950's or 60's.
Amazon Motel - 1999 view along the Miracle Mile
Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The motel stood along one of Tucson’s busiest roadside strips, where motor courts competed for travelers arriving on the old highway bypass. At night, signs like this turned Miracle Mile into a glowing trail of motel names, arrows, vacancy panels, swimming pools, and promises of refrigerated air.
Its low-rise rooms followed the traditional motor-court arrangement, with parking close to the doors. A traveler could pull off the highway, unload the car, and be settled in without navigating elevators, parking structures, or a long hotel hallway.
The Amazon eventually closed to overnight travelers, joining many other older motels that could no longer compete with the national chains near the interstate. Online travel sites continued showing old booking pages for years, making the property appear more active than it really was.
Fortunately, the buildings avoided the bulldozer. The Amazon is recognized as a contributing property within the Miracle Mile Historic District, and its surviving motel layout offered an opportunity for reuse instead of another complete demolition.
Old Pueblo Community Services and the City of Tucson converted the former rooms into 30 permanent supportive studio apartments. Backed by $6.2 million in state housing funds, the project provides affordable homes for people leaving homelessness while retaining the recognizable shape of the old roadside motel.
Amazon Motel sign close up
Tucson, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The remodeled property officially reopened in September 2025. It is an interesting new chapter for a place once built around short overnight stays. The rooms now provide permanent homes, while the old Amazon sign continues to mark the property along Miracle Mile.
A close up look at the top of the Amazon Motel sign. Check out the red balls on top
UPDATE : Here are more photos of the Amazon Motel. The sign itself has changed slightly over the past few decades. I've had more than my share of encounters taking photos here, especially at night. 06-23
UPDATE: The former Amazon Motel now operates as permanent supportive housing. Its landmark sign remains standing, although the current condition of its neon is uncertain. Construction has also begun on Amazon Flats, a neighboring 59-unit affordable family apartment building expected to open in 2027. 09-26
Prescott Valley Motel (Demolished)
Quarter Horse Motel
Quarter Horse Motel
Quarter Horse Motel
Quarter Horse Motel
