Desert Inn
Motel
Phoenix, AZ Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan
Here is the old and now former sign for the Desert Inn Motel,
located on Van Buren Avenue in Phoenix.The motel still appears to be around but the sign is gone.
City Center Motel
Phoenix, AZ Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan
The City Center Motel was always one of the more fascinating sights along Van Buren Street. Everything about it looked big, angular, and a little futuristic, almost like a motel designed for the space-age world people imagined during the late 1950s.
Built in 1959, the motel featured a dramatic drive-through entrance, large geometric siding, and sharp architectural fins that seemed to push the building forward. Even when standing still, the place looked as though it were moving.
Then there was the towering sign. Its narrow blades and tall spires reached above the property like something from an old science-fiction movie. Seeing the motel made it easy to wonder what Van Buren must have looked like when all its neon signs were glowing and automobile travel still felt new and exciting.
Old postcards advertised the City Center as being at the downtown junction of U.S. Routes 60, 70, 80, 89, and 93. That placed the motel in the middle of an incredible amount of highway traffic during Phoenix’s mid-century tourist era.
City Center Motel
Phoenix, AZ Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan
The property later spent time under the Travelodge name, and the sign lost its original panels and lettering. Fortunately, some of those vintage sign elements were saved rather than thrown away.
In 2021, developers proposed demolishing the motel for a futuristic EV-themed hotel. That would have been an oddly appropriate replacement, but preservationists fought to save the real space-age building already standing there. Phoenix granted the main structure historic designation in 2022 and approved preservation funding the following year.
UPDATE: Here's a postcard shot from the 50's of the City Center Motel. The look of the motel appears to be the same, with the exception of the colors and panels on the marquee. Many thanks to Elgin MacMillan for update. 05-08
City Center Motel
Phoenix, AZ Postcard courtesy Elgin MacMillan and Jodey Elsner
UPDATE: The main 1959 Googie building and its dramatic roadside sign structure remain standing at 600 West Van Buren Street. Portions of the property may be redeveloped, but the most important space-age features have received historic protection. 08-26
Freeway Motel
Phoenix, AZ Photo courtesy Elgin MacMillan
Check out the roadside sign for the Freeway Motel in West Phoenix. The name gets right to the point, letting motorists know they have found a place to stop without wandering too far from the highway.
True to its name, the motel sits near the interchange of West Buckeye Road and Interstate 17, also known as the Black Canyon Freeway. As interstate travel replaced the older highway strips, motel names such as Freeway, Interstate, and Exit became increasingly common.
The property follows the familiar independent motor-court arrangement, with low-rise rooms facing an open parking area. Business records trace the Freeway Motel name here to at least the early 1980s.
Its tall pole sign remains the main roadside attraction. The lettering and display panels have been simplified over the years, but the original frame continues to greet traffic passing along Buckeye Road.
UPDATE: The Freeway Motel remains open as an independent budget motel near Interstate 17. Its roadside sign still stands, although much of its earlier color and sign detailing has been altered. 08-26
Motel (Gone)
Mesa, AZ Photo courtesy Tony Craig
Sometimes a sign does not need a fancy name. This old Motel sign along West Main Street in Mesa simply told passing travelers everything they needed to know.
It is a reminder of when the family piled into the station wagon for a real road trip across America. Maybe everyone was headed to see Grandma, Aunt Suzie, or some roadside attraction that looked much better in the brochure. Eventually someone would spot a motel sign, and that was where the family stopped for the night.
The motor court was built around 1953 along the old U.S. Highway 80 corridor. Its L-shaped arrangement allowed travelers to park the station wagon directly outside the room, unload the luggage, and hopefully get some rest before doing it all again the next morning.
The property appears to have once operated as the A-1 Motel, although its original name eventually disappeared from the marquee. All that remained was the wonderfully generic word “MOTEL,” floating above the old highway like a leftover piece of the family road-trip era.
UPDATE: The property no longer operates as a traditional overnight motel and has been converted to long-term residential use. Its stripped-down roadside sign remains, still advertising nothing more complicated than “MOTEL.” 08-26
Cocanut Grove Motel (Removed)
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the wonderful old marquee for the Cocanut Grove Motel along West Van Buren Street in Phoenix. Yes, “Cocanut” was really spelled with an “a” on the sign. It was not necessarily a mistake.
The name may have been inspired by the famous Cocoanut Grove nightclub inside the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, which used the same old-fashioned spelling. Borrowing the name gave this modest Arizona motor court a little Hollywood glamour and tropical flavor in the middle of the desert.
The motel stood along old U.S. Route 80 during the years when Van Buren Street was Phoenix’s main motel strip. Its unusual name and large neon marquee helped it compete with the many other motor courts calling to travelers along the highway.
Another view of the Cocanut Grove Motel sign
Phoenix, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Vintage postcards advertised furnished apartments and rooms designed for “gracious living.” The property also offered an Arizona Paddock swimming pool that was heated during winter and cooled in summer. Apparently even the swimming pool needed air conditioning in Phoenix.
The old metal-and-neon marquee survived beside Van Buren Street for many years. Its tall shape, multiple panels, and unusual spelling made it much more memorable than the plain replacement that eventually took its place.
UPDATE: The Coconut Grove Motel remains open at 2012 West Van Buren Street. Its original “Cocanut” neon marquee is gone, replaced by a modern plastic sign that uses the conventional spelling with an “o.” 08-26
City Center Motel
City Center Motel
City Center Motel
Freeway Motel
Motel (Gone)
Cocanut Grove Motel (Removed)
Another view of the Cocanut Grove Motel sign
