El Rancho Motel (Demolished)
Mesa, AZ Photo courtesy Tony Craig
Check out the unusual sign that once stood outside the El Rancho Motel along East Main Street in Mesa. Its stacked panels advertised “Family Rates” and a “Pool,” two good reasons for travelers to pull off the old highway and spend the night.
The El Rancho served motorists for several decades during the years when Main Street carried highway traffic through Mesa. Like many independent motels, it relied on a distinctive sign and a few well-placed amenity panels to compete for attention.
“Family Rates” is an especially nice holdover from the days of the family road trip. Load everyone into the station wagon, find a motel with a pool, and hope the children were tired enough to go to sleep after swimming.
The motel eventually closed and fell into poor condition. Its buildings were later demolished to make way for El Rancho Del Arte, a four-story affordable housing complex with 66 apartments and community art spaces.
UPDATE : The El Rancho Motel is now gone. The motel was demolished in 2014 with the El Rancho Apartments taking its place. Another Mesa roadside delight is now a memory. 04-17
UPDATE: The El Rancho Motel is gone, and its unique roadside sign was removed during redevelopment. Unlike the nearby Kiva Lodge sign, the El Rancho sign was reportedly destroyed rather than saved. 08-26
Buckhorn Baths Motel (Closed0
Mesa, AZ Photo courtesy Tony Craig
Peeking over the neon marquee is the young buck that welcomed travelers to the Buckhorn Baths Motel along East Main Street in Mesa. The sign, mounted between two sandstone pillars, gave the property plenty of Western roadside character.
Ted and Alice Sliger opened a gas station and trading post here in 1936. While drilling a well in 1939, they unexpectedly struck 112-degree mineral water and soon added baths, cottages, and other resort facilities.
Ted was also a taxidermist, so the property eventually included the Buckhorn Wildlife Museum and its collection of more than 400 mounted animals. Guests could soak in mineral water, spend the night, and visit a wildlife museum without leaving the grounds. The Buckhorn later became a spring-training home for the New York Giants. Baseball players, including Willie Mays, used the mineral baths to soothe their tired muscles. The bathhouse closed in 1999, followed by the motel and museum in 2004.
UPDATE: Buckhorn Baths owner Alice Sliger passed away in November 2010 at the age of 103. Sliger had lived at the property up until 6 months ago. See this article for more info. 11-10
UPDATE: Unfortunately a deal that would have transferred ownership to the City of Mesa has died. Mesa voters had approved a multi-million dollar bond package to purchase and preserve this treasure. Word is that Mesa and relatives of the Sliger's could not reach an agreement The fate of the Buckhorn Baths is now unknown. See this article for more info. 04-15
UPDATE: The Buckhorn Baths remains vacant, boarded, and fenced while its future is debated. Its Pueblo Revival buildings and buck-topped neon sign still stand, although the sign has been dark for many years. 08-26
Home on the Range Motel(Demolished)
Bowie, AZ Photo courtesy Gorb70
Check out the empty roadside sign at the Home on the Range Motel in Bowie. Whatever lettering once filled the main panel was already gone, although a smaller panel still advertised Geronimo’s Gift Shop. 03-06
Built during the 1940s, the motel stood along old State Route 86 before Interstate 10 redirected most travelers away from the center of Bowie. The Yucca Lodge, another small roadside motel, operated across the highway.
Geronimo’s Gift Shop added a little more than rooms to the roadside stop. It offered Southwestern jewelry, pottery, blankets, and other Native American-themed merchandise to travelers passing through Cochise County.
Home on the Range Motel
Bowie, AZ Photo courtesy Gorb70
By the time these photos were taken, the motel had been abandoned for many years. Its empty sign, deteriorating rooms, and silent gift shop showed what happened to many highway businesses after the interstate passed them by.
UPDATE: The remains of the Home on the Range Motel were demolished in 2021 after decades of abandonment. Its empty roadside sign and the former Geronimo’s Gift Shop were removed with the buildings. 08-26
Horseshoe Motel (Demolished)
AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
With its bright colors and oversized Western marquee, the Horseshoe Motel certainly knew how to attract attention along old Highway 84 in Casa Grande. These photos were taken in 2001, only a few years before the motel disappeared.
The property opened in 1943 as the Horse Shoe Lodge, operated by Ernest and Ann Kobema. It later became known as the Horseshoe Motel and earned some local attention for offering electric air conditioning when many competing desert motels still relied on swamp coolers.
Its wonderful neon horseshoe sign was installed in 1953. The property also once featured a mechanical “Waver” sign with a bellhop figure that moved its arm to attract passing motorists. Apparently, one flashy sign was not quite enough.
By the time these photos were taken, the motel was nearing the end of its roadside run. The buildings were demolished in 2004, but Casa Grande Main Street rescued the old neon sign before it could be lost with them.
UPDATE: The Horseshoe Motel is gone, but its restored 1953 sign now glows again at the Casa Grande Neon Sign Park. The motel did not survive, but its most colorful roadside feature found a new home. 08-26
Hiway Host Motel
Mesa, AZ Photo courtesy Tony Craig
A colorful starburst tops the roadside sign at the Hiway Host Motel along West Main Street in Mesa. Add the tall palm trees behind it, and the property has the look of a classic Arizona motel stop.
“Hiway Host” was a fairly common motel name around the country, but this sign gave the Mesa version plenty of its own personality. The deliberately shortened “Hiway” spelling also looked good spread across the wide sign panel.
The motel appears to date from the 1950s and was once operated by Leonard and Ellen Hunt. Vintage postcards advertised refrigerated cooling, wall-to-wall carpeting, kitchenettes, a heated swimming pool, and even shuffleboard courts. Main Street carried U.S. Route 80 through Mesa before the freeways redirected most long-distance travelers. Out in the desert heat, a starburst sign promising refrigerated rooms and a pool could make a motel look especially inviting.
UPDATE: The Hiway Host Motel remains open as an independent budget motel. Its pole sign, upper starburst, and palm trees still survive, although the main panels and lettering have been simplified over the years. 08-26
Benson Motel Marquee (Demolished)
Benson, AZ Photo courtesy Larry Glass
Here is the old Benson Motel marquee that once stood at 185 West 4th Street in downtown Benson. Its broad sign face welcomed travelers passing through town along the old highway.
The motel offered 18 modern, air-conditioned units, including three kitchenettes. Those were useful comforts for families and long-distance motorists crossing southern Arizona, especially during the hotter months.
Fourth Street carried U.S. Highway 80 through Benson before Interstate 10 changed the flow of traffic. Motels, cafes, gas stations, and colorful signs once lined the route between Tucson and New Mexico.
After the Benson Motel closed, its buildings sat vacant and gradually fell into serious disrepair. The property eventually became a health and safety concern, leading the City of Benson to condemn the site.
Benson Motel
Benson, AZ Photo courtesy Bob Jagendorf
UPDATE: To the right is a close-up look at the marquee for the Benson Motel in the town of Benson. The little auto on top of the marquee is still intact. 04-09
UPDATE: The Benson Motel was demolished in April 2017. Unfortunately, the motel became neglected and was determined to be a blight and eyesore to the city. 09-17
UPDATE: The city demolished the Benson Motel and removed its marquee in 2017. The cleanup cost more than $74,000, and the city later pursued the underlying parcels to recover its expenses. 08-26
Buckhorn Baths Motel (Closed0
Home on the Range Motel(Demolished) 
Home on the Range Motel 
Horseshoe Motel (Demolished)
Benson Motel Marquee (Demolished)
Benson Motel
