Sierra Vista Motel (Closed)
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo courtesy M.C. Morrissey

The weathered marquee outside the Sierra Vista Motel still advertises one of the more unusual roadside luxuries found around Flagstaff: “Inclosed Steam Heated Garages.” The lettering along the bottom is difficult to read today, but a warm place for the family automobile must have sounded mighty inviting after arriving in a snowstorm.

Although the property’s beginnings are sometimes dated to 1937, local newspaper records show that the Sierra Vista officially opened on May 14, 1948. Local carpenter Salvador Esparza built the motor court with 21 guest units, using native red Coconino sandstone and regional fieldstone. The rugged stone walls gave the place a mountain-lodge appearance that fit Flagstaff much better than a row of ordinary stucco motel rooms.

Sierra Vista Motel
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo courtesy Rod Holcomb

The Sierra Vista stood along Phoenix Avenue, which carried Route 66 through Flagstaff before the highway was shifted one block north in 1934. By the time the motel opened, it was already sitting beside the old alignment, but enough travelers still knew the way. Those enclosed garages were a serious selling point in a town where winter nights could leave cars covered with snow and ice.

Each garage was connected to a guest unit, allowing travelers to tuck both themselves and their automobiles safely away from the weather. Steam heat made the arrangement sound even more luxurious. And no, “Inclosed” was not necessarily a sign painter’s mistake. The spelling with an “I” was still an accepted variation during the motel’s early years, making the old panel a little linguistic time capsule.

Sierra Vista Motel
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The motel eventually stopped serving overnight travelers and became the Sierra Vista Apartments. For many years, its large marquee sat high on the roof of the two-story stone section. When a new roof was added around 2007 or 2008, the sign was taken down and placed on a pole at street level rather than being thrown away.

The neon tubing has disappeared, and the old lettering continues to fade, but the sign, stone buildings, and former garages remain. They are easy to miss one block south of modern Route 66, quietly holding onto a much earlier chapter of Flagstaff’s highway history.

The sign in 2000
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

UPDATE: The motel marquee for the Sierra Vista Motel is showing its age with the paint fading off over time. It also appears that the sign was painted over when the earlier photo was taken. The motel is still being used as apartments. 10-10

UPDATE: See more photos of the Sierra Vista Motel below. 05-20

UPDATE: The former Sierra Vista Motel survives as the Sierra Vista Apartments. Its altered marquee still stands along the original Route 66 alignment, although the neon tubing is gone and the lettering has become difficult to read. 09-26

Here's another view of the standout sign

Here are more photos of the Sierra Vista Motel.

The Sierra Vista sign Flagstaff, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com	The office sign Flagstaff, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Downtowner Motel (Closed)
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo courtesy M.C. Morrissey

Near the railroad tracks in downtown Flagstaff, the enormous Downtowner Motel sign still rises high above the rooftops. It had to be tall. When Route 66 traffic moved to the other side of the tracks, the sign needed to shout over trains, buildings, and just about everything else in town.

The property began with a family home built by K.J. Nackard in the early 1920s. As automobile traffic increased, the Nackard family converted the home into an auto inn, adding a bunkhouse in 1933 and a larger motor-court wing in 1935. The property later became the Nackard Inn before returning to the Downtowner name.

Even the motel office had a colorful past. Part of the property reportedly incorporated a building once connected to Flagstaff’s old vice district and a local madam known as Dutch May. By the time highway travelers arrived, the motel was offering considerably more respectable attractions, including private baths, carpeting, double beds, and enclosed steam-heated garages.

The giant sign came out of a bit of Route 66 rivalry. When the highway was shifted one block north in 1934, the Downtowner and nearby Motel DuBeau suddenly found themselves on the wrong side of the railroad tracks. Both responded by putting up steel sign towers about 60 feet tall, each trying to pull motorists back toward its rooms. It was something of a Flagstaff motel sign war, and both signs are still standing.

Downtowner Motel
Flagstaff, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Beginning in 1957, the property was listed as the Nackard Inn in The Negro Motorist Green Book. That meant African American travelers could count on finding accommodations here during an era when many hotels across the country might turn them away.

The motel later served long-term residents and became the Grand Canyon International Hostel in 1995. Its towering sign remains weathered and no longer lights, but it still watches over the trains and the old Route 66 neighborhood. After all these years, it continues to win the sign war.

UPDATE: The former Downtowner Motel remains standing and has been used as the Grand Canyon International Hostel and private apartments. Its huge faded sign survives, although the neon is no longer operating. 09-26

UPDATE: Here's another photo of the Downtowner Motel tower from 2000. 09-21