Route 66 Motel (Closed)
Kingman, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The big animated arrow at the Route 66 Motel was a familiar sight along Andy Devine Avenue in Kingman. Rows of flashing bulbs chased around the sign and down the swooping arrow, directing tired travelers right into the parking lot. Red neon outlined the name while the Route 66 shield perched at the top. After a long, hot day on the road, this sign made finding a room pretty easy. 10-08

The motel began life in 1963 as the Pony Soldier Motel. Tom and Mrs. White owned the new roadside stop, which opened with 25 rooms. This was still during the busy Route 66 years, when a flashy sign and a swimming pool could make all the difference to a family watching motel signs pass by from the car.

The name Pony Soldier fit right in with the western theme found all along this part of Route 66. The original sign even had a little cartoon pony soldier face at the top.

Route 66 sign - 2000
Kingman, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

When the motel became the Route 66 Motel a couple of decades later, the face was replaced with the familiar highway shield and the lettering was changed. Most of the wild sign design remained intact.

Here's a closer up look at the Route 66 Motel sign in Kingman. The big swooping arrow is quite a sight to see.

Check out that arrow. The outline was made with neon, while incandescent bulbs chased around the motel name and sent the eye racing toward the driveway. It was part neon sign and part light show, which was always a good combination out on the old highway.

The Valmonte family bought the property in the early 1990s and operated it for more than 30 years. While many of Kingman’s older motor courts closed, disappeared or lost their signs, this little independent motel kept renting rooms beneath its giant arrow.

A shot of the motel in 1998. Check out the gas prices
Kingman, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

There was another bit of 1960s motel fun hiding in the parking lot. The original kidney-shaped swimming pool survived, tucked into a corner of the asphalt near the rooms. That curving pool, low motel buildings and towering sign made the property look like a scene that had somehow escaped from an old vacation postcard.

The motel also had an interesting place in Route 66 history. It opened only 16 years before Interstate 40 bypassed Kingman in 1979. The highway traffic may have moved away, but Andy Devine Avenue remained lined with old motels, cafés and some of the best surviving neon in Arizona. The Pony Soldier simply changed names and kept going.

The motel looking the same in 2020
Kingman, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

In January 2023, the Historic Route 66 Association of Arizona awarded the motel an $11,500 grant to restore the sign. The work included repairing its internal electrical wiring along with the neon and incandescent chase bulbs. It was a welcome bit of attention for a sign that had been pointing into the same parking lot since 1963.

UPDATE: Here are more photos of the Route 66 Motel in Kingman. I passed through there in 2020 as well as 2021 and the motel sign is up as normal. 09-21

UPDATE: The Route 66 Motel no longer rents rooms to highway travelers. The property has been repurposed as the Joshua Tree Apartments, an affordable housing complex managed by Housing for Hope. The vintage motel buildings remain, along with the restored sign and its unmistakable animated arrow. 09-26

Hill Top Motel
Kingman, AZ
Photo courtesy Tony Craig

How about this great old sign for the Hill Top Motel along Route 66 in Kingman? With its sweeping script, neon-trimmed arrows and bright roadside colors, this is one of those signs that grabs your attention before the motel itself even comes into view. A smaller panel once advertised “Rooms with Zenith Chromacolor TV,” which must have sounded pretty inviting after a long day on the highway.

Hill Top Motel
Kingman, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Hill Top Motel was built in 1954 by California developer John Mescheid. It originally opened with 20 rooms arranged along the hillside overlooking Kingman, with a swimming pool added a few years later. The motel eventually grew to 29 rooms and served Route 66 travelers for decades. Its hillside location and long row of simple motor court rooms gave the place a slightly different look from the many flat roadside motels found around town.

The Hill Top also has a darker connection to American history. Timothy McVeigh stayed in Room 119 for four days in February 1995, shortly before the Oklahoma City bombing. The registration card he filled out at the front desk was later seized by federal investigators and entered into evidence during his trial.

The best view in Kingman
Kingman, AZ
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The motel’s classic neon sign received some welcome attention in 2009 when it was repaired and repainted with help from a Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program grant. Thankfully, the original lettering, arrows and familiar hilltop design were kept intact.

UPDATE: New ownership has taken over this motel. The motel sign went dark a couple of years ago and I was worried that the sign was gone, especially since I noticed many other sites had been torn down in other towns during the road trip I was on. Fortunately, I learned the good news that the motel sign was restored and work has been continuing on the property. Even better, the plants with the needles next to the sign were no longer there when I visited the site in early 2021. Needless to say, I've stepped into the needles more than once while distractedly taking photos of the sign at night and it was painful. Word is the motel is about to open soon in 2021. 09-21

UPDATE: The Hill Top Motel closed following foreclosure in 2017 and was purchased by new owners in 2018. After an extensive renovation, the rooms reopened for monthly and long-term rentals. The property was offered for sale again in 2023, while its restored roadside sign continued to watch over Andy Devine Avenue. 09-26

Hill Top sign 1998 Kingman, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com	Hill Top Motel - Still the best view in Kingman Kingman, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com