Flagstaff Motel
Flagstaff, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Flagstaff Motel was one of those straightforward roadside places where the name told you exactly where you had landed. Its sign stood beside Route 66 advertising weekly rates during the 1990s. 09-21
Located at 2204 E. Route 66, the small motel sat just up the street from the Alpine Motel and its famous skiing character sign. Unlike that flashy neighbor, the Flagstaff Motel relied on a simple pole sign and a row of rooms facing the parking area.
The weekly-rate message showed how many older Route 66 motels adapted after interstate traffic reduced their overnight business. While the Alpine was demolished in 2002, the Flagstaff Motel managed to keep going.
UPDATE: The Flagstaff Motel remains open as an independent budget motel. Its original roadside layout and altered pole sign continue to stand along Route 66. 09-26
Norris Motel (Gone)
Williams, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Norris Motel in Williams certainly had one of the more unusual signs along Route 66. An American flag waved across the top while a crown and the words “British Hospitality” gave the place an unexpected international touch. The combination made the motel hard to miss on the western side of town. 09-21
The Norris opened in 1958 as a modest 16-room motor court. Like many family-owned Route 66 motels, it was arranged around convenient parking so travelers could pull up close to their rooms. The property was eventually expanded to about 33 rooms as Williams grew into an increasingly popular base for Grand Canyon visitors.
The motel survived the decline of the old highway by changing names several times. After its years as the Norris, it became a Rodeway Inn and later operated as an Americas Best Value Inn. The original buildings remained in lodging use, but the wonderful flag-and-crown sign was removed during the franchise changes. Its fate is unknown.
UPDATE: The former Norris Motel remains open, but it has changed names once again. It now operates as the Super 8 by Wyndham Williams West Route 66/Grand Canyon Area. The old “British Hospitality” sign is gone, replaced by standard Super 8 branding. 09-26
Romney Motel (Gone)
Seligman,
AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The old town of Seligman was home to the Romney Motel, a familiar Route 66 motor court with a large roadside sign and rows of rooms facing the parking lot. Located near the middle of town and just one door away from the Black Cat Bar, it was well placed for travelers wanting to leave the car behind and explore the old highway strip.
The motel opened in 1962 as the Nomad Motel. It was one of three related Nomad properties along Route 66, with sister motels in Ash Fork and Needles. The name certainly suited motorists wandering across the Southwest in search of the next vacancy sign. The Ash Fork location also survives today, although it is now known as Canyon’s Edge.
The Romney Motel in 1998
Seligman, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Around 1970, the Seligman property became the Romney Motel after joining Romney Hotels International. It continued welcoming travelers after Interstate 40 bypassed Seligman in 1978, when plenty of other highway businesses began closing their doors. In fact, the building has remained in motel use ever since it opened in 1962.
The Romney later became a contributing property in the Seligman Commercial Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Its simple 30-room layout helped tell the story of the car-oriented motels that filled Route 66 during the postwar travel boom.
The motel rooms
Seligman, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
New owners purchased the property in 2022 and gave the rooms and exterior a complete makeover. Vintage-inspired furnishings and modern amenities replaced the older budget-motel look, and the property reopened as the Postcard Motel. That name seems right at home in a town where nearly every block looks ready for the postcard rack.
The motel’s classic roadside arrangement survives, but the old Romney sign was removed and replaced with new Postcard Motel branding. It is good to see the rooms still welcoming travelers, even if another familiar Route 66 name and sign have disappeared.
UPDATE: The former Romney Motel remains open as the Postcard Motel. Its 30 rooms have been renovated with a retro-inspired look, but the vintage Romney roadside sign is gone. 09-26
Frontier Motel (Closed)
Truxton,
AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Frontier Motel and its big roadside sign still stand along Route 66 in tiny Truxton. Back in the 1990s, the nine-room motor court looked to be in fairly good shape, although it was difficult to tell whether anyone could actually rent a room. That uncertainty has followed the place for quite a while. 09-21
The Frontier opened in 1951 or 1952 as a motel and cafe. According to local lore, original owner Alice Wright selected the location after a clairvoyant told her to build exactly 400 miles from her Los Angeles home. That is certainly one way to choose a motel site.
A sign found in the back
Truxton, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Ray and Mildred Barker purchased the property in 1957 and became familiar figures along this stretch of the Mother Road. They also operated the gas station across the highway, while the Frontier Cafe served travelers, truckers, and local residents. Beginning around 1982, the cafe even doubled as the community polling place. Route 66 roadside stop by day, center of local democracy when needed.
Ray died in 1990, but Mildred continued watching over the property until it closed in 2011. The big sign received a fresh coat of paint with help from a Route 66 preservation grant in 2003, and painters could be seen working around the property during that period. Unfortunately, the improvements did not hold off the desert weather forever.
A mural painted along side the cafe
Truxton, AZ Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
A New Zealand tour operator purchased the Frontier in 2013 with plans to reopen the motel and cafe. Caretakers moved onto the property and began working toward that goal, but they abruptly resigned in 2015 and the comeback stalled. Since then, the buildings and sign have continued to weather beside the highway.
The neon no longer lights, and the once-bright paint has faded and peeled away. Small markers for the Beale Wagon Road, Will Rogers Highway, and Historic Route 66 remain attached near the base, providing a compact history of all the roads that have passed this spot.
UPDATE: The Frontier Motel and Cafe remain closed and vacant. The nine-room motor court and its large roadside sign are still standing, although both have continued to deteriorate and the neon is dark. 09-26
Flagstaff Motel
The Flagstaff Motel was one of those straightforward roadside places where the name told you exactly where you had landed. Its sign stood beside Route 66 advertising weekly rates during the 1990s. 09-21
Norris Motel (Gone)
The Romney Motel in 1998
The motel rooms
Frontier Motel (Closed)
A sign found in the back
A mural painted along side the cafe
