Needles, CA - For years the Budget #1 Motel sign sat and greeted visitors alongside Route 66 in Needles, CA. Today, the huge Budget Motel marquee is in danger of being leveled and the City of Needles is looking for a home for it.

If you're interested in preserving this sign, please email me and I will contact the City of Needles or contact the California Route 66 Preservation Foundation. Many thanks to Jim Conkle from the California Route 66 Preservation Foundation and Elaine Downing for bring attention to this sign.

Budget Motel Sign
Needles, CA
Photo courtesy The City of Needles

For years, the towering sign for the Budget #1 Motel greeted travelers rolling into Needles along Route 66. The motel itself was not particularly fancy by its final years, but that enormous roadside marquee made sure nobody passed through town without noticing it. Big letters, lots of metal, and enough height to compete with just about anything else along Broadway.

The property had already been welcoming motorists long before the Budget #1 name appeared. It originally opened during the early days of automobile travel as Swain’s Motor Court. The place was established enough to earn a mention in Jack Rittenhouse’s 1946 book, A Guide Book to Highway 66, one of the best-known early guides for travelers following the Mother Road across the country.

Budget #1 Motel
Needles, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

By the mid-1960s, Swain’s had become the El Vee Motel. Another two decades passed before the property was renamed Budget #1 during the 1980s. That was when the giant Budget Motel sign rose above the corner of Broadway and B Street, adding one more oversized roadside marker to the Needles skyline. Maybe the rooms were budget-priced, but there was nothing small about the advertising.

The old motel eventually closed and slipped into disrepair. Once the buildings were marked for demolition, attention turned toward the sign. The motel court could be cleared quickly, but a marquee of this size was another matter. It had become part of the Route 66 streetscape and one of those familiar objects that seemed ordinary until the possibility of losing it became real.

Budget #1 Motel
Needles, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Budget #1 Motel sign is now gone as is the rest of the motel. Today a vacant lot sits where the motel used to reside. Here are more photos of the Budget #1 Motel as it once stood.

UPDATE: The Budget #1 Motel buildings were demolished, leaving an empty lot at Broadway and B Street. The large marquee was cut down and taken into the care of the City of Needles rather than being immediately scrapped. Preservation groups helped search for a safe permanent home, although the sign’s exact current storage location and condition have not been confirmed. 09-26

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