Bahia Motel (Demolished)
Montebello, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The Bahia Motel is a fine looking googie sign found off the main street in Montebello. Unfortunately, the Bahia Motel and sign is long gone.
The Bahia Motel in Pico Rivera and its landmark neon pylon were reportedly demolished in the early 2000s. The property stood vacant for a period following clearance before later changes to the surrounding commercial area.
Capri Motel (Demolished)
Duarte, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Along Huntington Drive in Duarte, the Capri Motel once greeted Route 66 travelers with a marquee worth a second look. Sharp geometric shapes and flowing neon script gave the sign a distinctive appearance, preserving a little of the highway’s earlier roadside style.
Opened in 1958, the motel offered a single-story arrangement of rooms for families heading toward Los Angeles. Motorists could pull off the old highway, park near their accommodations, and settle in before continuing through the San Gabriel Valley.
The marquee supplied much of the property’s personality. Its angular framework contrasted with the softer script lettering, giving passing drivers something more memorable than a plain panel announcing rooms. After dark, the neon helped mark the entrance and gave roadside photographers another reason to stop.
Capri Motel
Duarte, CA Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn
The sign remained largely unchanged for decades. While other motels traded their custom neon for plastic lettering, the Capri continued advertising with a look from its early years. A small overnight stop could still make quite an introduction along the Mother Road.
As freeway travel bypassed portions of the older corridor, the motel’s surroundings and clientele changed. The property eventually became a redevelopment site, bringing an end to both the motor court and its familiar place along the drive.
UPDATE: The Capri Motel is now gone and replaced by new development. 10-10
UPDATE: The Capri Motel’s closure and demolition appears to have occurred in 2003. The property at 1115 Huntington Drive was cleared for commercial redevelopment, removing another vintage lodging stop from California’s Route 66 landscape. 10-26
Desert Inn (Rem.)
San Bernardino, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
The Desert Inn in San Bernardino carries a name familiar to those who remember the old Las Vegas resort. Here, the roadside marquee advertised a local overnight stop rather than a casino vacation.
Opened in 1962, the motel joined the mid-century practice of borrowing names associated with distant resorts. A little desert imagery could suggest a getaway without requiring travelers to continue all the way to Nevada.
UPDATE: The Desert Inn is reported to remain in operation at 607 W. Fifth Street. Its original motel buildings survive, while the roadside sign has been altered with a replacement plastic face. 10-26
Palms Motel (Rem.) San Bernardino, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Coming down from Cajon Pass, check out the old Palms Motel in San Bernardino. Its tall roadside marquee once pointed weary Route 66 travelers toward a room before they continued into town or headed west toward Los Angeles.
Opened in the late 1940s, the motel features a long row of single-story rooms beneath a gabled roof. Freeway construction later pulled much of the traffic away from Cajon Boulevard, leaving this overnight stop along a quieter stretch of the old highway.
UPDATE: The Palm Motel remains open at 3424 Cajon Boulevard. Its old motor-court layout survives, but the original roadside marquee is gone, disappearing around 2011 or prior. 10-26
Bob's Motel
Los Angeles, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the script marquee at Bob’s Motel in East Los Angeles. Red-and-white neon borders frame the name above Whittier Boulevard, giving this modest roadside stop a sign with some character of its own.
Completed in 1955, the motel used a compact courtyard layout suited to travelers and workers moving through the area. Guests could park near their rooms, following the practical arrangement found at many post-war motor courts.
The sign became a familiar subject for nighttime photographers. Its flowing lettering offered a welcome above the driveway, even for those whose only stop was to admire the neon.
UPDATE: Bob’s Motel remains in operation at 4236 Whittier Boulevard. The sign is still there but the neon was removed. 10-26
Stardust Motel (Rem.)
Azusa, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
Space Age lettering once gave the Stardust Motel in Azusa a fitting roadside identity. Near the old Foothill Azusa Drive-In Theatre, the tall marquee added another nighttime attraction along Route 66.
Built in 1961, the motel adopted the cosmic shapes popular during the early space-program years. Starburst panels, geometric lettering, and flashing neon gave passing motorists something a little more imaginative than a plain vacancy sign.
The nearby drive-in closed in 2001, and later changes altered the motel’s familiar frontage. In the late 2000s, the elaborate neon components were reportedly removed and replaced with a backlit plastic display.
Stardust Motel (Replaced)
Azusa, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The supplied account also includes unverified guest tales of televisions switching on to static, sudden cold spots, and footsteps along quiet exterior walkways. These remain informal stories rather than an established haunting history.
UPDATE: The Stardust marquee was removed
and replaced with a backlit plastic sign.
UPDATE: Here's what the back of the Stardust sign used to look like for travelers driving east along Route 66 before it was removed. 10-08
UPDATE: The Stardust Motel is reported to remain in operation, with its 1961 buildings surviving beneath later renovations. Its original Space Age marquee was substantially altered in the late 2000s. 10-26
Capri Motel (Demolished)
Along Huntington Drive in Duarte, the Capri Motel once greeted Route 66 travelers with a marquee worth a second look. Sharp geometric shapes and flowing neon script gave the sign a distinctive appearance, preserving a little of the highway’s earlier roadside style.
Capri Motel
Desert Inn (Rem.)
Palms Motel (Rem.)
Bob's Motel
