CALIFORNIA

 

We start our California leg of the Route 66 trip in Needles.

 

            The Desert Inn was in the centre of town and had running ice water and the newest thing in beds : ‘7 footers for a solid restful sleep’.

This card was stamped in 1956.

 

            2 images of the El Rancho Motor Hotel : ‘through town to the west’. The cars in the second card (dated 1953)

are slightly older than the ones in the first.

            The Royal Inn at 640 Arch Street. Here you were always treated like a king.

 

A few miles down the road, in Barstow we find these fine establishments.

 

            The Astro Friendship Inn on 1271 E. Main Street. They had a health spa and sauna here.

 

            The Casa de Desierto is not a motel as such. It is a Santa Fe railway hotel, operated by Fred Harvey. But, what a great image !

 

            A big place, with 100 rooms, was the El Rancho Motor Hotel and Restaurant on 112 E. Main Street. Great cars in front of the building !

 

            The Gateway Motel was at 1630 E. Main Street, it was across from McDonalds, now there’s a selling point !

 

            A linen card of the Hollon Motel at 201 W. Main Street. Mr. and Mrs. Wm. V. Hollon were the managing owners here.

 

            An artists’ impression of the Thrifty Lodge at 1243 E. Main Street. This motel featured customized furniture.

 

            A nice fifties view of the TraveLodge on 1261 W. Main Street.

 

In Victorville you can go see the Roy Rogers museum and stay here :

 

            Two images of the Green Tree Inn, a luxurious resort, on the freeway to Las Vegas.

 

            On 14998 7th Avenue (this is business 66 and 91 ) the TraveLodge, then one of  ‘more than 100 TraveLodges coast to coast’.

 

San Bernardino has a few choice places to stay too, US 66 followed Mount Vernon Avenue and Foothill Boulevard here. H, D and F streets undoubtedly took the overflow in busy times !

 

            The Civic Center Motel at 655 North D Street. This card is dated 1962.

 

            A fifties view of the Le Mae Motel at 1860 Mt. Vernon Ave. Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Brauer owned and managed this motel.

 

            The Mojave Motel was on the same stretch : 1495 Mt. Vernon Ave. An early chrome card of this ‘roomy’ motel.

 

            An older, brown-tinted card of the Motel San Bernardino at 2528 Foothill Boulevard, the west entrance to town.

 

            A panoramic multi-view of the Sands Motel and Coffee Shop at 606 H Street. Free juice and valet service here.

 

            Early sixties view of the TraveLodge  at 450 North F Street, 1 block from center of town.

 

            In Glendora we find the Shamrock Motel at 625E. Alosta ( this is US 66 proper). The card was sent in 1959 when this place

was still ultra-modern. CAS0938

 

I guess that with Monrovia we are really approaching the Los Angeles area. I have tried to stick as much as possible to my Snyder guidebook when it comes to the alignments of old Route 66.

 

            In Monrovia the Oak Park Motel is at 925 E. Huntington Drive (US 66 proper). A nice linen card of this 24 unit motel.

 

            Carrying on to Duarte where we find the Motel Yearling, 1515 E. Huntington Drive (still 66 proper). This motel was owned

and operated by Abe and Mary Doornbos (sound pretty Dutch to me !).

 

Huntington Drive continues in Arcadia, both these places are on this road.

 

            Eaton’s Santa Anita Hotel is located on the grounds of the famed Lucky Baldwin Ranch. Modern bungalows here.

 

            The Flamingo Hotel (a Ramada Inn) at 130 W. Huntington.

 

In Pasadena Route 66 followed Foothill and then Colorado Boulevards.

 

            No address is given for Bowens Court and I am not even sure it is a court in the motel-sense. But what a great place !

Card is stamped in 1916.

 

            At 3331 East Colorado Street was the Grand Motel where you could stay for 2 bucks and up. Wonderful linen card.

 

            2 images of the TraveLodge at 2767 East Colorado Boulevard. First card dated 1962 but the cars are definitely fifties.

                                                            Second one shows newer cars and they re-painted the place !

 

The following cards have Los Angeles as their location.

 

            The Glen Motor Hotel at 2496 Glendale Boulevard. A nice homey place, great linen card.

 

            Another linen card, this one of the Normandy Motel at 2426 Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock. Card stamped in 1951.

 

            At 6757 Sunset Boulevard was the Riviera Motel. An artist’s impression from the late fifties I would guess.

 

            The TraveLodge Eagle Rock at 1840 W. Colorado Boulevard.

 

                     Another TraveLodge, this one was West and situated at 10740 Santa Monica Boulevard. The card shows a view of the Temple

of the Latter Day Saints.

 

For Hollywood I am showing motels on Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, old alignments of Route 66.

 

            The Hallmark House on 7023 Sunset. This card was stamped in 1966. Where elegance is reasonable.

 

            A bit further down the Hollywood Hills Motel at 7140 Sunset. Someone was spending a weekend here in 1971

and wanted his friends to know.

 

            At 5333 Hollywood we find the Hollywood Premiere Motel, ‘everything’s near the Premier !’ Two different night scenes.

 

            A Drive In Hotel was the Saharan at 7212 Sunset and you can see a car just driving in ! Card was stamped in 1956.

 

            The Sands Sunset Hotel at 8775 Sunset had 75 units and 24 hour room food service.

 

             You could view Hollywood from the sundeck at the Sunset Lodge Motel at 6700 Sunset.

 

            Two cards of the Towne House Motel at 6055  Sunset. A few years difference between these two images.

 

            There had to be a TraveLodge in Hollywood, this one at 7370 Sunset.

 

            At 5410 Hollywood is the last stop here, the Vagabond Motor Hotel. 60 luxury units, close to downtown and hospitals.

 

Santa Monica, this is where Route 66 ends, first Santa Monica Boulevard and finally Ocean Avenue.

 

            At 1670 Ocean Avenue we find the Beach Hotel, appropriately named. Mr. and Mrs. Chas. S. Miller owned and managed this place.

An early sixties image I think.

 

            An artist’s impression of the Breakers Motel at 1501 Ocean Avenue. This card was stamped in 1966 and sent to the Netherlands.

 

            Great old Buick in front of  the Holloway Motel  at 8465 Santa Monica Boulevard. The card was stamped in 1962.

 

            Two images of the TraveLodge at 1525 Ocean Avenue, with a few years in between.

 

            The William Tell Motel & Apartments is the last one of the lot. 2509 Santa Monica Boulevard (Will Rogers Highway) was the address.

The card was stamped in 1956.