El Trovatore resurrected as a motel December 18, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Preservation.2 comments
El Trovatore Motel in Kingman, Ariz., recently reopened to overnight travelers after being used as apartments for the past few years. The owner says he plans to restore the historic Route 66 motel in the coming months, including its distinctive neon signs.
El Trovatore owner Sam Frisher, born in Israel but has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, said in a phone interview Sunday that he acquired a motel license from the City of Kingman last week. El Trovatore had been used as apartments for the past few years.
Twenty-two guest rooms are available for $39.99 a night (plus free breakfast for two at a nearby restaurant). All of the rooms will be renovated and reopened in the coming months.
Frisher told a few of his plans for the property:
— Many of the rooms will have Hollywood star themes, such as John Wayne and Katharine Hepburn.
— Frisher kept many of the original bathroom furnishings, including the triangle-shaped sinks and tile floors.
— The main El Trovatore sign near the highway will be repainted and its neon restored. Frisher estimates that work will be finished by early January.
— Frisher hopes to restore the neon on the distinctive El Trovatore tower sign on the rear of the property within the next three months. A recent photo of the sign can be found here.
— Frisher plans to launch a website for the motel within the next few weeks.
— Longer term, Frisher wants to build an observation deck around the base of the El Trovatore sign tower. That spot affords good views of the nearby mountain ranges and the city.
All told, Frisher thinks he’ll have the renovations completed by mid-summer.
He said he’s paying for the restoration effort by refinancing the mortgage to a lower rate, plus another loan for the remodeling.
He said he initially explored using LED lighting in place of some of the neon, but reconsidered.
“What’s the point of restoring it if you don’t do the original look?” he said. “So we’re going with the original neon. That’s the kind of stuff you want to keep for America and Route 66.”
Frisher acknowledged that El Trovatore saw troubled times with police calls and code violations in recent years. He blamed poor management. He said he’s living on the premises to make sure the restoration proceeded properly.
One reason restoring El Trovatore may be a good move is because it will accommodate large Route 66 tour groups. Kingman boasts several vintage motels –Hilltop Motel is a good example — but they’re too small for tour buses.
El Trovatore Court was built in 1939 on El Trovatore Hill by John F. Miller, who gained fame and fortune years before by building the first hotel in Las Vegas, Hotel Nevada, in 1906.
UPDATE: Jim Hinckley at Route 66 Chronicles has a few more details about the motel, plus photos.
(Hat tip to Jim Hinckley; vintage postcard images of El Trovatore courtesy of Joe Sonderman)
Route 66 in 2 minutes December 18, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Road trips.1 comment so far
Ludwig Bispink, the fellow who traveled the length of Route 66 and posted his videotaped experiences in three parts, has just posted a two-minute summary of his big road trip:
Music is the Rolling Stones’ version of Bobby Troup’s “Route 66.”
Painter takes his inspiration from Route 66 December 17, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Events.add a comment
A painter who gets his inspiration from Route 66 will have an exhibit of his work at the Peoria Public Library in Peoria, Ariz., reported the Peoria Times.
Red Rohall‘s “Roadside Americana” will be on display starting this weekend at the Main Library at 8463 W. Monroe St. (map here).
Many of Rohall’s oil paintings are of diners, soda fountains, and vintage buildings in soft light. According to the Times:
While he was living in Indiana, he was painting subjects that had a Southwest connection, and “people were rolling their eyeballs,” he said. “But, I love the subject matter. It works for me, like hand in glove.”
Over the years, Rohall has traveled the country for workshops and open exhibits. He doesn’t fly; he drives everywhere.
“Taking back roads let’s me see things,” he said. “The best way: See things, do paintings. For me, it’s a dream come true. It lets me see the highways. “For Route 66, I see history, I love it.”
Roadies may recognize one of his works — an image of the Dairy Best Drive-In along Route 66 in Clinton, Okla.
Typical day at Carl’s Drive-In December 17, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Food, History, Restaurants.add a comment
Rich Dinkela of HookedonRoute66.com filmed this slice-of-life video at the typically busy Carl’s Drive-In restaurant in Rock Hill, Mo.
Carl’s remains one of the treasures of the old Manchester Road alignment of Route 66 in the St. Louis area. Carl’s has fewer than 20 stools to serve its customers, and nearly all of them are filled throughout a typical day of operation.
Norma Maret Bolin’s excellent “Route 66 St. Louis” book contains a lot of interesting stories and history about Carl’s, including these:
- The building was built in the 1920s as a gas station.
- It became the Foot Long Hot Dog Company in the mid-1930s, then the Good Food Drive Inn during the 1950s.
- It became Carl’s Drive-In in 1959.
- Carl’s uses the original recipe to make its draft root beer, which reputedly became the basis behind the nationally distributed IBC Root Beer.
Springfield continues to negotiate for Bel-Aire Motel December 16, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motels, Museums, Preservation.3 comments
The City of Springfield, Ill., is continuing negotiations with the owners of the historic Bel-Aire Motel, with the hope to eventually convert it into a Route 66 museum and visitors center or some other use, reported the State Journal-Register.
The owners are Gopal and Nimal Motwani, based in Florida. The motel, on the Sixth Street alignment of Route 66 in Springfield, sits in Alderman Cory Jobe’s district.
Jobe, whose ward includes the Bel-Aire, said those talks continue. He added that there have been discussions with the Motwanis, as well a potential developer. According to a commercial real estate listing, the owners are asking $900,000 for the 80-room property.
The Sangamon County assessor put the fair market value at about $755,000.
The motel was targeted for city inspections in June, and the owners were forced to make electrical, structural and fire safety repairs afterward. The Bel-Aire rents mainly to long-term residents.
The distance between the market value and the owners’ buyout price isn’t that vast. It wouldn’t surprise me if an agreement is reached eventually.
A recent photo of the Bel-Aire can be found here. As you can see, the retro neon sign, including a Sputnik structure, would make it a beacon for Route 66 travelers if the motel were converted into a tourist center.
You don’t often see a live one December 15, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Animals.3 comments
You can spot plenty of armadillos in Oklahoma, but nearly all of them are deceased along the sides of highways.
This videographer found a live armadillo digging for food along the historic Lucille’s property, on Route 66 near Hydro, Okla.
It’s hard to believe the guy got as close to this critter without it scampering away.
It’s a small world after all December 15, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Art, Photographs, Road trips.1 comment so far
Every time you think you’ve seen everything regarding photography on Route 66, someone comes up with a new twist.
The latest is Kurt and Edwige Moses of St. Paul, Minn. The husband-and-wife team recently created a fine-art photo project titled “Un Petit Monde,” which translates from French to “A Small World.” He photographs small HO scale train figures in real world settings, including landmarks on the Mother Road. It requires a camera with a lot of depth of field.
A sample of their work can be seen above, with miniature figures in front of one of the units at the historic Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Ariz.
More “Un Petit Monde” images from Route 66 can be seen here.
Kurt explained in an email:
We started this project back in the summer of 2010. As it began to take shape, we decided the first major theme should revolve around Route 66. So in March 2011 we hit the road and traveled the stretch from St. Louis to Kingman and back. Along the way I photographed my miniature figures in front of landmarks and historic locations. We decided that besides fine art prints, postcards would be the perfect medium for our photography. Our goal is to make the postcards available in gift shops and businesses along the route. Eventually, we will produce another 6 postcards and release Series ll… and then a book of all of the images.
Moses said he and his wife hope to travel again on Route 66 in March, to visit some of the people he met on the initial trip.
The postcards can be purchased for $1.25 apiece, or a set of six for $6.95, found here. Moses also has an Etsy store here for his photographs.
(Photo courtesy of Kurt Moses)
New Operation Route 66 trailer December 14, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Motorcycles, People, Road trips.1 comment so far
A new trailer for Operation Route 66, which will raise funds in May 2012 for U.S. veterans of the Middle East wars, was posted a few hours ago:
More about this charity road trip can be found here.
I’m nearly 100 percent certain the narrator is “Route 66: The Mother Road” author Michael Wallis. It probably didn’t take much persuasion for Wallis to lend his talents; he’s a Marine.
Pontiac’s impressive tourism surge December 14, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in Attractions, Museums, Towns.1 comment so far
Today’s story in the Pontiac Daily Leader gave many details about a tourism summit Monday in the Route 66 town of Pontiac, Ill., and how local officials and businesses will handle travelers in the future.
It’d been previously reported that Pontiac was seeing a 30 percent increase in tourists in 2011. But City Administrator Bob Karls provided information that showed how impressive and sustaining that increase is:
“The tourism thing really took off in 2004 with the opening of the Route 66 Museum and after the opening, we were seeing about a 5 percent increase in the attendance at the museum every year,” said Karls.
“In 2009, something happened and we went up 30 percent. In 2010 up another 30 percent and 2011 — another 30 percent. So we are really starting to grow this thing exponentially. If you carry this out with a 30-percent growth over the next three years, the 20,000 visitors will become 40,000 visitors, and three years later those 40,000 will become 80,000. So the visitors are coming,” said Karls.
Some other tidbits from the meeting:
- Karls expects an invasion of British travelers in 2012 after “Billy Connolly’s Route 66″ aired in the United Kingdom a few weeks ago. He said British travel companies are “inundated” with Route 66 tour requests, and next year will likely be Pontiac’s biggest ever for international travelers.
- Pontiac is trying to figure how to better communicate with non-English-speaking tourists.
- Also, the city is seeking solutions for airline restrictions; baggage rules restrict the amount of souvenirs international tourists can buy.
- Karls urged that businesses open on Sundays to take advantage of the large number of tourists on weekends.
- Pontiac Tourism director Ellie Alexander said the city’s tourism calendar already is filled for 2012, which is unusually early.
- Pontiac tourism was boosted by a Chicago Tribune article that was distributed by the Associated Press nationwide.
- Tourists are praising the hospitality and cooperation of residents. The mayor received many “flattering” cards and e-mails about this.
- Future plans include a new Route 66 Plaza, near the new parking lot west of the Law and Justice Center.
- The state of Illinois estimates that Pontiac’s tourism activities have created 210 jobs.
Tribute to Bob Waldmire December 14, 2011
Posted by Ron Warnick in People, Road trips.3 comments
This video popped up in my YouTube feed today, and it hit me like a ton of bricks, especially the last 30 seconds or so.
In case you’re new to the site, here’s more about Bob Waldmire.
We’re fast approaching the second anniversary of Waldmire’s death from abdominal cancer on Dec. 16, 2009.
The song is “Life Is a Love Song,” by Jethro Tull. It’s an appropriate choice, because that was Waldmire’s favorite band.
There’s no name listed with the YouTube account that posted this. Regardless, he/she deserves thanks for doing this.