I attended the morning session of the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Council on Thursday in Oklahoma City. There, I heard some news tidbits that should be of interest to roadies:
- Reluctant El Vado Motel owner Richard Gonzales is up to his old tricks again. This time, he’s filed for a demolition permit to raze the historic Albuquerque motel. He’s been trying for months to overturn a decision to designate El Vado a city landmark. One official from New Mexico I talked to said it was doubtful the demolition permit would be approved, namely because it’s heard by the same agency that recommended the motel be preserved. For more on Gonzales, take a deep breath and read here and here. I’ll try to follow up on this story when I have more time next week.
- Tommy Pike of the Route 66 Association of Missouri said a developer seeking to build a new Red’s Giant Hamburg near Springfield, Mo. Alas, the new version of the long-closed restaurant that was run by the late Red and Julia Chaney will be on I-44 and Missouri 744 — miles away from its original location on the west side of Springfield on Route 66.
- The owners of the fabulous La Posada in Winslow, Ariz., have been hired to restore another Harvey House, this one in Needles, Calif.
- Pat Smith at the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton reported that the number of visitors there immediately jumped 20 percent after the “Cars” movie came out in June. She said business still remains above normal even months after the film closed.
- Pam Lewis of Oklahoma Scenic Byways is hoping to schedule farmers’ markets events up and down Route 66 in the state next year. It’s also considering a passport program.
The most recent brochure from the owners of La Posada includes the following update on El Garces Hotel – Needles, California. “We are working with the City of Needles to restore this magnificent hotel, in the heart of downtown at Front and G Streets. The abandoned 365′ long (!) El Garces was once California’s finest classical-revival train station / hotel, and had the grandest dining room in the entire Fred Harvey empire. We hope to have El Garces re-opened for it’s 100th anniversary in 2008. Please stop by!”
This is wonderful news for Needles and for Route 66. Maggie McShan must be smiling down from heaven on Allan Affeldt. And from having visited El Graces many times recently and having seen the extent of the deterioration, I’d say that Allan will need all the help he can get, spiritual and otherwise.
I’m happy to see that there is the possibility of getting Red’s Giant Hamburg back, even if it is not at the original site. The folks running the new Lucille’s Roadhouse have certainly done a fantastic job in Oklahoma. This will help to further the cause.
The owner of the El Vado sounds like a real piece of work.