A few weeks ago, the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program announced its annual cost-share grants.
One of them was a property of which I was unfamiliar — the Western Host Motel in Grants, New Mexico. The $12,500 grant went towards buying 50 new doors for the motel.
I had meant to contact the new owners for details about the property, but it slipped my mind. But the Cibola Beacon newspaper in Grants posted a story this week about it. The article indicated the owners barely had time to apply for the grant at all:
In a last-minute scramble to apply and submit a business plan to the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program, owners Victor and Paula Briseño originally petitioned for $32,000 in order to restore the historic windows as well, but were only granted enough to cover the door restoration. The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program had allotted $90,000 in grant money for the state of New Mexico and Grants was the only city awarded a portion of that.
The Briseños purchased the three-acre property from Fidel Duenas in June 2015, and began and completed restoration of the property in October. So far, the Briseños have put a new roof on the building, a project they completed in April. Future plans include restoring the original windows, guest rooms, restaurant, neon lighting and parking lot. The Briseños also applied to register the motel in the New Mexico historic preservation division. […]
The Briseños plan to set the tone of the “post war era” of the 1950s throughout the entire motel. Once in business, they hope to put on antique car shows, host community events, and even bring in local bands to play live shows. This will be Grants first boutique motel.
The Grants Mainstreet Project helped the Brisenoses with the cost-share grant application to the program.
The newspaper reported the family expects to reopen the Western Host Motel by summer 2017. The motel, built in the 1950s, will go for about $70 a night.
According to some checking around on Google Street View and other internet sources, the motel also became known as the Desert Sun Motel and the Historic Route 66 Motel. (Note: incorrect Google Street View link has been adjusted.)
(Postcard image of the Western Host Motel in Grants, New Mexico, via 66postcards.com)
The Desert Sun looks very different from the pic above. I was there in Oct of last year and the Desert Sun looked pretty abandoned. I’d be impressed if it reopened. My pic on Instagram. https://instagram.com/p/BHD7VeEBKB8/
Check my updated story. Google Street View was slightly off on the matching up the location. Desert Sun wasn’t one of the permutations.
Ah. I don’t recall that one off hand, though no doubt I passed it. I will check and see if I snapped a pic.
Did have one shot of their sign. Didn’t have any others so the motel most have been in decent shape. I tend to take more shots of the abandoned ones, like the afore mentioned Desert Sun.
https://instagram.com/p/BKrxb1nBjIV/