The new co-owner of the Vega Motel in Vega, Texas — who also owns a new AirBnB site along Route 66 in town — aims to restore and eventually reopen the Route 66 motel that’s been closed to overnight travelers for more than 10 years.
Vega resident Karen Friemel Fangman, along with her brother Barry Friemel of Georgetown, Texas, bought the Vega Motel in May.
“I’ve lived in Vega for 12 years, and I always loved that little motel,” she said during a phone interview this week. “I talked to my brother about it and thought it would be a fun little project.”
She said the property had been for sale since last fall, and she and her brother decided to take action because the condition of the motel demanded it.
“It was now or never,” she said. “If someone doesn’t restore it, it going to get the wrecking ball.”
Friemel Fangman said they have repaired or replaced the fascia and soffits at the Vega Motel, and a new roof — using green shingles as seen in old postcards — will be installed later this month.
Though the motel closed to overnight travelers in 2006, parts of it remain used by a barber, a florist and as a storage-rental facility. Friemel Fangman said the flower shop and barber shop would be allowed to stay because they’re vital businesses for Vega residents.
Friemel Fangman declined to give a date for the motel’s reopening. But she said they would begin renovating the Vega Motel’s east wing first, because it needs it the most. She said her goal is to restore the motel, one wing at a time.
Built in 1947, the motel originally was named Vega Court. It remains one of the few motels with enclosed garages next to the rooms.
Harry and Tresa Whaley ran the motel for years. They shuttered the Vega Motel for months in 2006 when Harry encountered serious health problems. It closed for good not long after that with the death of Tresa’s brother.
Progress reports may be seen at the motel’s page on Facebook. The Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program devoted a page to the Vega Motel here.
Last week, Friemel Fangman opened an AirBnB site in Vega for overnight travelers called Station 66.
Housed in a former Phillips 66 gas station built in 1950, Station 66 is along the main drag that also is Route 66. She said it had been a residence the previous eight years before she decorated it in Texas and Route 66 themes. Rates begin at $109 per night.
More about Station 66 may be seen on its Facebook page.
(Hat tip to Nick Gerlich; image of the Vega Motel by Bill Eichelberger and 66Postcards.com; image of Station 66 interior via AirBnB)