City of Clinton approves authority’s purchase of Trade Winds Inn and its future demolition

The City of Clinton, Oklahoma, recently approved the Clinton Economic Development Authority’s purchase and future razing of the now-closed Trade Winds Inn motel, known for preserving a room where Elvis Presley stayed four times on cross-country trips.

According to the Clinton Daily News (subscription required):

“The Tradewinds has closed and we are in the process of taking possession of the building,” said City Manager Robert Johnston. “Occupants were told that they had to leave and there has been a lot of activity around the building with U-Hauls and such. There has been some question regarding whether or not people living there were actually told they had to leave but we bought an empty building so we are working on that.” […]

“Right now the utilities are still on and they are still in the name of the previous owner so those still need to be canceled, but our next steps are seeking pricing for the asbestos abatement and getting that started which we hope will be sometime next week,” said Johnston.

Once the abatement is completed, the authority will begin the bidding process for demolition at the site and once it’s completed, the back portion of the property will be sold to Clinton Public Schools for $300,000. The authority will retain the front section of the property with plans to market and sell it later.

The school plans to use its portion of the property for storage during its ongoing Capital Improvement Plan which is expected to continue well into 2025. Once construction is complete, the school plans to use the property for excess parking with the possibility of selling it in the future.

The newspaper reports the $550,000 for the purchase came from a $100,000 donation, plus $450,000 in sales-tax revenue set aside by the authority. It has also been estimated the demolition will cost another $400,000. The authority anticipates the sale will be complete by June 30.

The Trade Winds kept a room in tribute to Presley for years. More from RoadsideAmerica.com:

When Elvis Presley and his entourage drove from Memphis to Vegas, the best midway point, in his opinion, was The Trade Winds Motel in Clinton, OK. The best room, in his opinion, was Room 215. So he stayed there on four separate occasions. To preserve that memory, Trade Winds’ management has kept the room decorated the way it was during the Swingin’ Sixties. The suite (his entourage stayed in the other room) contains a black Naughahyde fainting couch/Fold-A-Bed combo, green pile carpeting, and fixtures from a happy time gone by.

Here is a photo from two years ago of the Elvis Room:

More history about the motel from the Route 66 Times:

The motel opened with 61 guest rooms, a swimming pool, a beauty salon, a coffee shop, a dining room, and a Tonga Club. Some suites had a “Sun Deck” patio. Maybe the most unusual amenity was a 16 lane bowling alley. Room rates range from $7.00 to 40.00 when the motel was new in 1965.

It was originally the Master Hosts Motor Hotel which later became the Best Western Trade Winds Motel. The hotel was first opened by Walter S. Mason Jr. in 1963. Mason went on to become the president of the Best Western International in 1984 by which time the motel had been renamed the Tradewinds Courtyard Inn. He owned the motel until 2004. Mason also donated land across the road for the Route 66 Museum.

The Trade Winds was in decline when we first became interested in Route 66 more than 20 years ago. According to the latest online reviews, it rated 1.5 to 2.6 stars out of five.

(Image of the Trade Winds motel in Clinton, Oklahoma, via Facebook)