The sign for the long-closed Road Runner’s Retreat restaurant near Chambless, California, recently was repainted, and it hasn’t looked this good in decades.
Next up will be the restoration of the sign’s neon tubing.
The Facebook account of the site provided before-and-after images:
Road Runner’s Retreat in late 2023 received a $17,000 cost-share grant from the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program for the third phase of restoring the sign. It received a $5,386 cost-share grant from the agency in 2022 to help pay for restoration planning for the sign.
Site owner Ryan Anderson has organized annual volunteer cleanups at the site.
Roy and Helen Tull built Road Runner’s Retreat along Route 66 in the early 1960s. The business closed in the mid-1970s after Interstate 40 bypassed the area.
Bill Ross Murphy purchased the property after it had been closed for some time, intending never to reopen it but to maintain it as much as possible.
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Wow, that is beautiful! I was in Ludlow Friday night and I thought about going to Amboy. They told me I couldn’t get to Chambless, though, so I didn’t bother. I can’t wait to see it in person soon.