A few days ago, the Los Angeles Times (via AOL) published a lengthy story about how the son of the late Albert Okura, owner of the Route 66 town of Amboy, California, is trying to keep that dream alive. The story by Alex Wigglesworth is worth reading in its entirety. But a few nuggets stand … Continue reading Albert Okura’s son tries to keep his father’s dream alive at Amboy
A recent fire damaged two guest rooms at the Fender’s River Road Resort in Needles, California, though the Route 66 landmark still is operating. Pat Bremer of the Road Trip Memories page on Facebook posted a photo of the damage during the July 4 holiday: A clerk who answered the phone at Fender’s said the … Continue reading Fire damages two guest rooms at Fender’s River Road Resort in Needles
The restoration of the neon sign for the closed West Winds Motel in Erick, Oklahoma, is among the $6 million in grants recently awarded by the Oklahoma Route 66 Commission. A list of the funds given from the state’s Route 66 Revitalization Grant Program was posted in a document on the commission’s website. Several grant … Continue reading Restoration of West Winds Motel sign in Erick among Oklahoma Route 66 Commission grants
Prolific author Stephen H. Provost this spring released two books barely two months apart about the early history of American roads and the so-called golden age of U.S. highways. “America’s First Highways” delves into the pre-1926 era when the nation’s main roads — including a precursor to Route 66 — were named and not numbered. … Continue reading Books review: “Yesterday’s Highways” and “America’s First Highways”
The historic neon sign at Fender’s River Road Resort in Needles, California, shined again Saturday evening during a relighting ceremony. Here’s a short video posted on Facebook by the good folks from Route 66 Navigation: Jim Hinckley also hosted an hour-long Facebook Live session before the sign was fired up. Colorado photographer and videographer KC … Continue reading Sign at Fender’s River Road Resort shines again
The organizer of a campaign to restore the historic neon sign at Fender’s River Road Resort in Needles, California, said the sign likely will shine again the evening of June 8. KC Keefer, who led the crowdsourcing campaign to restore the sign, made the announcement on a Facebook post Thursday: In exactly one week we … Continue reading Restored Fender’s River Road Resort sign likely will shine again June 8
The historic neon sign at Fender’s River Road Resort in Needles, California, recently was removed so it can be restored. Photographer KC Keefer, who launched a fundraising effort in early 2018 to restore the sign, sent out a news release Wednesday that stated: The plan is to completely refurbish the neon “Motel” sign at Fenders … Continue reading Fender’s River Road Resort sign removed for restoration
The Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership a few days ago issued its third-quarter report. Among the interesting nuggets is the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preserve Route 66 road trip generated more than 1,000 news stories and drew a potential audience of 1.15 billion. Here are the tidbits from the report: — The National Trust’s … Continue reading Stories on Preserve Route 66 trip drew potential audience of 1.1 billion
After a long hiatus, KC Keefer of the Genuine Route 66 Life video series recently returned with a new video at Fender’s River Road Resort and Motel in Needles, California. Interviewed is Rosie Ramos, the public face at the historic Route 66 property. https://youtu.be/Y89kQfJzwyM A few months ago, Fender’s also embarked on a Relight the … Continue reading Genuine Route 66 Life returns with Fender’s River Road Resort
Fender’s River Road Resort in Needles, California, recently launched a fundraising campaign to restore the neon lighting of its classic sign. Fender’s, which proclaims itself the only motel on the Colorado River and Route 66 in Needles, has set donation levels of $25, $100, $250 or $500. Prizes for a donation range from an old-style, … Continue reading Fender’s River Road Resort launches neon-sign restoration campaign
