Glancy Motel undergoing renovations

While driving last week through the Route 66 town of Clinton, Okla., we saw something that gladdened our hearts. The Glancy Motel at 217 Gary Blvd., was undergoing extensive renovations after years of slow decline.

The owner of the 1950s motel wasn’t there, but building permits for remodeling, electrical and plumbing work were taped to the office windows. Boxes of new televisions, climate-control units and lighting were stacked in the office. Fresh lumber sat on the parking lot, and a city Dumpster was being filled.

The Glancy Motel, once a Best Western, prospered next to the historic Pop Hicks restaurant until the famed eatery burned down in 1999. In recent years the Glancy frequently was not recommended for Route 66 travelers. Years of $20-a-night rooms and deferred maintenance will do that.

The Glancy appears to have turned a corner with new owners Jay Patel and Sam Patel, who bought it June 27.  In a phone interview Tuesday, Jay Patel said they were remodeling a total of about 45 rooms. About 15 are available for overnight stays now.

“You’ll see a whole new Glancy in about two months,” Jay Patel said. He also owns the Hillside Inn in Rock Hill, S.C.

A few of the rooms are too badly deteriorated to be renovated cost-effectively. Those will be used for storage, he said.

The revamped Glancy boasts new amenities, including 27-inch televisions, full cable, free Wi-Fi and free continental breakfasts. Rooms, Jay Patel said, range from $30 to $40 a night.

Also, Jay Patel said the motel’s famed sign will be refurbished. No new neon lighting will be installed. But rust will be removed, and holes will be patched.

“We’re going to paint (the sign) in the same colors,” he said. “We’re not changing the sign; that’s a lot of history right there.”

(The Glancy Motel can be reached at 580-323-0112 or e-mailing glancy(at)usa.com .)