Chris Raley of Fresno, California, is an apparent aficionado of old-time neon signs, so he makes miniature versions of them.
Here’s a speeded-up time-lapse video that shows how he built a second larger (but still miniature) version of the Sun ‘n Sand Motel sign that still stands along Route 66 in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, though the motel itself has been closed for years.
The above image is his Sun ‘n Sand re-creation. Below is an image of the genuine article:
On the YouTube page for the video, he’s asking for suggestions on what miniature sign he ought to make next.
On his Instagram page, it shows he’s already made miniature versions of the 66 Motel sign in Needles, California, and the Roy’s Motel/Cafe in Amboy, California.
A new owner called the Kadam Group in northern California took over the closed motel in 2017. But other than some weed-trimming and efforts to make the property more secure from vagrants, little work has been seen there in two years.
The Sun ‘n Sand was built during the 1950s and remodeled about 1998, but it closed a few years ago.
Previous operator Moe Patel said the motel needed renovations just before it closed, then a historically severe hailstorm July 3, 2013 — with hail two feet deep in some parts of Santa Rosa — damaged the structure further.
The Sun ‘n Sand became part of a New Mexico Route 66 sign-restoration program in 2003.
(Screen-capture image from a video of the miniature Sun ‘n Sand Motel sign; an image of the Sun ‘n Sand Motel sign in 2012 by el-toro via Flickr)
The Sun ‘n Sand sign was also designed to attract Route 66 (and later, I-40) travelers to Sun ‘n Sand Restaurant. Original owner-builder John J. Coury built the restaurant about 12 years after opening the motel. I understand he never ran, but leased the cafe, first to (the late) Archie Zinck, then (late) Joe D. Trujillo, whose family now owns and operates it. My dad started working for Coury at the motel in the late 1960s. Coury’s family had been in business locally since 1902.
Trivia…Revell of Germany made a model truck kit (Peterbilt 359 kit #07542) that has a picture of this sign on the box cover.