Route 66 Preservation Grants, 2023: A Round Barn, Neon Signs, Motels and a Desert Café

The National Park Service's Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program gives cost-share grants for historic preservation, research, oral history, interpretation and education projects on historic Route 66. Since 2001, it has awarded 175 projects $2.72 million, matched by $4.36 million — $7.08 million of public-private investment in reviving and commemorating the road.

The 2023 awards

The Round Barn, Arcadia

Applicant: the Arcadia Historical and Preservation Society. Built in 1898 from native burr oak that grew by the Deep Fork river, the barn got its curved roof rafters from green 2x4s soaked in the river and dried in a curved form. Its lower level served mostly as a livery stable and hay store; the builders paid for a wood floor upstairs for parties and dances. The roof collapsed in 1988, and the community rallied to save it. Today the upper floor is still used for community events, the lower is a museum, and the barn — on the National Register of Historic Places — is a favorite Route 66 stop. The grant pays to re-side it with historic materials and methods that keep its curve.

Albuquerque Neon

Applicant: the City of Albuquerque, with an eighteen-mile urban stretch of Route 66 and a memorable neon landscape. The grant funds videos on the city's Route 66 signs and their stories, treating them as art, modern architecture, landmarks and artifacts — covering design, preservation, how neon is made, and its place in the city's art, culture and commerce.

Route 66 Connected

Applicant: an independent researcher. Building on a 2022 NPS grant, it asks what Route 66 — an icon of American car culture, travel and the American Dream — means today. It studies historic businesses still operating in New Mexico through archives and photography, from a cultural anthropology angle. Phase 1 produced a photo collection, a database and a report for the University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research; phase 2 will release an online public exhibition.

Nomad Motel, Seligman

A 30-room motel in continuous operation since 1964. It became the Romney Motel around 1970 under Romney Hotels International, and is now the Postcard Motel, part of the Seligman Commercial Historic District on the National Register. New owners are keeping as many historic features as possible while adding modern comforts; the grant pays for a badly needed new roof.

Road Runner's Retreat, Chambless

On National Trails Highway/Route 66 in the Mojave Desert, first developed in 1961 and bought in 1962 by the Dotsons, former owners of Duke's Western Wear in Montclair, who marketed it well: a googie-style gas station, auto repair and towing, and a café. It thrived until I-40 opened in 1972; the Murphy family bought it around 1973 and still owns it. Now a photo stop and film location, eligible for the National Register, it gets the third and final phase of restoring its iconic sign.

Roy's, Amboy

Amboy, founded in the 1800s by mining and railroad interests, became a key desert stop for Route 66 travelers in the 1930s — and nearly a ghost town once the interstate bypassed it in the 1970s. Roy's café, motel and gas station survive. With a dedicated owner and an on-site caretaker, Amboy still draws thousands of visitors a year; fuel and limited food are back. The grant replaces the septic system for the café and public restrooms, and future work on the motel lobby and cottages.

More: the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program.

Sources

Based on "Route 66: 2023 Cost-Share Grant Awards Announced," National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. The source's photographs belong to the grant applicants and are not reproduced.