Golden Hour: We arrived at Roy’s Motel and Café at the last light of the day in Amboy, Calif. Shown are the gas pumps that stand in front of the convenience store, which also stocks a nice supply of Route 66 souvenirs and an assortment of Route 66 sodas. We were at Roy’s in March 2021, and I cringed at the high gas prices at Roy’s. One year later in March 2022, we are paying more than these prices for gas and diesel in Denver, Colo.! Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
As you travel across the Mojave Desert on old Route 66 in Southern California, you really are in the middle of nowhere. There is almost no sign of human existence for miles until you approach the tiny town of Amboy.
Amboy was settled in 1858 as a mining camp. In the 1880s, Southern Pacific Railroad laid tracks through the desert connecting Southern California to points in the eastern U.S. and the town was born.
Route 66 was established in 1926 as an interstate highway from Chicago to Los Angeles and it passed through Amboy. With the increased traffic brought on by the new highway, Amboy began to grow. Even during the Great Depression in the 1930s Amboy thrived because the traffic that did exist still needed a stopping point in the middle of the desert.
Roy Crawl and his wife Velma recognized a need for a service station and repair shop to service the increased traffic and opened Roy’s Garage in 1938. They added gas pumps and in1940 and later they opened a café for travelers. As travel increased, Roy’s added a motel, and the business became Roy’s Motel and Café. In the 1950s, the tall Roy’s sign was added to attract travelers.
Roy’s business boomed for several years, and the business became a Route 66 icon. Then, in the blink of an eye, in 1973, I-40 opened in California and it bypassed Amboy a few miles to the north. The travelers took the Interstate. Amboy began to fade, and residents moved on and eventually Roy’s Motel and Café closed as well. Amboy was a ghost town.
Roy’s was sold a couple of times and mainly used as a movie set. Vandals began to damage the facility and the entire town of Amboy was for sale on eBay in 2003 but did not sell. In 2005, the town of Amboy, including Roy’s Motel and Café buildings, was purchased by Albert Okura.
Albert Okura is a businessman who owns the Juan Pollo Chicken restaurants in California. Okura owns the 26 Juan Pollo restaurants as well as other real estate in the Los Angeles area. Okura knew of the Route 66 revitalizations efforts and wanted to bring Roy’s back to life. By 2008, remodeling and restoration allowed the gas station to reopen. The station and convenience store continues to operate today.
Another milestone was reached in 2019 when the iconic 50-foot-tall Roy’s sign was restored. More than $17,000 was spent in the sign restoration including new neon tubes and in November 2019, the sign was lit for the first time in more than 30 years at Roy’s. The relighting event attracted more than 400 attendees when the Route 66 landmark lit the desert skies.
The future holds big plans for Roy’s, but it will take time as the infrastructure needs to be replaced before the café and motel can be remodeled for reopening. It is the owner’s intension to make Roy’s a destination stop as it once was. In the meantime, if you’re getting your kicks on Historic Route 66 in California, Roy’s is a must see stop!
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Motel Lobby: The mid-century modern building on the left is the former motel lobby. Just beyond the lobby are six guest cottages. The 20-room motel is behind these buildings. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Restored Sign: The iconic Roy’s sign stands 50-feet-high and is a Route 66 landmark in Amboy, Calif. Following a major restoration, the relighting of the sign took place in 2019 and can be seen for miles as drivers approach Amboy. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Cottages: Six cottages sit next to the former motel lobby building. Owner Albert Okura is hoping to restore and remodel these cottages first followed by the motel. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Motel Lobby Counter: The counter area in the motel lobby takes one back in time. A grand piano sits on one side of the counter and a 1950-60s era stereo with a selection of albums sits on the other side. Future plans include remodeling this space into a gift shop for visitors. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
