Editing Motel (section)

====U.S. Route 66====
[[File:Wigwam motel 3.jpg|thumb|[[Wigwam Motel]] No. 6, a unique motel/motor court on [[historic Route 66]] in [[Holbrook, Arizona]]]]
The plight of [[U.S. Route 66|Route 66]], whose [[Decommissioned highway|removal]] from the United States Highway System in 1985 turned places like [[Glenrio, Texas]] and [[Amboy, California]] into overnight ghost towns, has captured public attention. [[Route 66 association]]s, built on the model of [[Angel Delgadillo]]'s first 1987 association in [[Seligman, Arizona]], have advocated preservation and restoration of the motels, businesses, and roadside infrastructure of the neon era. In 1999, the National Route 66 Preservation Bill allocated $10 million in matching fund grants for private restoration and preservation of historic properties along the route.  The road popularized through [[John Steinbeck]]'s ''[[The Grapes of Wrath]]'' and [[Bobby Troup]]'s "[[(Get Your Kicks On) Route 66]]" was marketed not as transportation infrastructure but as a tourism destination in its own right.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Route "66" The Mother Road - Back in Time - General Highway History - Highway History |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/back0303.cfm |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=Federal Highway Administration}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Travel Route 66 |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/travelroute66/index.htm |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=U.S. National Park Service |language=en}}</ref>

To many small towns bypassed by Interstate highways, embracing 1950s nostalgia and historic restoration brings in badly needed tourism dollars to restore sagging local economies. Many vintage motels, some dating to the cabin court era of the 1930s, have been renovated, restored, and added to the U.S. [[National Register of Historic Places]] or to local and state listings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/route66/listofsites66.html |title=Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary: Route 66 |work=[[U.S. National Park Service]] |publisher=[[U.S. Department of the Interior]] |access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref> While a handful were repurposed as either low-income housing, [[boutique hotel]]s, [[apartment]]s, or commercial/office space,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://renaissancecenters.com/virtual-office/ |title=The most prestigious addresses in Louisville, KY |work=Renaissance Business Centers |first=John |last=Cassidy |access-date=August 21, 2018 |year=2016}}</ref> many were simply restored as motels.

While some modern amenities (such as wi-fi or flatscreen TV) may appear in the newly restored rooms, exterior architecture and neon highway signage is meticulously restored to original designs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://route66news.com/category/motels |work=Route 66 News |first=Ron |last=Warnick |year=2014 |access-date=August 21, 2018 |title=Motels Archives |editor-first=Emily |editor-last=Priddy}}</ref> By 2012, Route 66 travelers were spending $38 million/year visiting historic places and museums in communities on the former highway, with $94 million annually invested in heritage preservation;<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/dalebuss/2012/03/28/americans-still-getting-their-kicks-along-route-66 |first=Dale |last=Buss |journal=[[Forbes]] |date=March 28, 2012 |title=Americans Are Still Getting Their Kicks Along Route 66 |access-date=August 21, 2018}}</ref> ''The Motels of Route 66'' was announced as an upcoming [[documentary]] film.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://themotelsofroute66.com |title=The Motels of Route 66 (documentary) |first=Simon |last=Cantlon |work=The Motels of Route 66 |publisher=Vive le Rock Productions |agency=Cut Company |access-date=August 21, 2018 |year=2013}}</ref>