Roy's Motel and Cafe
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Roy's Motel and Cafe is a relic on Route 66 in Amboy, California. It is considered a landmark on Route 66 and the main attraction that is left in the ghosttown.
[edit] History
In 1938 Roy Crowl opened "Roy's" as a service station on Route 66 in Amboy. At the time Route 66 was the main artery of traffic. The construction of Roy's coincided with a realignment of Route 66 throughout the desert. The older restaurants and service stations were on Route 66, more to the South and closer to the railroad tracks.
Roy, together with his wife Velma owned the town. In the 1940s Roy teamed up with Herman "Buster" Burris who ended marrying his daughter Betty. Together they expand the business to include by keeping it open 24x7 and adding the Motel to the service station and cafe.
In the 1950s Roy employed up to 70 staff out of a population of 700 people that lived in Amboy.
The famous neon sign got erected on Feb 1st, 1959.
In 1972 Roy's lost the traffic from Route 66 to I-40 much more to the North and went into decline. In 1977 Roy Crowl passed away and while his son in law continued the business, he did chase off many a visitor at gunpoint.
In 1995 Buster retires after remarrying to Bessie. He leases the town to Walt Wilson and Tim White, who see the value of the location for renting it to movie makers in Hollywood. In 2000 they purchase Amboy from Buster for US$ 710,000
Amboy for offered for sale on eBay in 2003, but went unsold.
In 2005 Bessie, Buster's widow repossessed the town and she sold it to Albert Okura on May 3rd, 2005. Mr. Okura owns the restaurant and has plans to preserve the town and reopen Roy's but faces challenges in getting simple things like electricity and water restored.
Contrary to common belief, Roy's was not the only place in Amboy, but Buster, owning the town seems to have run his bulldozer throught all but 10 buildings. There are records of a Chinese Restaurant, 3 gas stations, but today only Roy's remains.
[edit] Architecture
Roy's includes a Googie "retro-future" architecture building that served first as the new reception for the easlier Motel and eventually became an art gallery for Bessy.
