Astro Motels Route 66

Astro Motels along US66

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The Motel Chain
Their Design and Style
Where are they?

Astromotels Inc.

The Astro Motel business model

Astromotels Ing. 1965 ad. Source.

Astromotels Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 1962 and had its offices at 405 N. Central Ave. in Glendale, California. The company was a franchise business, and it advertised extensively in local and national media. The image shows one ad aimed at potential franchisees that was published in "The Rotarian" vol 106, No. 2, of February 1965.

A Franchise

It aimed at married couples that would partner with AstroMotels with a minimum investment of $40,000 (equivalent in 2025 dollars to $411,200) the company would equal the investment of the franchisee and share profits 50/50, and a management salary. It offered its design, architecture, location, construction, financing, furnishing, and training in purchasing and management. Another advertisement boasted that "The motels are owned and operated by family teams who join in equal partnership with the parent company."

An ad published in The Salt Lake Tribune of Salt Lake City, Utah on Dec. 9, 1964 offered "PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES WITH MOTEL CHAIN. Ownership in a successful chain motel offers family security, monthly salary, free de luxe apartment and up to 50 per cent share of profits with excellent tax shelter provision. AstroMotels seeks mature couples with good personality and sound business background. If you have these qualifications and can raise minimum cash investment of $40,000 within six months, write for more information about our program. We train you in our own motels. ASTROMOTELS, INC. Suite 1236, 407 N. Central Ave." (Source).

These were the days when Mom and Pop businesses were strong, and motels lined the highways. The interstate system was spreading across America, and the automobile was seen as a growing and popular means of transport. Nobody suspected back in the mid-1960s that air travel would boom and replace cross-country drives.

Design and Style

The Name, Astro

The word "Astro" comes from the Greek word for star, "astron" (αστρον), which is also applied to "celestial body". The prefix "astro-" is found in many English words related to space, and especially, in this case, to the Space Age and Space Exploration, such as Astronomy and Astronauts.

The company was named Astromotels Inc., and the motels were "Astro Motels".

The Architecture: Daring Space Age Design

The motels were part of the Googie Architecture, which is pronounced "gu:gi". It was a form of modern building design that appeared in California during the late 1940s. It was inspired by the Atomic Age and the Space Age. It featured neat geometric shapes, with vast glass surfaces to provide natural lighting. Its designs hinted at movement and action and involved symbols like stars, atoms, wing shapes, disks, rings, and arched roofs.

Space Age themes were popular until the mid to late 1960s. And it was applied to motels, diners, gas stations, and cafés.

The information regarding the architect who designed the motels is patchy, with many online sources citing Frank Phillip Schneider as the designer. Schneider (1928-2019) founded Schneider Architects & Associates in 1961. It was based in Hollywood, California.

According to the California Historical Resources Inventory Database, the Astro Motel located in Pasadena was designed by Den Neuman and Associates of La Crescenta, California. It states that they were the architects who created this design for Astromotels, Inc. of Glendale, California.

1960s motel building — Glendale, CA, Astro Motel c.1967. See details below

The Buildings

The motels followed a similar template ➀ they had two stories, with a flat roof.

➁ Their famous roofline was their hallmark; it employed a structural system known as "folded plate" concrete.

Folded plates use interconnected slabs of concrete that are linked together along their edges. They can form different shapes (V-shapes, troughs, triangles, etc.). In this case, they adopt an accordion-like shape.

They are self-supporting, rigid, and can span large areas without the need for columns. They use less concrete and steel and are therefore cheaper than the regular beam-and-slab systems.

They provided a modernistic appearance in line with the Space Age theme.

➂ The canopy in all of the buildings, except the Pasadena, CA, motel, was also a folded slab with a flat top and a short vertical lateral slab supported by a slender steel column in the back, and the ➅ base of the signpost in the front. The motel's sign has a vertical white panel with the word "MOTEL" topped by the company's logo, a stylized letter "A", to the side, well above the canopy is the word "ASTRO".

➃ The wall facing the street is built with cinder blocks, with vertical columns that meet the base of each "V" of the folded plate roof. The roof itself has a canted tip. The logo and the words "Astro Motel" are painted on the wall.

➄The office, lounge, manager's lodging, and reception were located in the front. They formed a two-floor block with the office located by the entrance, with large plate-glass windows. In some motels, like this one, the glazed windows continue upwards on the second floor. The swimming pool can be seen to the right ➆.

The Rooms

The interior was also modern as you can see in the following picture of an Astro Motel room.

1960s motel room, TV, bed, woman, carpeted, chairs — Room decor of the Mojave, CA, Astro Motel c.1965.

The image comes from a postcard that was captioned: "The charming decor of this room is typical of all AstroMotels in this fast growing chain. Enjoy these many free extras: room TV, heated swimming pool, AstroLounge, coffee and sweets, advance reservations, Sauna Room—all part of our tradition of “Space Age Luxury at Down to Earth Rates.”"

Locations

An advertisement in a newspaper https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-longview-daily-news-feb-9-1965/43569389/ from February 9, 1965, announced that the chain was building its 17th motel in Longview, Texas, for $250,000. "As in all AstroMotels, each room will feature bedside phones, swivel-mounted television, clock-radio, contemporary-styled furnishings, draperies, and carpeting. There will be an all-year heated swimming pool, individually controlled room heating and air-conditioning, a solar sauna room, a recreational astro-lounge, and free Continental breakfasts."

Astro Motels Along Route 66

The chain had five motels on U.S. Highway 66, and the buildings are still standing. They are the following. More details further down.

It also had motels in Kansas, Texas, and Utah. There was one planned for Idaho, but the negotiations ended in court (Source).

Demise

Although many of the motels are still standing, they are operating under different names, as the company went bankrupt and its incorporation in Delaware was repealed in 1969 (Source).

broken sign reads Astro Motel — Former Astro Motel sign in Hutchinson, Kansas nowadays. Click for Street view

Below are some other non-Route 66 locations with a Google Maps Street View of he buildings:

Wilcox, Arizona. Vacant. 400 S. Haskell Ave. (Former U.S. 666). (St. view)
Hutchinson, Kansas. Coratel Inn & Suites by Jasper. 15 E 4th Ave. (U.S. 50). (St. view)
Plainview, Texas. Warrick Plaza Inn. Broadway 808. (U.S. 70). (St. view)
Cedar City, Utah. Desert Springs Extended Stay. 321 I-15 BL (Former U.S. 91). (St. view)

The Route 66 Astro Motels

Arizona

Winslow Astro Motel

motel sawtooth roof — Former Astro Motel sign in Winslow AZ, nowadays. Click for St. view

At 725 W 3rd St. Winslow. It has access to 2nd and 3rd streets. Now it is the 10 Motel. Originally part of the Astro chain. At one time, it became a "Motel 6" as you can see in the postcard below. It is still open as a motel, and you can spend the night here.

> > You can Book a Room in this Motel: now 10 Motel

Current view, Winslow Astro Motel. Click for St. view

1960s Postcard, Winslow Astro Motel. Source

Kingman Orchard, formerly Astro and Space Age Inn

At 1967 E Andy Devine. The motel opened in 1964 as the Astro Motel.

1960s postcard, space age style motel — Astro Motel in a 1960s postcard. Kingman. Source

California

Barstow. Astro Budget Motel

At 1271 E Main St. Is the Astro Budget Motel.

Astro Motel 1960s postcard. Source Click image to enlarge

Astro Motel nowadays. Click for St. view

San Bernardino Astro Motel

Located on the corner of E St. with Rialto Ave. at 111 South E St. The motel opened in 1964.

2 story white and red letters neon sign, sawtooth roof motel — Astro Motel nowadays, San Bernardino. Click for St. view

Pasadena: The Astro Pasadena Motel

photo postcard 1960s, cars, sawtooth motel, wing shaped canopy

The Astro motel 1960s, Pasadena. Source.
Click image to enlarge

At 2818 E Colorado Blvd. is the Astro motel with its unique wing-shaped canopy.
Still open and operating as a motel.

The "Wing"

It has the shape of a wing and is supported by a boomerang-shaped column, which gives it an additional sense of movement. It is the only motel in the chain with this peculiar design and was among the first to be built. The flat slab design, which occupied less space on the second floor, allowing for a glazed facade, and which was probably cheaper, was adopted for the later buildings. This motel's sign is also separated from the canopy.