Americana Motor Hotel, Flagstaff, AZ
The Americana Motor Hotels is a cheerful example of retro-futurism alive in the present day. Flagstaff’s Americana Motor Hotel was built in 1962 and has since been refurbished in a way that elevates its original googie style.
The Americana Motor Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona is a brightly colored testament to the survivability of the Googie aesthetic in the modern day. The Americana Motor Hotel was built on the outskirts of in 1962. Located at 2650 East Route 66, the Americana has provided accommodations for tired motorists for the past sixty-three years. Its technicolor colors and avante garde shapes are a textbook example of the googie aesthetic.
The colors, starbursts, aesthetics and origin of the American Motor Hotel situate firmly as an example of Googie architecture. The first thing a traveler to the Americana Motel Hotel sees is its striking sign that exemplifies the googie look. Vibrant pinks, greens, tangerine orange, and banana yellow come together in the sign’s neon starbursts and a stylized outline of the mountains that ensconce the city. The porte-cochère at the lobby of the motel is emblazoned with neon yellow and orange stripes that wrap around the dark blue paint of the roof. Oranges, blues, and nearly every other color of the rainbow collide in a cacophony of geometric shapes and lines on the walls and carpet of the lobby. Outside of the lobby on the far side of the porte-cochère there is an installation of aluminum wind art sculptures that whirl happily in the Arizona breeze. The two levels of hotel rooms that stretch out behind are similarly adorned in the vibrant colors that make up the themes of the hotel and all eighty-eight suites face towards a central recreation area with a large pool with the logo of the motel painted at the bottom.
Googie architecture rose to prominence in the mid-century and is characterized by a commitment to futuristic designs, geometric shapes, neon and bright colors. This style of architecture is most commonly found in the Southwestern United States and often coincides with the arterial mother road of Route 66. Googie designs often feature the same bright colors, futuristic starbursts, and aluminum details that decorate the Americana and the hotel leans heavily into its mid-century themes.
The Americana Motor Hotel was once Flagstaff’s largest motel and had provided a respite to the stars who passed through on Route 66 in the mid-century. The motel originally had a large dining room and 24 hour coffee bar during its heyday, but as the years wore on the facade of the hotel began to exhibit wear and tear. In 2021 the property was bought by Americana Hotel Ventures for $7.37 million dollars. After extensive renovation efforts the motel re-opened with a fresh redesign that honored the original design and spirit of the motel. Since its re-opening the Americana has become a well loved traveler’s retreat on Route 66 once again. Bright colors, atomic starbursts, and neon details all hearken back to the motel’s beginning while drawing in a new generation of travelers. The motor hotel connects visitors with a nostalgic space-age future and helps to keep googie and mid-century architecture from belonging to an ephemeral past.
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