Roy's Cafe - Route 66 - The Mother Road on Waymarking.com

How great that dead businesses along Route 66 can be resurrected!

When going from east to west along Route 66 in the Mojave desert, there's not much to see. There are a few ghost restaurants and gas stations, but very little that's in active use. You'll pass roadside "art" and a plaque or two but that's about it. Understandable! This is a very arid place with very little to sustain life or business. Roy's was for many years an oasis that provided travelers with a respite.

Roy's had it all. It started when Route 66 was established and lasted till when I-40 rerouted traffic around Amboy. At its peak it was restaurant, a service station, and a motel with a series of cute little white cabins in which guests could stay. Keeping this running couldn't have been easy. There's no water. All water had to be brought in from 50 miles away. The challenges must have been great and then, with the bypass, Amboy became a ghost town.

Thankfully for Route 66 there are preservationists. Albert Okura, who owns the Juan Pollo restaurant chain, is such a person. He purchased much of Amboy and with a commitment to retaining the town's 1950s character he's in the process of restoring parts of the town. Evidence of this can already be seen at Roy's. The sign has been restored, the gas stations appears to be a small gift shop (though it wasn't open when I was there) and there seems to be construction going on in the chained-off area which is the cabins compound. At the Barstow Route 66 museum I was told that Roy's is expected to open again in 2007 though offering what services I do not know.

Wouldn't it be great if more of this rebirthing were to happen along the Route?

If this site interests you then check the link below to a nice site on Amboy and Roy's.

Americana: Service Station Significant Interest: Other Icon Milestone or Marker: Other Icon Web Site Address: [Web Link] Address of Icon: Not listed

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