Bakersfield Motels 2

More pictures along Union Avenue in Bakersfield.

South on Union is the Bakersfield Lodge.

Dark picture I know, but this is the Country Inn.

Further north we have the Travelers Motel and the Colonial Motel. Love those arrows.

The Night Rest Inn. The sign doesn't look very old.

Surprise the pool isn't filled in.

The La Mirage has a pool that is still open.

The office of the Turner Motel.

Don't watch for new construction or renovation. Watch for new signs!

The black dot back by the camper was a large rottweiler guarding the Turner, and watch my every move.

Perhaps the most famous of all the Bakersfield motels is the opulent Bakersfield Inn. Frank Sinatra was at opening night in 1949, and guests were served on silver and china, including custom made dinnerware with the Bakersfield Inn name. Alex Madonna has said that the Bakersfield Inn was an inspiration to build Madonna Inn and bring some of the luxury to the coast. The Bakersfield arch was built for guests to cross US 99, as the Bakersfield Inn was on both sides of the highway.

Recorded as a genuine pedestrian bridge in the Caltrans bridge log, the Arch fell in disrepair and Caltrans started discussing its removal in 1995. Money was raised to save the Arch, but the savior was country signer Buck Owens, who donated $170,000 - but with a catch. The old Arch was removed, the original letters saved, and a smaller version built, without a pedestrian crossing, next to Buck Owens Crystal Palace nightclub. The new arch is on Sillect Avenue near Buck Owens Blvd, formerly Pierce Road. The new arch is adjacent to California 99, and near many motels, so history lives on.

On the day I visited Bakersfield in June of 1999, I found the arch being dismantled in what used to be a portion of the Bakersfield Inn. When I drove by later in the afternoon, everything was gone.

Remains of the Bakerfield Arch

Looking inside the Arch

The letters that were saved had already been removed.

The remaining building and porte cochere of the Bakersfield Inn.

Along with the Arch, down came the towers.

The eastside of the Bakersfield Inn, now a senior retirement center, which still has the tower. The door leading through the Arch can be seen here on the second story.

The new Bakersfield Arch, at the corner of Sillect and Buck Owens Blvd.

View from the rear facing California 99. At night the sign is lit, just as the original.

Buck Owens Crystal Palace nightclub, adjacent to the new Arch.