Whiting Bros Motel Sign - NM

About

The tall, weathered Whiting Bros Motel sign is one of the surviving reminders of a once-busy Route 66 travel complex at Continental Divide. Whiting Brothers grew from an Arizona family business incorporated in 1926 into a Southwestern chain with more than 100 filling stations and numerous motels and truck stops, many positioned along the Mother Road. The Continental Divide location combined an eight-room motel with a neighboring service station, giving travelers a place to fuel up and spend the night while crossing western New Mexico.

The motel later operated under other names before closing, while the Whiting Brothers sign remained standing beside the old Route 66 frontage road. Its faded lettering and distinctive red-and-yellow Whiting Brothers emblem still identify the former property, and the motel building and service-station structure also survive nearby. Today the sign is best appreciated as a roadside remnant rather than an operating business, offering travelers a tangible look at the network of fuel stops and inexpensive lodging that once served long-distance motorists across the Southwest.

Get Directions