The Rail Haven

So, as I already blogged about, I was at a church conference this past weekend.  The motel that I stayed at, the Best Western Route 66 Rail Haven, (which I discovered on this blog has just been added to the National Register of Historic Places) is where I have stayed for the past 4 years.  It was originally cabin style rooms that were connected at some point.  Those rooms are in the back part of the complex.  I stayed in the part that was built in the 1950s, which is pictured above.  Although my room was very modern and comfortable, there were signs of its colorful past as a Route 66 motel.  First of all, you don't see too many of these old single story strip motels still around.  This one was restored in the mid 1990s.  Plus, the building is concrete block which has been stuccoed over.  If there is a tornado while I'm staying at this place, I want to be sure I'm in that concrete block room!

Here's the sign at the intersection:

You can't see it, but the scrolling board under the "Rail Haven" sign said "Welcome Methodists" which was nice since it isn't an official conference motel.  I stay here (and so do a lot of other people attending the conference) because it is closer to the Expo Center and less expensive than most of the official conference motels.

Here's the one thing that really gives away the age of the rooms, and I love it!

The bathrooms are almost all original.  The main change is that the corner wall mounted sinks were replaced with pedestal sinks.  The tub is original, but has had a molded cover placed over it (but the original is still under there...when you tap the plastic, you can hear the metal under).

The gray floor tile is great.  I took this photo if nothing else, to have for reference for my own bathroom some day.

Here you can see a bit of the wall tile, the floor tile, and the tub detail.  I was standing in the doorway when I took this photo (the bathroom is tiny)!  I didn't get a photo of it, but the bathroom also had a window with some of that old fashioned privacy glass with flower like shapes molded into the glass.  Hmmm...gonna have to look into what that glass is called...

Finally, here's the "Standard" toilet.  I think that it's original, judging by the design of the tank.  Anyway, for such a small bathroom, it really had a lot of personality!

I hit up a few flea markets / antique malls / thrift shops as well.  Didn't really get much, but I'll share the couple of things I got tomorrow.

Have a great Tuesday!