Update: Route 66 Neon Hotel Sign Restored

The National Museum of Transportation thanks our generous donors for supporting the restoration of the Westward Ho Hotel pylon sign. The sign was prominently featured along Route 66 for 45 years, where it greeted travelers visiting the motel at the intersection of Lindbergh Boulevard and Watson Road. Thanks to the support of Mary and Craig Kennedy, the Jane Dippel Historic Preservation Fund managed by the Route 66 Association of Missouri, and other supporters, the sign has been conserved and returned to the Earl C. Lindburg Automotive Center.

The Westward Ho Motel

The Westward Ho Motel was located at 1580 S. Kirkwood Road in the Sunset Hills neighborhood of St. Louis County. Designed by architect Bernard McMahon, the motel featured a western, ranch-style motif and was the first of its kind in the Midwest. With cypress wood walls, wide plank floors, and peg furniture, the motel was built to mimic tourist courts and hotels in the western part of the country. The motel opened to travelers in 1953 and was finally closed in 1998 to make way for new construction.

Before the motel was demolished, its last owner donated the pylon sign to the National Museum of Transportation. The Museum displayed the sign in the Lindburg Automotive Building for several years until the building was remodeled and the sign was placed in storage.