San Francisco Giants' Francisco Grande Motor Inn - Casa Grande, Arizona

In honor of the San Francisco Giants' first World Series win since 1954 I am posting a few postcards and a matchbook from their former Spring Training home. Here's a little history from the Francisco Grande website:

The Francisco Grande dates back to 1959 when San Francisco Giants owner Horace Stoneham developed the property as a spring training camp for his popular Major League Baseball team. Then Arizona Governor Paul Fannin attended the dedication before the first exhibition game in 1961, as did National League president Warren Giles, to an overflowing crowd. Optimism swirled like desert dust devils when Willie Mays hit a 375-foot home run off Gaylord Perry in the forth inning of the first ever game at Francisco Grande. "Francisco" was taken from the San "Francisco" Giants and "Grande" was taken from Casa "Grande"; thus the name "Francisco Grande." While Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal were honing their Hall of Fame skills, the Resort became an exclusive and intimate desert hideaway for Hollywood elites. Legends such as John Wayne, Dale Robertson, Pat Boone, and Gale Gordon made the Francisco Grande their home away from home.

There are several unique architectural facts concerning our Resort. Our famous swimming pool is in the shape of a baseball bat, and the hot tub is shaped like a baseball. The parking area in front of the hotel where Willie Mays parked his pink Cadillac with "Say Hey" plates was originally designed like a baseball diamond and the flower beds were constructed to resemble bats and balls. The overhang on the north side of the tower was built to resemble the brim of a baseball cap. The stairwells on the south side of the building were built to resemble those in a stadium at the time of construction. From the Sunset Terrace, you will notice the coach's observation tower; a round two story structure which was used by coaches and members of the press to view the action of players during practice. With your imagination, you can see the four baseball diamonds with some of the sport's best known players (then and now) as they practiced in their "Field of Dreams".

After the Giants were enticed to move to Scottsdale, the California Angels used the facility from 1982 until 1984. The next two years saw the transformation of the baseball fields into football fields, which were used as the training camp headquarters for the USFL's Arizona Wranglers and the Denver Gold.

                                   Francisco Grande Motor Inn Matchbook, originally uploaded by Drive-In Mike.

Motel Monday: Lobbying

This week's Motel Monday focuses on the entrance/lobby of the motel. Some of these places feature the bare bones essentials for greeting customers (chairs, couch, pamphlets) and some feature an extravagant place to congregate.

Starlite Motel - Los Angeles, California

Charnock's Motel - Rochelle, Illinois

Covered Wagon Lodge Motel - Vincennes, Indiana

The Castaways - Miami Beach, Florida

Blue Mist Resort Motel - Miami Beach, Florida

O'Hare Concord Inn - Des Plaines, Illinois

University Hotel Court - Athens, Georgia

Towne Point Motel - Dover, Delaware

Motel Modernaire - Winchester, Virginia

Memphis East Ramada Inn - Memphis, Tennessee

Ramada Inn - Phoenix, Arizona

Hyatt Chalet Motel - Flagstaff, Arizona

Motel Monday: Seeing Red

This week's Motel Monday theme is motels with "Red" in the title somewhere. There's a variety of things from American Indians, fruit, horses, arrows, and shingles that can only be described as red.

All postcards from my collection. You can see my other blog, In The Heart of Downtown, to see my entire posted collection of over 2,500 different motels.

Red Feather Lodge - Grand Canyon, Arizona

Red Apple Motel - Yakima, Washington

Red Carpet Inn - Stateline, California

Motel Monday: Come Sea About Me

This week's Motel Monday features motels with the word "Sea" in the title. A lot of these names make sense for the location, but some are just way off. I am pretty sure there aren't many sea shell in Lordsburg, New Mexico or sea breezes in Phoenix.

All the postcards are from my collection. You can see my entire (posted) collection of nearly 2,500 different motels at In the Heart of Downtown.

Sea Dip Motel and Apartments - Daytona Beach, Florida

The Sea Horse - Daytona Beach, Florida

Motel Monday: Sands Across America

This week's Motel Monday theme is motels either called the Sands or featuring Sands in the title. The Sands name appears all over the country after the Sands Hotel opens in late 1952 in Las Vegas, Nevada. I guess that owners felt that if they named their motels after the famous casino/hotel that travelers would think they had landed someplace classy and extravagant.
See all the selection by clicking on the read more button below.

Sands of Tempe Motor Hotel - Tempe, Arizona

Sands Motel - Sacramento, California

Motel Monday: You're Movin' In With Your Auntie and Uncle in Bel Air

This week's Motel Monday theme has nothing to do with Will Smith and everything to do with Bel Air. Here, we have a dozen postcard that use varying versions of the Bel Air name to add an air of upscale sophistication to their motel. See if they succeeded after the jump.

Bel Air Motel - Redding, California

Motel Monday: Flamingo Fever

Today's Motel Monday theme is big, pink, and often stands on one leg. The flamingo is a beautiful bird and a gimmick that lures the driving motorist to stop and enjoy many modern amenities. Here are 10 examples of that version of the flamingo..

Flamingo Motor Hotel - Tucson, Arizona

Motel Monday: Get Your Kicks

Every Monday for the few months I have been sharing with you themed motel postcards from my collection featured on my other blog, In The Heart of Downtown.  Today's Motel Monday theme is Route 66. Highway 66 is possibly the most famous Highway in the history of the United States. The Highway linked Chicago and Los Angeles and was over 2,300 miles long. The route was completed in 1933 and quite possibly was most popular in the 1950s and 60s. It would take me hours to type all of the wonderful history, so instead I will link you to some more informative sites.

These represent one dozen of the many hundreds of motels that lined Highway 66.  I tried to find some of the better postcards to give you a better sense of some of the more colorful motel sights along the "Mother Road." They aren't in geographical order. See them all after the jump.

The Spur Motel - Flagstaff, Arizona