Roy’s Motel and Café on Route 66 in Amboy, California, is associated with Googie architecture.
The complex includes a motel, café, gas station, and automobile repair shop in the Mojave Desert. Its dramatic forms, angled rooflines, projecting elements, and prominent neon sign reflect the futuristic roadside design known as Googie.
Roy Crowl opened the original gas and service station in 1938. The business expanded during the 1940s to serve Route 66 travelers, adding food, repairs, and overnight cabins. In the 1950s, the complex received visual changes including its famous boomerang-shaped neon sign.
Amboy declined sharply after Interstate 40 opened in 1972 and diverted long-distance traffic away from the old highway. Preservationists later worked to retain Roy’s distinctive appearance. Googie is sometimes confused with Art Deco because both styles use strong geometry, but Googie is particularly associated with postwar optimism, automobiles, neon, and space-age imagery.