Amboy is a small mostly vacant town on historic Route 66 in California.
Amboy was founded around 1860 as a railroad stop by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
Railway. The ATSF named a series of railroad stops between Barstow California and Arizona
alphabetically from West to East. The towns are:
- Amboy
- Bolo
- Cadiz
- Danby
- Essex
- Fenner
- Goffs
- Homer
- Ibis
- Java
When Route 66 was first built, it often was routed close to existing
railroad tracks. Hence, historical Route 66 passes through all of the ATSF towns listed
above. Historic Route 66 still exists mostly intact from Barstow to Needles. It is possible
today to travel through what remains of the ATSF railroad towns by automobile. Route
66 has been superseded by Interstate Highway 40.
During the prime of Route 66, many of the railroad towns had cottage
industries catering to the drive-through road tourist trade. Once such business was the
iconic Roy's Motel and Cafe located in Amboy. Roy's Motel and Cafe was opened in 1938
by Row Crowl. The opening of Interstate Highway 40 in 1972 spelled the doom of most of
the Route 66 businesses, including Roy's Motel and Cafe. With Roy Crowl's death in 1977,
Roy's Motel and Cafe was operated by his son-in-law Buster Burris. With Buster's death
in 2000, Roy's Motel and passed to Bessie Burris, Buster's widow. Bessie sold the property
to two rather ill-spirited partners, who eventually lost the property back to Bessie
in a foreclosure.
Roy's Motel and Cafe has acquired by Albert Okura in April 2005. Albert Okura also owns the
Juan Pollo restaurant chain. Albert has formed a partnership with the California Route
66 Preservation Foundation is restoring and operating Roy's Motel and Cafe. The gas station reopened in February 2008. The official relighting of the iconic neon sign occurred in November of 2019.
Visit the official web site devoted to Roy's
Motel and Cafe at Amboy, California.
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