16. El Trovatore Motel Pt. 2, Kingman, Arizona

I spent the evening photographing the El Trovatore Motel, both in daylight and, in order to catch the neon of the signs, during the blue hour before the sky turned black.

After I had captured several images, Monica, the proprietress, happened to be walking through the parking lot returning to the motel. She stopped to talk. I showed her the images of the motel on my camera. She said, “Oh, good. You got [a picture of] the plaque.” She was referring to the informational plaque near the entrance of the property that informs the reader that “trovatore” is Italian for troubadour or traveler; that the developer John F. Miller moved to Kingman in 1935 after building the Sal Sagev Hotel in Las Vegas and bought the property where the motel now stands; that he built a service station, and then an auto court and cafe between 1937 and 1939; and that, with its heating and air conditioning (the first motel in Arizona to have AC, I later learned), the El Trovatore was considered modern and luxurious for its time. Thus it was a popular resort for such luminaries as Clark Gable, Don Knotts, and Marylyn Monroe:

The Frishers bought the motel about five years prior to our visit. The facilities had become run down and had been used as low-cost, weekly or monthly apartments. (A back row of units seems still to be.) The motel was closed for about a year. Financial challenges had to be overcome. As Monica expressed it, “We saved the motel, and the motel saved us.” Sam and Monica are obviously putting their hearts, souls, and resources into the motel, paying attention to details. The passionate proprietors have been working hard, methodically, step-by- step, bringing the motel back to its former glory as an auto court. In the rooms, they are maintaining as many of the original features as possible for historic authenticity, but are also providing modern amenities, such as refrigerators, microwaves, and wi-fi. The Frishers had the neon repaired on the 60-foot tower on the hill behind the motel. The name “El Trovatore” spelled out vertically in red/orange and green neon relit for the first time in 2012 after having been extinguished for over 50 years! (Somewhere I heard lightning had struck the tower way back when.):

The self-standing roadside sign had also been fixed:

The pool was recently renovated–Monica pointed that out and wanted to make sure we saw the cartoon character painted on the bottom of the pool (however, I could not get into a position to capture a good picture of it). On the wing of the motel facing the one with the Route 66 map, bold murals with vivid colors of John Wayne driving a stage coach and of various Looney Tune cartoon characters, such as Bugs Bunny and Popeye’s Olive Oil, greeted us. From this courtyard, visual stimuli (and subjects to shoot!) abound.

When the sky turned black, exhausted, we turned in for the night.

(to be continued….) SUBSCRIBE to my blog at the very bottom of the page!