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Route 66 joins the Interstate at Park Moabi and heads west towards Needles. A few miles down I-40 take the Five-Mile Station Road exit to get back on Route 66 and enter Needles on Front Street. This is the original route. Needles, California, was named for the pointed mountains to the southeast of town in the Black Mountains. Ironically that range lies in Arizona. The town was founded as a railroad hub for the Santa Fe Railroad in the 1880s. The Oakies of the dust bowl, the convoys of soldiers during W.W. II, and a post war America on the move looking for excitement all passed through Needles during the hey-day of Route 66. | |
| As you enter Needles you will see the famous "Welcome to Needles Covered Wagon". It was formerly used as a sign for the El Rancho Hotel in Needles. Most of Route 66 through Needles is called Broadway Street. The El Garces Harvey House is located on Front and G streets; once another alignment of Route 66 through this desert town on the banks of the Colorado River. Across the street from the Needles welcome wagon is the Palms Motel. |
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The Palms MotelThe Palms Motel, a 1920s vintage auto court, is clean and well-kept. The cabins are surrounded by a manicured lawn and garden and look like they had a fresh coat of paint on them. What a pleasure it is to see a part of Route 66 history preserved so well. One could almost imagine old Ford Model As parked outside the quaint cabins. This must have been an oasis in the desert once, a welcome sight to weary travelers in the Mojave Desert. Today the rooms are rented out on a monthly basis to local residents. |
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Historic Needles TheaterAnother throw back to the Golden Age of Route 66, the Needles Theater has seen a lot of the Mother Road pass in front of it. What stories there must be! Today it is in need of preservation and was the focus of the Second Annual Historic Route 66 Anniversary Celebration in Needles. The theater is owned by the Chamber of Commerce and your help is needed to restore this beautiful building. To find out how you can help, contact the Needles Chamber of Commerce. |
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Tourist Accommodations: A Needles Tradition |
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| Needles has always been a town that has catered to the traveler. The Best Motel and Hungry Bear Restaurant are leftover from the glory days of Route 66. That it was a Route 66 motel is evident, though it appears to be from a later era, the 1950s. This was an old Travel Lodge that was built around 1952. The Hungry Bear restaurant right next door has been around for quite some time too, though under different management and names over the years. The Route 66 motif and memorabilia in the Hungry Bear, plus the good food provide the perfect break from exploring Route 66 in Needles. | ||
Goffs, California, on the Pre-1931 Alignment of Route 66 |
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 1928 Highway Map Showing Route 66 from Oatman, Arizona to Victorville, California. Notice that Route 66 passes through Goffs and isn't even paved yet! |
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| Route 66 once again rejoins the Interstate at Needles. A few miles down the Interstate the Hwy 95 exit brings you back to Route 66. This portion of the old road is the pre 1931 alignment of Route 66 and leads to the little desert community of Goffs, California. The pre-1931 alignment of Route 66 was still used regularly after it was bypassed by the newer alignment of Route 66 in the 1930s. Travelers wishing to avoid the 5% grade of the new highway, and possible overheating, would take the older road with its 2% grade through Goffs. | ||
| In the early days of Needles, residents thought
that Goffs was a nice place to go to beat the Mojave heat. Actually Goffs is a little
higher in elevation than Needles, a fact that prompted residents of the Colorado River
town to spend their summers here. They thought it was cooler in Goffs. Why melt in the
120-degree heat of Needles when you could enjoy the cool alpine temperature of 115 degrees
in Goffs? When you arrive in Goffs coming from the east the first thing you'll notice is the Goffs General Store on the right. If you are lucky it will be open when you pass through. |
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The
Goffs School House
The Goffs School was built in 1914 and served the outlying families of the area from 1914 through 1937. It is a survivor of old Route 66. The old school is certainly not what one would expect. Instead of the usual wood frame construction found in remote desert communities, it is constructed of a heavy wood frame, steel mesh and stucco. The unique mission style architecture of the school seems oddly out of place here. |
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| In 1982 the school had deteriorated to a point where it could have been considered a ruin. The roof had falling in, and the windows and frames were missing. The job of restoration fell to the Mojave Desert Heritage and Cultural Association and it was a big one indeed. They really did a fine job of it too. The school has been restored to its 1914 condition. It is clean and crisp with none of the weathering evident from the years of neglect. It looks brand new and ready to open its doors once again to the students of Goffs. The Goffs schoolhouse is now quite functional again and is being used as a museum and the headquarters for Friends of the Mojave Road (see the CART66PF Events and Links Page for more information). | ||
Click anywhere along Route 66 on the map below to go there ... |
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NAVIGATION NOTE: Buckle up and hold on to your mouse! These pages are arranged like the map above, Pacific Ocean being West Route 66 and the Colorado River East Route 66. I have set up this site as if you were traveling from EAST to WEST, much like the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath. You can click on the Route 66 shields to "travel" the Mother Road in either direction though. Clicking West Route 66 or East Route 66 will take you to the next town or area on the map in that direction. |
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Photographs taken between January 2000 and September 2002 Courtesy Western Trails
Vintage Post Cards Courtesy PostCards From the Road
(c) 2003 GRandallWebDesign 
