On Route 66 in Newberry Springs, just a short stroll from the Bagdad Café, a lonely neon sign still stands tall in the desert. The Old Henning Motel Sign promises “Free TV” at a motel that doesn’t exist anymore. But the sign itself has become the real attraction, luring travelers, photographers, and movie buffs to take its photo.
The motel it once marked opened in 1947 and carried on through the heyday of mid-century travel, even making a cameo in the 1987 cult film Bagdad Café. But with I-40 pulling traffic away, the motel fizzled out, closed, and was finally torn down in 2015.
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What’s left is the bright yellow sign, shouting “MOTEL” to passing cars that will never check in.
According to a Facebook post, the Newberry Springs motel was never the Henning Motel at all. That big, bold sign originally lit up the sky in Barstow, where Lucille Henning opened the Henning Motel in 1932. When that property was cleared in the 1950s, the marquee hit the road itself and was planted in front of the little West Winds Motel in Newberry Springs, where it still keeps watch today.
Photos of the Old Henning Motel Sign in Newberry Springs, California
