| Posted by: beekay on Thursday, August 13, 2015 at 2:30:31 PM
In 1950, my father was deployed to Korea, and my mother and I (age 10) moved into one of the rooms in the Santa Rosa Courts (as it was known then) motel. The motel was managed by my grandparents, Bill and Hilda Gower. We lived there for about a year and a half before leaving to join my Dad in Japan.
The office, which was also the managers' residence, was centered on the motel property, right on the north side of East Colfax Avenue (also US 40). To the left (west) of the office, a line of rooms interspaced with carport ran to the north (I don't recall how many there were). On the north side of the property, another line of rooms ran east-west, forming a kind of L-shape with the first line of rooms. This set of rooms, facing south, was actually back-to-back with an identical set of rooms facing north. And, on the west end of these rooms was a two-story apartment.
Most of the rooms were studio style, two twin beds and a bathroom. As I recall, most of the residents were permanent or long term, and the only travelers I recall were long-haul truckers on overnight stays.
The only other building I recall was on the east side of the office, set back from the street. This was the owners residence. It also had a two-room rental with kitchen in the basement.
There was a creek running to the north behind the motel, where I spent a lot of time playing. I don't see the creek in the Google Earth images now... |
