Photo: Wikimedia Commons — see author and license on the file page.

Vega Motel, Texas

Historic hotel
In Vega, Texas
On Route 66
National Register of Historic Places

The Vega Motel is a 1947 motor court on Vega Boulevard, the old Route 66 main street of Vega, TX, about 35 miles west of Amarillo. The National Park Service counts it among the few motor courts in the Panhandle's small towns that survive complete, and it has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2006. It has not rented rooms to travelers since 2006, so treat it as a photo stop.

What is Vega Motel?

A U-shaped court. The west and south wings of 1947 hold 12 rooms, with pairs of garages alternating with pairs of rooms; a small house in the middle of the courtyard was the office and the owners' home. An east wing of eight rooms with built-in garages closed the U in 1953. A red 'VEGA MOTEL' sign stands on a pole by the road.

History of Vega Motel

Ervin Pancoast built it as the Vega Court and ran it with his wife for nearly thirty years, selling in 1976 after I-40 bypassed the town. It closed in 2006, and at the end of 2009 the county put it up for sale for unpaid taxes. Karen Friemel Fangman and her brother bought it in 2018, put on a new roof and opened the courtyard house as a vacation rental in 2019 while the rooms waited for restoration.

Visiting Vega Motel: tips

Look from the sidewalk on Vega Boulevard: the garages, the courtyard house and the sign are all visible from the street. The restored Magnolia Station and the Milburn-Price Culture Museum are a few blocks away.

Practical info

Address: 1005 Vega Blvd (Business I-40), Vega, TX 79092
On site & nearby

Sources: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Wikidata · official site — may be outdated. Suggest a fix

Places to eat near Vega Motel

All diners →

Restaurant
Mama Jo's Pies & Sweets
Vega, TX · 0.3 mi from Vega Motel
A pie and pastry bakery in a restored building in Vega, run by a baker who began at the Midpoint Cafe.
Retro roadside
Midpoint Café
Adrian, TX · 13.9 mi from Vega Motel
The Adrian, TX, diner that marks the halfway point of Route 66, known for its "ugly crust" pies.

On the map

Full map

Vega Motel with the 6 closest stops and places to eat (fork and knife). Tap a marker for details.

Tap a dot to see that stop here.

Stops near Vega Motel

All of Texas

Milburn-Price Culture Museum

Vega, Texas · 0.2 mi from Route 66

A local history museum in a 1920s hardware store on Route 66 in Vega, with a giant branding iron outside.

Museum

0.2 mi from Vega Motel

Magnolia Station

Vega, Texas · 0.2 mi from Route 66

A restored 1924 gas station on Main Street in Vega, now a visitor center for Route 66 travelers.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

0.2 mi from Vega Motel

Bent Door Café

Adrian, Texas · on Route 66

A 1947 café with a door cut on a slant to fit a surplus control tower, now a weathered photo stop in Adrian.

Retro roadside

13.6 mi from Vega Motel

Midpoint Café

Adrian, Texas · on Route 66

The Adrian, TX, diner that marks the halfway point of Route 66, known for its "ugly crust" pies.

Retro roadsidePhoto credit

13.9 mi from Vega Motel

Dream Maker Station

Adrian, Texas · on Route 66

A Route 66 gift shop in a former gas station beside the Midpoint Cafe in Adrian, opened in 2024.

Retro roadside

13.9 mi from Vega Motel

Boise

Boise, Texas · 0.9 mi from Route 66

A quiet Texas ghost town at about 4,000 feet, south of Interstate 40 and east of Glenrio.

Ghost town

24.4 mi from Vega Motel

Own or run Vega Motel? Send us a photo or a correction.

See it on the map