Built in 1936, the Hi-Line was Removed Just Days Before the Start of 2026 — the 100-Year Anniversary of Route 66
I received a message yesterday that the old ruins of the Hi-Line Motel in Ash Fork, Arizona were demolished on December 30, 2025. For many, this will make perfect sense. Abandoned ruins are eye sores, they can be dangerous, and they can invite graffiti and crime. But they also represent an irreplaceable piece of American history.
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Built in 1936 as the Hi-Line Modern Motor Court, each room had a built-in parking space next to it — like a garage without a door.
There was also a Shell gas station in the office with fuel pumps in front.
The modern sign was installed in the late 1950s when the highway was widened and the fuel pumps were removed. That’s when Route 66 was broken into divided lanes and unfortunately, a stretch of other buildings were demolished to make way.
Ash Fork was established in the 1880s to service the railroad and was named by a railroad superintendent after a grove of ash trees on the location.
A U.S. Post Office came in 1883. It was a rowdy town in its early days with very little law and order. A vigilante group assumed the role of dispensing frontier justice, which often meant a rope and a high tree branch.
In 1893, a wildfire burned the town to the ground and it was rebuilt on the opposite side of the train tracks.
Today the town is home to a number of stone quarries that mine and sell flagstones.
100 Years of Route 66
2026 marks the centennial year of the establishment of Route 66. November 11, 1926, is the official date the highway was commissioned, but the entire year of 2026 will mark the centennial celebration. States, cities, historical societies, and car buffs are planning events to recognize the significance of the “Mother Road.”
Sadly much of the original road and the culturally significant structures along it are either gone or in serious states of disrepair.