The land for the Hill Top Motel site was purchased in October of 1953. The Hill Top Motel was constructed in 1954 by John Mescheid, a land developer from Santa Monica, CA. For about the first 10 years, the motel did not have a swimming pool. In the early 1960's, the owners designed and built the swimming pool. As illustrated in these classic postcards from the 1960's, the swimming pool serves as a central meeting point for guests during the warm summer months.
The current owners purchased the motel in 1981, and have faithfully and painstakingly maintained the historic charm of the motel, while upgrading the creature comforts and motel technology.
Room air conditioning has been replaced with modern units.
The original cord board telephone system (where the office had to plug in the phone wires from a room to "the" outside line) was removed and replaced with a PBX system.
Televisions were not originally in the rooms. Eventually, cable televisions were placed in the rooms. (Even to this day, there is not a rich set of TV programming in the airwaves of Northern Arizona.) The cable television was replaced with Satellite TV.
The Hill Top Motel landscaping includes cactus gardens maintained by Dennis Schroeder, owner.
The Hill Top Motel is an integral part of our Historic Route 66 heritage. The motel participates in many Historic Route 66 Events.
The pool and patio area still retain their historical integrity and charm, as well as the relaxed feeling from the 1950's.
Alas, the last "Magic Fingers" bed massager was retired many years ago -- our apologies to those folks who yearn nostalgically for this lost technology. On the other hand, comfortable new mattresses are nice too.
We had the opportunity to visit with Marjorie and Scott Gehrke during the 50th Anniversary Celebration back in 2004. They related the story of when the tour bus for Crosby, Stills, and Nash pulled in to inquire about motel rooms. Unfortunately, none were available, but they were able to shower in room 131.
And of course we would be remiss for not mentioning that Oklahoma City Bomber Timothy McVeigh stayed at the motel in Room 119 for 4 days in mid-February 1995. The registration card that he filled out was admitted into evidence at the trial as Exhibit 1902.
Get your kicks on Route 66
www.hilltopmotelaz.com - Copyright 2003-2012 Hill Top Motel - Kingman, AZ
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Revised 1-10-12
