One of them led him on a merry rat race for a half hour at the Thunderbird Inn Hotel, Bypass Road and Robinson. Perhaps the funniest story involving the Thunderbird Inn occurred in May 1957 when a cute little kitty caused all kinds of entertaining mayhem, according to The Oklahoman:Ĭats were dirty names in one Oklahoma City policeman’s vocabulary Tuesday. You go, Gloria!Īs for the rooms, guests could choose from a small single ($6 and up a night), a twin ($10), or a two-room suite (complete with glass enclosed tub and shower, no less!): The still-stunning, 58-year-old star (and future, very vocal vegetarian) regaled patrons with stories about her vacation and signed several autographs before taking off, Hollywood style, in a sassy sports car with her gorgeous chauffeur (i.e., boy toy) in tow. Many lucky diners were surprised one summer evening in 1957 when silent movie legend, Gloria Swanson, popped in to enjoy a steak during a cross country road trip: Guests hosted parties by the beautiful pool (the largest private pool in the Southwest, according to the brochure’s boastful writers), held wedding receptions in large banquet rooms, pigged out on ample breakfasts in the coffee shop, and enjoyed delicious charbroiled steaks in the upscale restaurant: As this ’60s-era brochure shows, the conveniently located motel was just a mile from the zoo (and, later, the Cowboy Hall of Fame) and just a short highway ride to all of OKC’s attractions:Īs soon as the 67-room Thunderbird opened its doors, the luxury motel was a success. They also owned the neighboring Red Plains Trading Post, so guests could do a little tchotchke shopping during their stay, too. Robinson (now I-44 and Broadway Extension) to take full advantage of the growing numbers of cars travelling in all directions on the newly constructed highways. Sampson built a modern motel on the northwest corner of the Route 66 Bypass at N. But many Thunderbirds were individually owned operations like the one here in Oklahoma City:Īround 1955, Al Cook and E.S. After doing a little research, I found that a few companies did, indeed, own clusters of Thunderbird Motels, with one firm in the Northwestern states owning nearly 40 such named inns in that region. I always thought that they must have been part of a large franchise at one time. In fact, there have been so many Thunderbird Inns, Lodges, Motels, Motor Courts, Hotels, etc., that there’s a large group on Flickr devoted exclusively to them: Despite my room being close to the main road through town, it was not noisy as the traffic subsided quite a bit after dark.At one time, there were dozens of Thunderbird Motels around the country - here’s one I found in Treasure Island, FL a few years ago: There are also several eating/drinking establishments very close to the motel, and the location is very near a small park with an interesting centerpiece featuring the two cowboys whose card game gave name to the town. The woman running the coffee shop was rather surly, but I don't think she is directly associated with the motel. This is certainly a no frills motel, as ice was available upon request only, and coffee is available for a price at the Coffee Mania shop on site. The bed was very comfortable and front desk staff was friendly and efficient, and everything seemed very clean. I got the feeling that the current owners are remodeling the units, and just haven't gotten around yet to updating the bathrooms, because I noticed many updated features, such as the AC/heating and the room decor. The room was very comfortable, even had a fridge and microwave, with the one outstanding drawback being a very small and outdated bathroom. For the budget minded traveler, this motel is adequate and inexpensive.
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