Ludlow, Cal - Rt 66
A few updated photos towards the bottom of this post, beneath the set of double horizontal lines.
It was early afternoon on day one of my “Goodbye God, I’m going to Texas” roadtrip when I turned off I-40 to check out the town of Ludlow, California. I had never been there before, so was looking forward to seeing what it had in store. It’s definitely worth a stop for anyone interested in old abandoned buildings and/or needing gas or something cold to drink. It was 2 out of 3 for me.
Ludlow came into existence in 1883, built as a water stop for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad. When ore was found in the nearby hills, that created a new bit of excitement in the desert. Later, borax and other mining products from Death Valley and Beatty, Nevada made their way to town to be shipped to refiners via long distance Santa Fe Railway lines.
As the local mining and railway activity slowly faded away, the town survived by supplying travelers on the National Old Trails Road, which later became Route 66, with the things they needed. Food. Gas. Water. Shade. A place to stay the night. But after the construction of I-40 bypassed the town, Ludlow dwindled away as residents left for other places. Which is a similar story to hundreds of towns across the U.S. that once thrived along the “Mother Road.”
When I stopped by to visit, the gas station/mini mart south of I-40 was bustling. Across the street, the Ludlow Café was open and a motel a bit farther down the road also seemed to still be in business. There was life in Ludlow. But what I was interested in was what might be located east of the gas station, on the old road, the road much less traveled (usually due to road conditions). So I headed off in that direction to see what I could find.
What I found was a "Road Closed" barricade across the road, no doubt in place due to the monsoon storms several weeks earlier. But someone had moved a few of them apart, so I took that to mean the road was open. I drove past the barricades, into the unknown and forbidden.
Less than a few hundred yards from the barriers, I came to what was once the center of town. There were at least a half dozen old business buildings and a couple houses, all long-abandoned. This was my kind of town.
The Ludlow Cafe was the first building I stopped at to investigate. The Cafe opened sometime in the 1940s and served travelers and Ludlowians alike up until around 1975 when the owners moved away. The building sat alone for many years, was eventually boarded up and waited patiently, hoping that new owners might breathe life back into its walls. It was not to happen. A fire gutted the building in the mid-2000s, leaving it in the condition seen above (2014). The following year, fire struck again and it was reduced to a pile of rubble. I’m glad I was able to see it before that happened.
The interior of the cafe.
A short, shaky look inside the Ludlow Cafe.
A roofless garage stands near the Ludlow Cafe. A few old gas pump remains and a lot of trash are inside this building. A lot of the painted advertising is still distinct on the walls. Generators, Regulators, Water Pumps. Arc Welding. But definitely not responsible for fire or theft, and no checks accepted.
“No Checks Cashed”
This old house was almost completely boarded up, I wondered if there was anything interesting inside. So I peaked into windows on the side.
Looks like some leftover furniture and empty cabinets. The owners or later visitors took most everything with them. I’ve seen similar places just the opposite.
The Ludlow Motel has a fascinating history, I highly recommend clicking HERE to read more about it. I’ll just paraphrase a quick snippet: The Motel originally consisted of a main building and a number of smaller cabins, which all faced the highway (Route 66). Click on that link to really learn about it.
This is the backside of the Ludlow Motel, which I’ve always thought of as “the big green house,” until just recently. I believe it originally had either siding or boards that were painted white covering the exterior.
Inside the motel, the space was divided into several small rooms. I couldn’t find the staircase to check the top floor. I haven’t been back this way for many years, hopefully the building is still there.
This large, two-story stone and cement building sits pretty close to the railroad tracks. This side looks much better than the other side:
The building was constructed around 1908 by a man named John Denair and was originally known as the Ludlow Mercantile Building. At some point the Murphy Brothers acquired the structure and operated a general store here, which included a meat market, groceries and liquor. The Murphys had several businesses in town, one of which was a gas station on the main road. During the heydey, many businesses lined the street here.
A look inside of what I hoped was a safe corner of the building to look into.
"Murphy Bros. Store" is barely discernible on the side of the old building. Despite its semi-demolished state, it's still the most imposing structure from the old days in town today.
I'm sure there are probably a few interesting spots in town that I missed, but that leaves an opening for another visit, and new things to discover.
At the left is a 2022 picture of the sign post near I-40 that used to advertise for the Ludlow Cafe. Above is an old google image I found from 2009 that showed the sign with the large word “CAFE” and below it in white letters against a red background, “Dairy Queen.” I can’t make out what is to the right of Dairy Queen.
Today’s current Ludlow Cafe.
The Ludlow Motel at the left with an empty sign frame, it kinda looks like it might have been a Gas sign.
This is the only remaining “cabin” that was once part of the Ludlow Motel complex. Not sure how much longer it will remain standing.
Across the street from the Ludlow Motel ruin are several abandoned businesses and a couple houses. This reminder of hanging clothes on a line is behind one of them.
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An old postcard from back in the days of traveling Route 66.