This 1956 sign basically IS the skyline of Stroud. It's on the extreme west end, and the height attracts westbound drivers passing through downtown.

A Stroud company built it using standard backlit plastic units for MOTEL, a huge neon arrow, and lots of sheet metal. The long vertical dimension is unusual--as is using cheap steel pipes as a point of interest.

It went up several years after Rt 66 was bypassed by a Turnpike. The small mom-and-pop motel still has only a few competitors--but both Oklahoma City and Tulsa are less than an hour away.

Other images show the sign's artistic details.