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Coordinates: 34°33′25″N 115°44′42″W / 34.55694°N 115.74500°W / 34.55694; -115.74500
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{{Short description|Unincorporated community in California, United States}}
{{Short description|Unincorporated community in California, United States}}

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{{Infobox settlement
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| settlement_type = [[Unincorporated area|Unincorporated community]]
| settlement_type = [[Unincorporated area|Unincorporated community]]
| nickname =
| nickname =
| motto = <!-- Images -->
| motto =
<!-- Images -->
| image_skyline = Amboy1858.jpg
| image_skyline = Amboy1858.jpg
| imagesize =
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| image_caption = Amboy sign, west side of town
| image_caption = Amboy sign, west side of town
| image_flag =
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| image_seal = <!-- Maps -->
| image_seal =
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| pushpin_map = USA California
| pushpin_map = USA California
| pushpin_label_position = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
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| map_caption1 = <!-- Location -->
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| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = United States
| subdivision_name = United States
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| established_date = 1883
| established_date = 1883


<!-- Area -->| unit_pref = Imperial
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| unit_pref = Imperial
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| area_water_km2 = <!-- Population -->
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| population_as_of = [[United States Census, 2000|2000]]
| population_as_of = [[United States Census, 2010|2010]]
| population_footnotes =
| population_footnotes =
| population_total = 5
| population_total = 4
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_density_km2 = auto


<!-- General information -->| timezone = [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific (PST)]]
<!-- General information -->
| timezone = [[Pacific Time Zone|Pacific (PST)]]
| utc_offset = -8
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| coordinates = {{coord|34|33|25|N|115|44|42|W|type:city_region:US|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates = {{coord|34|33|25|N|115|44|42|W|type:city_region:US|display=inline,title}}


<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->| postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]s
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -->
| postal_code_type = [[ZIP code]]s
| postal_code = 92304
| postal_code = 92304
| area_code_type = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area codes]]
| area_code_type = [[North American Numbering Plan|Area codes]]
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}}
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'''Amboy''' is an [[unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] in [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino County]], in [[California]]'s [[Mojave Desert]], west of [[Needles, California|Needles]] and east of [[Ludlow, California|Ludlow]] on historic [[U.S. Route 66 in California|Route 66]]. It is roughly {{convert|60|mi|km}} northeast of [[Twentynine Palms, California|Twentynine Palms]]. As of 2020, the town's business district still contained a post office, a historic restaurant-motel, and a Route 66 tourist shop, all operated by the town's population of four people.
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[[File:The Salt Ponds of Amboy at Sunset.jpg|thumb|The Salt Ponds of Amboy at sunset]]
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[[File:Roy's Cafe & Motel.jpg|thumb|Roy's Café & Motel]]


⚫
'''Amboy''' is an [[unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] in [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino County]], in [[California]]'s [[Mojave Desert]], west of [[Needles, California|Needles]] and east of [[Ludlow, California|Ludlow]] on historic [[U.S. Route 66 in California|Route 66]]. It is roughly {{convert|60|mi|km}} northeast of [[Twentynine Palms, California|Twentynine Palms]]. As of 2020, the town's business district still contained a post office, a historic restaurant-motel, and a Route 66 tourist shop, all operated by the town's population of four people. As of 2024, only the gas station was open, and the population was zero.<ref name="Wigglesworth"/>
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==Geography==
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The town is south of the [[Granite Mountains (California)|Granite Mountains]], [[Providence Mountains]], and the [[Mojave National Preserve]]. Adjacent to the south is the landmark [[Amboy Crater]], and beyond to the southeast the [[Bullion Mountains]]. To the south is [[Bristol Dry Lake]] and the community of [[Cadiz, California]].


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==History==
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Amboy was once a major stop along the famous [[U.S. Route 66 in California|Route 66]], but has seen much lower visitation since the opening of [[Interstate 40 in California|Interstate 40]] to the north in 1973. Amboy is home to [[Roy's Motel and Café]], a Route 66 landmark.
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Although Amboy was first settled in 1858, the town was not established until 1883. Lewis Kingman, a [[locating engineer]] for the [[Atlantic and Pacific Railroad]], created the town as the first of a series of alphabetical railroad stations that were to be constructed across the [[Mojave Desert]].<ref name=gudde>{{cite book|first=Erwin|last=Gudde|author2=William Bright |title=California Place Names|year=2004|edition=Fourth|publisher=University of California Press|page=11|isbn=0-520-24217-3}}</ref> The name was probably taken from a location in the eastern United States.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bright|first=William|author-link=William Bright|date=1998|title=1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning|location=[[Berkeley, CA]]|publisher=[[University of California Press]]}}</ref>


In 1926, Amboy became a boom town after the opening of U.S. Route 66.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
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The town has a total of 10 surviving buildings and a population of far fewer than the advertised 20. According to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', the town's population is approximately four.<ref name="LAT01"/> A resident interviewed in a short 2014 documentary also gives the population as four, all of whom are men.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Coulson|first1=James|title=Other America: Population Four|url=http://www.other-america.com/population-four|website=Other America|access-date=21 January 2015}}</ref> Amboy is located in [[ZIP code]] 92304 and [[area codes 442 and 760]].


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In 1938, Roy's Motel and Café opened and prospered due to its isolated location on the route. By 1940, Amboy's population had increased to 65. Its growth was tied not only to tourists, but also to the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe Railroad]] over which freight trains still run today between [[Kingman, Arizona]] and the [[BNSF Railway]] [[Barstow, California]] yard.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
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==History==


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During the [[Great Depression]] and [[World War II]], from 1929 through 1945, tourism declined nationally. But the remaining travelers' need for lodging, meals, and gasoline kept the town busy. The town remained this way until the opening of [[Interstate 40]] in 1973, which bypassed Amboy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gtusa/usa/ca/amboy.htm |title=History of Amboy, California |accessdate=2010-01-12 }}</ref>
⚫
Although Amboy was first settled in 1858, the town was not established until 1883. Lewis Kingman, a [[locating engineer]] for the [[Atlantic and Pacific Railroad]], created the town as the first of a series of alphabetical railroad stations that were to be constructed across the [[Mojave Desert]].<ref name=gudde>{{cite book|first=Erwin|last=Gudde|author2=William Bright |title=California Place Names|year=2004|edition=Fourth|publisher=University of California Press|page=11|isbn=0-520-24217-3}}</ref> The name was probably taken from [[Amboy (disambiguation)#Settled U.S. places|a location in the eastern United States]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Bright|first=William|author-link=William Bright|date=1998|title=1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning|location=[[Berkeley, CA]]|publisher=[[University of California Press]]}}</ref>


In 2024, a news report stated that the population was zero, even though one business remained open.<ref name="Wigglesworth">{{cite web |last=Wigglesworth |first=Alex |date=2024-06-09 |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-06-09/amboy-mojave-desert-ghost-town-route-66 |title=Amboy, population 0 — a Mojave Desert ghost town and Americana icon fights to survive |work=Los Angeles Times |accessdate=2024-06-09 }}</ref>
⚫
In 1926, Amboy became a boom town after the opening of U.S. Route 66. In 1938, Roy's Motel and Café opened and prospered due to its isolated location on the route. By 1940, Amboy's population had increased to 65. Its growth was tied not only to tourists, but also to the [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe Railroad]] over which freight trains still run today between [[Kingman, Arizona]] and the [[BNSF Railway]] [[Barstow, California]] yard.


⚫
==Geography==
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During the [[Great Depression]] and [[World War II]], tourism declined nationally. But the remaining travelers' need for lodging, meals and gasoline kept the town busy. The town remained this way until the opening of [[Interstate 40]] in 1973, which bypassed Amboy.<ref>[http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gtusa/usa/ca/amboy.htm History of Amboy, California] Retrieved on 2010-1-12</ref>
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[[File:The Salt Ponds of Amboy at Sunset.jpg|thumb|Salt Ponds of Amboy]]


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The town is south of the [[Granite Mountains (California)|Granite Mountains]], [[Providence Mountains]], and the [[Mojave National Preserve]]. Adjacent to the south is the landmark [[Amboy Crater]], and beyond to the southeast the [[Bullion Mountains]]. To the south is [[Bristol Dry Lake]] and the community of [[Cadiz, California]].{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
==Attractions==
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[[Image:Amboy Crater.jpg|thumb|Amboy Crater, as viewed from the east]]


⚫
Amboy was once a major stop along the famous [[U.S. Route 66 in California|Route 66]], but has seen much lower visitation since the opening of [[Interstate 40 in California|Interstate 40]] to the north in 1973. Amboy is home to [[Roy's Motel and Café]], a Route 66 landmark.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
===Nearby craters===


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In 2007, the town reportedly had a total of 10 surviving buildings and a population of far fewer than the advertised 20, which, according to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', was approximately four.<ref name="LAT01"/> A resident interviewed in a short 2014 documentary also gave the population as four, all of whom are men.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Coulson|first1=James|title=Other America: Population Four|url=http://www.other-america.com/population-four|website=Other America|access-date=2015-01-21}}</ref> By 2024, however, the permanent resident population had declined to zero; only a single open business has kept Amboy from being declared a [[ghost town]].<ref name="Wigglesworth"/>
Two extinct volcanoes are located to the west of Amboy. [[Amboy Crater]] is a 6,000-year-old [[cinder cone]] volcano, made largely of [[pahoehoe]] lava.<ref>[http://digital-desert.com/amboy-crater/ Amboy Crater] Retrieved on 2010-1-12</ref> [[Pisgah Crater]], another cinder cone volcano, is located near [[Interstate 40]]. Because of quarry operations, Pisgah Crater is not as well preserved as Amboy Crater.<ref>[http://geology.cnsm.ad.csulb.edu/VIRTUAL_FIELD/Pisgah_Crater/pismain.htm Pisgah Crater] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111107201549/http://geology.cnsm.ad.csulb.edu/VIRTUAL_FIELD/Pisgah_Crater/pismain.htm |date=2011-11-07 }} Retrieved on 2010-1-12</ref>

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==Arts and culture==
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[[File:Roy's Cafe & Motel.jpg|thumb|Roy's Café & Motel]]
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[[Image:Amboy Crater.jpg|thumb|Amboy Crater, as viewed from the east.]]


===Roy's Motel and Café===
===Roy's Motel and Café===
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[[Image:Amboy gas station.JPG|thumb|Roy's gas station prior to its restoration.]]


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[[Roy's Motel and Café]] provided gasoline, food, and lodging. It was noted for its [[Googie]] "retro-future" architecture added to one of the original buildings, and its sign, a 1959 addition. Both Roy's and the surrounding town were once owned by Buster Burris, one of Route 66's most famous characters who purchased Roy's from his father-in-law Roy Crowl, the man for whom the property is named, in 1938 and ran the town until 1995.<ref name=LAT01>{{cite web| author=Mike Anton| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-17-me-amboy17-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923202744/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-17-me-amboy17-story.html| title=Destiny in the desert |website=Los Angeles Times |date=2007-01-17 | url-status=live| archive-date=2020-09-23 }}</ref>
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[[Image:Amboy gas station.JPG|thumb|Roy's gas station prior to its restoration]]


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In 1938, Roy Crowl opened "Roy's" as a service station on Route 66 in Amboy. Roy, together with his wife Velma, owned the town. In the 1940s Roy teamed up with Herman "Buster" Burris, who married Roy and Velma's daughter Betty.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}} Together, they expanded the business, keeping it open 24 hours a day and adding the motel to the service station and café. Business boomed in the deluge of motor tourists after [[World War II]].<ref name="LAT01"/>
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[[Roy's Motel and Café]] was the only gasoline, food and lodging stop for miles around that part of the eastern Mojave and was well known for both its [[Googie]] "retro-future" architecture added to one of the original buildings and even more famous sign, a 1959 addition. Both Roy's and the surrounding town were once owned by Buster Burris, one of Route 66's most famous characters who purchased Roy's from his father-in-law Roy Crowl, the man for whom the property is named, in 1938 and ran the town until 1995.<ref name=LAT01>{{cite web| author=Mike Anton| url=http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jan/17/local/me-amboy17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923202744/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-17-me-amboy17-story.html| title=Destiny in the desert |website=Los Angeles Times |date=January 17, 2007| archive-date=23 September 2020}}</ref>


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The routing of the old [[National Trails Highway]] (1914) and its better-traveled successor, [[U.S. Route 66|Route 66]] through Amboy saw a steady growth of business, especially at Roy's. The complex was so busy during summer vacation that Burris placed classified ads in other states to bring in employees.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
⚫
In 1938, Roy Crowl opened "Roy's" as a service station on Route 66 in Amboy. Roy, together with his wife Velma, owned the town. In the 1940s Roy teamed up with Herman "Buster" Burris who married his daughter Betty. Together they expanded the business, keeping it open 24 hours a day and adding the motel to the service station and café. Business boomed in the deluge of motor tourists after [[World War II]].<ref name="LAT01"/>


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Buster sold the town in 1995, and moved to [[Twentynine Palms, California|Twentynine Palms]] where he died in 2000. The town was owned by investors Walt Wilson and [[Timothy White (photographer)|Tim White]] who mainly used it for photo shoots and to host movie companies. After the two lost it in foreclosure, it was repossessed by Bessie Burris, Buster's widow. Bessie sold the property in February 2005 to [[Albert Okura]], owner of the [[Juan Pollo]] restaurant chain, who offered $425,000 in cash and promised to preserve the town and reopen Roy's.<ref name="LAT01"/>
⚫
The routing of the old [[National Trails Highway]] (1914) and its better-traveled successor, [[U.S. Route 66|Route 66]] through Amboy saw a steady growth of business, especially at Roy's. The complex was so busy during summer vacation that Burris placed classified ads in other states to bring in employees.

⚫
Buster sold the town in 1995, and moved to [[Twentynine Palms, California|Twentynine Palms]] where he died in 2000. The town was owned by investors Walt Wilson and Tim White who mainly used it for photo shots and to host movie companies. After the two lost it in foreclosure, it was repossessed by Bessie Burris, Buster's widow. Bessie sold the property in February 2005 to [[Albert Okura]], owner of the [[Juan Pollo]] restaurant chain, who offered $425,000 in cash and promised to preserve the town and reopen Roy's.<ref name="LAT01"/>


The deal included about 490 acres, including the town as well as Amboy and Route 66 landmark Roy's Motel and Café, the church, post office, three gas pumps, two dirt airstrips and other buildings in the town. Okura also plans to open a museum, much like he has with the [[Oldest McDonald's restaurant|original McDonald's location]] in San Bernardino, turning it into an unofficial museum.<ref name="A look at Juan Pollo founder Albert Okura's success, big dreams">{{Cite web |url= http://www.sbsun.com/lifestyle/20140817/a-look-at-juan-pollo-founder-albert-okuras-success-big-dreams |publisher= San Bernardino Sun| title= A look at Juan Pollo founder Albert Okura's success, big dreams |access-date=August 24, 2014|date= 2014-08-17}}</ref><ref name="LAT01"/>
The deal included about 490 acres, including the town as well as Amboy and Route 66 landmark Roy's Motel and Café, the church, post office, three gas pumps, two dirt airstrips and other buildings in the town. Okura also plans to open a museum, much like he has with the [[Oldest McDonald's restaurant|original McDonald's location]] in San Bernardino, turning it into an unofficial museum.<ref name="A look at Juan Pollo founder Albert Okura's success, big dreams">{{Cite web |url= http://www.sbsun.com/lifestyle/20140817/a-look-at-juan-pollo-founder-albert-okuras-success-big-dreams |publisher= San Bernardino Sun| title= A look at Juan Pollo founder Albert Okura's success, big dreams |access-date=August 24, 2014|date= 2014-08-17}}</ref><ref name="LAT01"/>


Okura reportedly got the idea of buying a town from the real estate agent who sold him his first home, who shared that he regretted not buying a town when he had the opportunity and recounts the story in his book, ''[[Albert Okura: The Chicken Man with a 50 Year Plan]]''.<ref name="A look at Juan Pollo founder Albert Okura's success, big dreams"/> Unlike [[Timothy White (photographer)|Timothy White]] and Walt Wilson, who bought (and later defaulted on) the town and Roy's Motel and Cafe prior to Okura's purchase and marketed the town as a ghost-town location for film and television productions, Okura plans on restoring the town for Route 66 tourists and sees the purchase of the town as part of his "destiny".<ref name="LAT01"/><ref>{{cite book |last= Okura|first= Robert|date= 2011|title= Albert Okura The Chicken Man: With a 50 Year Plan|publisher= LCM Publishing CO|pages= 41–43|isbn= 978-0983416913}}<!--|access-date=August 24, 2014 --></ref>
Okura reportedly got the idea of buying a town from the real estate agent who sold him his first home, who shared that he regretted not buying a town when he had the opportunity and recounts the story in his book, ''[[Albert Okura: The Chicken Man with a 50 Year Plan]]''.<ref name="A look at Juan Pollo founder Albert Okura's success, big dreams"/> Unlike Tim White and Walt Wilson, who bought (and later defaulted on) the town and Roy's Motel and Cafe prior to Okura's purchase and marketed the town as a ghost-town location for film and television productions, Okura plans on restoring the town for Route 66 tourists and sees the purchase of the town as part of his "destiny".<ref name="LAT01"/><ref>{{cite book |last= Okura|first= Robert|date= 2011|title= Albert Okura The Chicken Man: With a 50 Year Plan|publisher= LCM Publishing CO|pages= 41–43|isbn= 978-0983416913}}<!--|access-date=August 24, 2014 --></ref>


On April 28, 2008, Roy's reopened. The renovations and repairs cost $100,000. Albert Okura also planned to open a café and mini-mart at the same location;<ref>[http://theguzzler.blogspot.com/2008/04/roys-gas-station-in-amboy-reopens.html Roys Gas Station Reopens-The Guzzler Blogspot] Retrieved on 2010-1-12</ref> as of 2014, the restaurant remains closed for lack of an adequate [[dihydrogen monoxide|potable water]] supply. As of 2015 the motel is closed as well. A gift shop is open in the café, and gas is available on request. The motel has been used as a stage for art exhibits.
On April 28, 2008, Roy's reopened. The renovations and repairs cost $100,000. Albert Okura also planned to open a café and mini-mart at the same location;<ref>[http://theguzzler.blogspot.com/2008/04/roys-gas-station-in-amboy-reopens.html Roys Gas Station Reopens-The Guzzler Blogspot] Retrieved on 2010-1-12</ref> as of 2014, the restaurant remains closed for lack of an adequate [[dihydrogen monoxide|potable water]] supply. As of 2015 the motel is closed as well. A gift shop is open in the café, and gas is available on request. The motel has been used as a stage for art exhibits. Albert Okura passed away in 2023<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/09/us/albert-okura-dead.html Albert Okura, ‘Chicken Man’ Who Saved a Ghost Town, Dies at 71] Retrieved 2024-6-10</ref> and his efforts to save Amboy are being continued by his son Kyle.<ref>[https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-06-09/amboy-mojave-desert-ghost-town-route-66 Amboy, population 0 - a Mojave Desert ghost town and Americana icon fights to survive] Retrieved on 2024-6-10</ref>


Roy's has attracted some well-known regulars. Actors [[Harrison Ford]] and [[Anthony Hopkins]] have autographed photos on the walls of the restaurant and visit whenever their schedules allow. Ford frequently flies in and lands his plane on a nearby landing strip, one of the first ever built in California.
Roy's has attracted some well-known regulars. Actors [[Harrison Ford]] and [[Anthony Hopkins]] have autographed photos on the walls of the restaurant and visit whenever their schedules allow. Ford frequently flies in and lands his plane on a nearby landing strip, one of the first ever built in California.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

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[[Image:AmboySchool.jpg|thumb|Amboy school]]


===Amboy School===
===Amboy School===
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[[Image:AmboySchool.jpg|thumb|Amboy school.]]
The former Amboy School is adjacent to Roy's. The school closed in 1999 after the last students moved away.
The former Amboy School is adjacent to Roy's. The school closed in 1999 after the last students moved away.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
[[File:Bristol Lake.JPG|thumb|[[Bristol Dry Lake]] after a rainfall]]

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==Popular culture==


==Media==
Part of the 1986 film ''[[The Hitcher (1986 film)|The Hitcher]]'' with [[Rutger Hauer]] was filmed in Amboy. Roy's was the setting for a 1999 television commercial<ref>[http://adland.tv/commercials/qwest-bandwidth-roys-motel-cafe-1999 adland.tv] Retrieved on 2010-03-11</ref> for [[Qwest Communications]]. It was also used in [[Enrique Iglesias]]' music video "[[Hero (Enrique Iglesias song)|Hero]]" and the film ''[[Live Evil (film)|Live Evil]]''. The town's former owners Walt Wilson and Timothy White maintained Amboy in weathered, unrestored condition for use as a motion picture film site.
Part of the 1986 film ''[[The Hitcher (1986 film)|The Hitcher]]'' with [[Rutger Hauer]] was filmed in Amboy. Roy's was the setting for a 1999 television commercial<ref>[http://adland.tv/commercials/qwest-bandwidth-roys-motel-cafe-1999 adland.tv] Retrieved on 2010-03-11</ref> for [[Qwest Communications]]. It was also used in [[Enrique Iglesias]]' music video "[[Hero (Enrique Iglesias song)|Hero]]" and the film ''[[Live Evil (film)|Live Evil]]''. The town's former owners Walt Wilson and Timothy White maintained Amboy in weathered, unrestored condition for use as a motion picture film site.


In 1993, [[Huell Howser]] visited Amboy during episode 410 of ''[[California's Gold]]'' as part of his ongoing series visiting interesting areas of California. During the episode, he interviewed Buster Burris, the owner of Roy's. The episode was aired on December 3, 1993, and also showed Wonder Valley in the [[Morongo Basin]] and the [[Amboy Crater]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/1993/12/10/amboy-californias-gold-410/ |title = Amboy: California's Gold (#410)}}</ref>
In 1993, [[Huell Howser]] visited Amboy during episode 410 of ''[[California's Gold]]'' as part of his ongoing series visiting interesting areas of California. During the episode, he interviewed Buster Burris, the owner of Roy's. The episode was aired on December 3, 1993, and also showed Wonder Valley in the [[Morongo Basin]] and the [[Amboy Crater]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://blogs.chapman.edu/huell-howser-archives/1993/12/10/amboy-californias-gold-410/ |title = Amboy: California's Gold (#410)}}</ref>


==In popular culture==
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A fictional version of Amboy complete with Roy's Hotel and sign was part of Ivan's rig and roll map for 18 Wheels of Steel Haulin'.


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A fictional version of Amboy complete with Roy's Hotel and sign was part of Ivan's rig and roll map for 18 Wheels of Steel Haulin'.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}
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==See also==


A racing game [[Blur (video game)|Blur (2010)]] features Amboy at some of its tracks.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The heist film "They Came To Rob Las Vegas" (1968) occurs near Amboy, in the desert (which was actually filmed in Spain).{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

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==See also==
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* [[Amboy Airfield]]
* [[Bristol Dry Lake]]
* [[Bristol Dry Lake]]
* [[List of ghost towns in California]]
* [[List of ghost towns in California]]


==References==
==References==
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{{reflist|1}}

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{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==

{{Commons category|Amboy, California}}
{{Commons category|Amboy, California}}
{{wikivoyage|Amboy}}
{{wikivoyage|Amboy}}
* {{curlie|Regional/North_America/United_States/California/Localities/A/Amboy/|Amboy, CA}}
* {{curlie|Regional/North_America/United_States/California/Localities/A/Amboy/|Amboy, CA}}
* [http://www.christophermichel.com/gallery/2155639_6BXqV/ Artists photo study of Amboy 2007]
* [http://www.rt66roys.com/ History, historic photos and rental information]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110713093206/http://jcrewaholics.com/catalog/roys-in-amboy-california-featured-in-jcrew-catalog/ Roy's in Amboy, California Featured in J.Crew Catalog]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120425061733/http://geology.cnsm.ad.csulb.edu/VIRTUAL_FIELD/index.htm Virtual Field with Pisgah Crater ]
* [http://www.amboyroute66.com/frontpage.html Roys Café Restoration Project]
* [http://www.moderndayruins.com/2012/12/amboy-ca.html Amboy at Modern Day Ruins]
⚫
*[[Amboy Airfield]]


{{San Bernardino County, California}}
{{San Bernardino County, California}}

Latest revision as of 17:08, 9 September 2024

Amboy, California
Unincorporated community
Amboy sign, west side of town
Amboy sign, west side of town
Amboy, California is located in California
Amboy, California
Amboy, California
Location within the state of California
Coordinates: 34°33′25″N 115°44′42″W / 34.55694°N 115.74500°W / 34.55694; -115.74500
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountySan Bernardino
Founded1883
Population
 (2010)
 • Total4
Time zoneUTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-7 (PDT)
ZIP codes
92304
Area codes442/760
GNIS feature ID238579

Amboy is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, in California's Mojave Desert, west of Needles and east of Ludlow on historic Route 66. It is roughly 60 miles (97 km) northeast of Twentynine Palms. As of 2020, the town's business district still contained a post office, a historic restaurant-motel, and a Route 66 tourist shop, all operated by the town's population of four people. As of 2024, only the gas station was open, and the population was zero.[1]

History

[edit]

Although Amboy was first settled in 1858, the town was not established until 1883. Lewis Kingman, a locating engineer for the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad, created the town as the first of a series of alphabetical railroad stations that were to be constructed across the Mojave Desert.[2] The name was probably taken from a location in the eastern United States.[3]

In 1926, Amboy became a boom town after the opening of U.S. Route 66.[citation needed]

In 1938, Roy's Motel and Café opened and prospered due to its isolated location on the route. By 1940, Amboy's population had increased to 65. Its growth was tied not only to tourists, but also to the Santa Fe Railroad over which freight trains still run today between Kingman, Arizona and the BNSF Railway Barstow, California yard.[citation needed]

During the Great Depression and World War II, from 1929 through 1945, tourism declined nationally. But the remaining travelers' need for lodging, meals, and gasoline kept the town busy. The town remained this way until the opening of Interstate 40 in 1973, which bypassed Amboy.[4]

In 2024, a news report stated that the population was zero, even though one business remained open.[1]

Geography

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Salt Ponds of Amboy

The town is south of the Granite Mountains, Providence Mountains, and the Mojave National Preserve. Adjacent to the south is the landmark Amboy Crater, and beyond to the southeast the Bullion Mountains. To the south is Bristol Dry Lake and the community of Cadiz, California.[citation needed]

Amboy was once a major stop along the famous Route 66, but has seen much lower visitation since the opening of Interstate 40 to the north in 1973. Amboy is home to Roy's Motel and Café, a Route 66 landmark.[citation needed]

In 2007, the town reportedly had a total of 10 surviving buildings and a population of far fewer than the advertised 20, which, according to the Los Angeles Times, was approximately four.[5] A resident interviewed in a short 2014 documentary also gave the population as four, all of whom are men.[6] By 2024, however, the permanent resident population had declined to zero; only a single open business has kept Amboy from being declared a ghost town.[1]

Arts and culture

[edit]
Roy's Café & Motel
Amboy Crater, as viewed from the east.

Roy's Motel and Café

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Roy's gas station prior to its restoration.

Roy's Motel and Café provided gasoline, food, and lodging. It was noted for its Googie "retro-future" architecture added to one of the original buildings, and its sign, a 1959 addition. Both Roy's and the surrounding town were once owned by Buster Burris, one of Route 66's most famous characters who purchased Roy's from his father-in-law Roy Crowl, the man for whom the property is named, in 1938 and ran the town until 1995.[5]

In 1938, Roy Crowl opened "Roy's" as a service station on Route 66 in Amboy. Roy, together with his wife Velma, owned the town. In the 1940s Roy teamed up with Herman "Buster" Burris, who married Roy and Velma's daughter Betty.[citation needed] Together, they expanded the business, keeping it open 24 hours a day and adding the motel to the service station and café. Business boomed in the deluge of motor tourists after World War II.[5]

The routing of the old National Trails Highway (1914) and its better-traveled successor, Route 66 through Amboy saw a steady growth of business, especially at Roy's. The complex was so busy during summer vacation that Burris placed classified ads in other states to bring in employees.[citation needed]

Buster sold the town in 1995, and moved to Twentynine Palms where he died in 2000. The town was owned by investors Walt Wilson and Tim White who mainly used it for photo shoots and to host movie companies. After the two lost it in foreclosure, it was repossessed by Bessie Burris, Buster's widow. Bessie sold the property in February 2005 to Albert Okura, owner of the Juan Pollo restaurant chain, who offered $425,000 in cash and promised to preserve the town and reopen Roy's.[5]

The deal included about 490 acres, including the town as well as Amboy and Route 66 landmark Roy's Motel and Café, the church, post office, three gas pumps, two dirt airstrips and other buildings in the town. Okura also plans to open a museum, much like he has with the original McDonald's location in San Bernardino, turning it into an unofficial museum.[7][5]

Okura reportedly got the idea of buying a town from the real estate agent who sold him his first home, who shared that he regretted not buying a town when he had the opportunity and recounts the story in his book, Albert Okura: The Chicken Man with a 50 Year Plan.[7] Unlike Tim White and Walt Wilson, who bought (and later defaulted on) the town and Roy's Motel and Cafe prior to Okura's purchase and marketed the town as a ghost-town location for film and television productions, Okura plans on restoring the town for Route 66 tourists and sees the purchase of the town as part of his "destiny".[5][8]

On April 28, 2008, Roy's reopened. The renovations and repairs cost $100,000. Albert Okura also planned to open a café and mini-mart at the same location;[9] as of 2014, the restaurant remains closed for lack of an adequate potable water supply. As of 2015 the motel is closed as well. A gift shop is open in the café, and gas is available on request. The motel has been used as a stage for art exhibits. Albert Okura passed away in 2023[10] and his efforts to save Amboy are being continued by his son Kyle.[11]

Roy's has attracted some well-known regulars. Actors Harrison Ford and Anthony Hopkins have autographed photos on the walls of the restaurant and visit whenever their schedules allow. Ford frequently flies in and lands his plane on a nearby landing strip, one of the first ever built in California.[citation needed]

Amboy School

[edit]
Amboy school.

The former Amboy School is adjacent to Roy's. The school closed in 1999 after the last students moved away.[citation needed]

Media

[edit]

Part of the 1986 film The Hitcher with Rutger Hauer was filmed in Amboy. Roy's was the setting for a 1999 television commercial[12] for Qwest Communications. It was also used in Enrique Iglesias' music video "Hero" and the film Live Evil. The town's former owners Walt Wilson and Timothy White maintained Amboy in weathered, unrestored condition for use as a motion picture film site.

In 1993, Huell Howser visited Amboy during episode 410 of California's Gold as part of his ongoing series visiting interesting areas of California. During the episode, he interviewed Buster Burris, the owner of Roy's. The episode was aired on December 3, 1993, and also showed Wonder Valley in the Morongo Basin and the Amboy Crater.[13]

[edit]

A fictional version of Amboy complete with Roy's Hotel and sign was part of Ivan's rig and roll map for 18 Wheels of Steel Haulin'.[citation needed]

A racing game Blur (2010) features Amboy at some of its tracks.[citation needed]

The heist film "They Came To Rob Las Vegas" (1968) occurs near Amboy, in the desert (which was actually filmed in Spain).[citation needed]

See also

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Wigglesworth, Alex (June 9, 2024). "Amboy, population 0 — a Mojave Desert ghost town and Americana icon fights to survive". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  2. ^ Gudde, Erwin; William Bright (2004). California Place Names (Fourth ed.). University of California Press. p. 11. ISBN 0-520-24217-3.
  3. ^ Bright, William (1998). 1500 California Place Names: Their Origin and Meaning. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
  4. ^ "History of Amboy, California". Retrieved January 12, 2010.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Mike Anton (January 17, 2007). "Destiny in the desert". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020.
  6. ^ Coulson, James. "Other America: Population Four". Other America. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "A look at Juan Pollo founder Albert Okura's success, big dreams". San Bernardino Sun. August 17, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  8. ^ Okura, Robert (2011). Albert Okura The Chicken Man: With a 50 Year Plan. LCM Publishing CO. pp. 41–43. ISBN 978-0983416913.
  9. ^ Roys Gas Station Reopens-The Guzzler Blogspot Retrieved on 2010-1-12
  10. ^ Albert Okura, ‘Chicken Man’ Who Saved a Ghost Town, Dies at 71 Retrieved 2024-6-10
  11. ^ Amboy, population 0 - a Mojave Desert ghost town and Americana icon fights to survive Retrieved on 2024-6-10
  12. ^ adland.tv Retrieved on 2010-03-11
  13. ^ "Amboy: California's Gold (#410)".
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amboy, California.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Amboy.
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