A view of the Navajo Bridge from inside an adjacent stone building, possibly the Old Cliff Dwellers Lodge (Blanche Russell Rock House), that was built circa 1920. Navajo Bridge crosses the Colorado River's Marble Canyon near Lee's Ferry in Arizona. It carries U.S. Route 89A. Spanning Marble Canyon, the bridge carries U.S. Route 89A northbound travelers to southern Utah and to the Arizona Strip, the otherwise inaccessible portion of Arizona north of the Colorado River, which includes the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Prior to the construction of the first Navajo Bridge, the only river crossing from Arizona to Utah was at nearby Lee's Ferry, where the canyon walls are low and getting vehicles onto the water is relatively convenient. The ferry offered only unreliable service, however, as adverse weather and flooding regularly prevented its operation. Construction of the original Navajo Bridge began in 1927, and the bridge opened to traffic in 1929. The steel spandrel bridge design was constructed by the Kansas City Structural Steel Company. The bridge is 834 feet (254 m) in length, with a maximum height of 467 feet (142 m) from the canyon floor. Its roadway offers an 18-foot (5.5 m) surface width with a load capacity of 22.5 tons (although the posted legal weight limit was 40 tons). In 1990, however, it was decided that the traffic flow was too great for the original bridge, and that a new solution was needed. Deciding on a solution was difficult, due to the many local interests. Issues included preservation of sacred Navajo land, endangered plant species in Marble Canyon, and the possibility of construction pollution entering the river. A new steel arch bridge was commissioned by the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, and was completed in September 1995, at a cost of approximately $15 million. The original Navajo Bridge is still open to pedestrian and equestrian use, and an interpretive center has been constructed nearby to showcase the historical nature of the bridge and early crossing of the Colorado River. Bungee jumpers are frequently seen using the span. The original bridge has been designated as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 13, 1981.

The Ambassador sign, restored by Downtown Project sits at a parking lot near the intersection of 9th Street and East Fremont Street. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survery Data Sheet.
Site address: 9th St and Fremont St
Sign owner: Jackie Gaughan(ca.1952)
Sign details: Opened ca. 1940 by Joseph Mikulich but was called Ambassador Auto Court, Jackie Gaughan renamed it in 1952 as "Jackie Gaughan's Ambassador East". This location closed down in 1996 and was demolished 2007. Currently this location holds a parking lot, but the sign was restored in 2013 and put back in its original location.
Sign condition: 5- Was recently restored and is in great condition.
Sign form: Pylon
Sign-specific description: The building has been demolished, the sign has been restored and put on Fremont street. It is large red signage with a googie style "A" on top that looks like an arch. Vertically are the letters " MOTEL" in red neon. In a ribbon fashion around the letters are chasing incandescent light bulbs. In smaller white letters used to say "Ambassador Motel East" but now it states "Llamas stay for free" in a cursive white neon font. Beneath the letters is a reader board.
Sign - type of display: Neon, Incandescents and backlit reader board.
Sign - media: Steel and plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Reader board and Incandescents.
Sign animation: Chasing
Notes: incandescent light bulbs.
Sign environment: This is located East side of Fremont Street across the street from Atomic Liquors.
Sign - date of installation: Circa 1950
Sign - date of redesign/move: 2013 Restoration
Sign - thematic influences: This sign has been a part of the recent trend to restore old signs on Fremont Street to keep the downtown neon culture alive.
Sign - artistic significance: This sign has a retro 50's/ 60's motel sign trend to it.
Survey - research locations: Las Vegas Sun Article -https://lasvegassun.com/news/2013/jun/21/joe-downtown-motel-long-gone-ambassador-sign-being/ Classic Vegas website -http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/classic-las-vegas-blog/2007/12/19/the-ambassador-east.html Vintage Las Vegas Website -http://vintagelasvegas.com/search/Ambassador+Motel+
Surveyor: Wyatt Currie-Diamond
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-17
Sign keywords: Pylon; Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Chasing; Steel; Plastic; Reader board; Back to back

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