Sayre’s Western Motel—and its wonderfully old-school roadside sign—has a starring role this week.
A small Oklahoma City–based film team led by co-directors Wes Davis and William Wymore has been shooting in town the past several days, drawn here by Sayre’s rich 70s/80s vibe and Route 66 authenticity. Their current project is a four-part series; this installment carries the working title “Extended Stay,” tied to a larger project Davis referred to as “Driven by Night.”
Davis said Sayre first hit his radar a couple of years ago during online location scouting. “I was trying to find an authentic Route 66 style motel that’s period accurate with a lot of the original aesthetics and materials from the time,” he said. “What a lot of these motels do is they’ll renovate for tourists… That’s not what it looked like back then.” After months of searching, he landed on the Western Motel—and one detail sealed it. “The sign was what really drew him to it,” a member of the crew explained earlier in the week…