Auro Cattaneo and wife Nellie owners

                                        of the newly built Franciscan Lodge

                                        opened in September 1950 with Etta

                                        King as its first official manager.

                                        Auro Cattaneo designed the

                                        Franciscan Lodge as a double L-plan

                                        motel with a hipped front over the

                                        office, a brick and stone top porch                                   entry, brick accents on lower portion of the

                        exterior walls, southwestern style exterior

                        window accents. 32 rooms furnished with

                       the finest in furniture, eight 2 car heated

                       garages, managers living quarters with

                      kitchen, housekeeping, laundry and

                     maintenance room. On each side of the

                     motel are two courtyards.

                                     The Franciscan Lodge had two

                                     distinct types of neon signage built

                                     by Zeon Signs of Albuquerque,

                                     New Mexico. The office sign wa

                                     erected sometime in late 1950,

                                     which is a roof top mounted sign 

                                     blade and is supported by guy

                                     wires, is 9ft wide and 9ft high and

                                     incorporates a forest green 

                background with white painted letter

               using the classic flat letter style for the

               lettering with neon tubing for the words

              that reads "Franciscan" (top) with green

             neon in cursive at the top of the sign blade

             followed by "LODGE" (middle) with violet

            neon in uppercase letters, "NO VACANCY"

           (bottom) with red neon uppercase letters,

           and green neon curved under the "NO

          VACANCY" letters at the edge of the sign

          blade on the street side with "OFFICE"

         located under with red neon in uppercase

        letters. Attached to the streetside of the

       sign blade is the oval AAA sign with a blue

            painted background with light blue neon

            outline, "AAA" with red neon in

            uppercase letters, and "APPROVED" with

            white neon in uppercase letters.