The Ludlow Cafe was my favorite roadside ruin on Route 66. My roadtrips out of Las Vegas would usually only take me as far as Amboy, CA. In 2008 I had a few days between trade shows and decided to venture down to Route 66 and head west. That was the only time I made it to Ludlow. It was an odd day, sun and then storms, but it made for some amazing weather in the Mojave. I was able to capture some amazing storm skies in Ludlow that can be seen in some galleries here.
A couple days ago a vintage postcard of the Ludlow Cafe popped up on social media. It made me dig through my archives wondering if I had the same angle. The storm was to the east of Ludlow, so wasn’t sure if I had a shot facing northwest. I only took one, and it is so close to a match! I am always fascinated when photographers match a subject to vintage postcards, now I have one of my own.
I always wanted to get back out to Ludlow, but it just never happened. Several years ago I was devastated by the news that this Route 66 icon was lost to a fire. Luckily myself and many others have it saved on film and pixels. Its interior is also preserved thanks to the movie Kalifornia.
