MOTOR INN

California practically invented the motel industry—which isn’t surprising considering that the state was America’s most popular travel destination during the early 1900s.

CALIFORNIA, HERE I COME!

In the 1920s, World War I had just ended, and Americans were living large. The economy was booming, and people had money to spend. What did they buy? Cars. Ford’s Model T made automobiles affordable for the masses, and the road trip became America’s newest pastime. Tourists packed their cars and hit the open road. Many of them—enticed by year-round sunshine and ocean air—headed for California. But when the tourists arrived, they discovered that there wasn’t really anywhere to stay. California was a relatively young state—initially built by the gold rush—so the inns and hotels that were common on the East Coast were rare in the West. Most travelers had no choice but to stay in autocamps, where they basically had to live out of their cars.

For many, the lack of accommodations was an inconvenience, but for Los Angeles architect Arthur Heineman, it was an opportunity. In 1925, Heineman opened California’s first roadside motor hotel near San Luis Obispo. Called the Milestone Mo-Tel, it was specifically designed for travelers on road trips. It cost just $1.25 a night for two rooms with a kitchen and a garage. There was even a restaurant on-site, complete with linen napkins and fine china.

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Within about a year of the Milestone’s opening, Route 66 was established. This historic highway—one of the first highways in U.S. history—covered more than 2,000 miles and stretched from Chicago to L.A. It opened up the West to road travel, and with gas at just 17¢ a gallon, driving vacations to California became inexpensive, easy, and relatively quick. The adventuresome middle class was eager to see the country…for a while.

The onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s followed by World War II in the early ’40s stalled American automobile travel. But when the war ended and the economy boomed again in the ’50s, the road trip was as popular as ever. Baby boomers and their parents headed for California, and they needed new places to stay once they got there. Result: Motels opened up and down the Golden State. Some of the most famous and unique include…

• The Wigwam Motel. Frank Redford—a Kentuckian with an interest in Native American history—opened seven Wigwams around the country in the 1940s and early ’50s—the San Bernardino location began accepting customers in 1949. Located on Route 66, the 11 tepee-shaped units featured everything you’d find in a square room, including air-conditioning. The San Bernardino location is one of just three Wigwam Motels left in the United States (the other two are in Kentucky and Arizona).

• The Madonna Inn. This motel has nothing to do with either the singer or the saint. Opened on December 24, 1958, in San Luis Obispo by Phyllis and Alex Madonna, the inn originally had just a dozen rooms. Over time, it expanded and now includes more than 100 rooms, each with a different decor: The Caveman Room is decorated with solid rock. The Kona Room includes faux lava. The Tack Room, with its brilliant red walls, is horse-themed. And so on. There’s also leaded glass throughout the inn, a staircase with a marble balustrade in the dining room, and a 28-foot-tall gold-and-copper tree in the main dining room.

• Travelodge. This chain got its start in San Diego in 1935. Owned by Scott King and originally called King’s Auto Court, it was a motel empire by 1940. Today there are 71 motels across California.

• Best Western. In 1946, M. K. Guertin—a co-organizer of the first motel association back in the 1920s—founded Best Western Motels in Long Beach.

• Motel 6. The first Motel 6 opened in Santa Barbara in 1962. Builders William Becker and Paul Greene wanted to attract budget-conscious travelers, so they charged $6.60 per night for a single room with no frills: pay phones only, coin-operated black-and-white TVs, no on-site restaurant, and minimal maid service.

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