Further down Route 66 in San Bernardino is the distinctly old-school Wigwam Motel. The Cozy Cone in Cars is a direct facsimile of this historic rest stop. Built during the 1930s and 1940s, the motel rooms are built in the form of tipis There were seven different locations back in the day, but only three survive to today, including two on historic Route 66. (one in Arizona, and this one in San Bernardino, California).
These motels were built long before the Cleveland Indians had to change their name to “…to foster unity and social justice…” and despite being out of step with today’s standards, they are listed on the US National Register of Historic Places.
Scattered between the teepees are rusted out jalopies from the 40’s, 50’s and early 60’s. It reminds visitors that places like this existed years before the interstate even existed. Back then, cars came across the country in a whole different way. The road didn’t cut through the land like that interstate: it moved with the land, it rose, it fell, it curved. Cars didn’t dive on it to make great time. They drove on it to have a great time.
The Wigwam Motel was purchased in late 2016 and since then everything has been newly refurbished. This little piece of historic Americana is worth preserving, yet even now, there’s people who are driving right by, and don’t even know what they’re missing.
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