FIRST Motel in the World - San Luis Obispo, CA
Posted by: 
DougK
N 35° 17.483 W 120° 38.904
10S E 713844 N 3907893
This roadside sign for the Motel Inn proclaims it to be the First Motel in the World.
Waymark Code: WMEJV9
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/06/2012
Views: 11
In 1925, Los Angeles architect Arthur Heineman built the first motel in San Luis Obispo, halfway between San Francisco and L.A. He coined the term motel, meaning motor hotel. For $1.25 a night, guests were issued a two-room bungalow with a kitchen and a private adjoining garage. All the units faced a central courtyard which housed the swimming pool and included picnic tables for social gatherings.
A plaque on the remaining building reads:
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MOTEL
INN
This is the site of the worlds
original and first motel.
Construction started in 1925
at a cost of $80,000.
The word "Motel" was first
thought of here by architect
Arthur Heineman.
Dedicated October 22, 1988
by
Native Sons of the Golden West
Frank Comapni, Grand President
and
San Luis Obispo Parlor No. 290
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