Wigwam Motel

2728 E Foothill Blvd., San Bernardino, CA
Phone: 909-875-3005 Website: https://www.wigwammotel.com/

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The Wigwam Motel in San Bernardino has been a perennial favorite spot for a nights rest for travelers on the Mother Road. It's been that way since it opened in 1949 with the exception of too many years of decline after the nearby interstate opened and diverted tourist traffic. More recently new and enthusiastic owners acquired the motel about 2003 and have put a lot of effort into restoring and maintaining the property, and it shows, the place has really come back to life.

GPS: 34.106910, -117.350014

When we tell folks about staying at one of the Wigwam Motels they often wonder what the wigwams are like inside, this is a typical room. The rooms aren't especially spacious but even with two beds there is room for a small desk and night stands. The door between the beds leads to the small but functional bathroom.

Here is the sign lit up at night. It shows the teepee and includes a small text in the corner that says "Since 1949". The teepees used to be painted more like the one on the sign. The zig-zag trim has been reapplied to the teepees since these photos were taken in 2013. In the 1960s a sign said "Sleep in a Wigwam, Get More for Your Wampum", wampum being money.

Here we are standing in front of the teepee we stayed in in 2013. That little diamond shape between us and our car is the window. There are parking spaces between the teepees. Each teepee is about 32 feet tall and has a diameter of about 20 feet.

This is the seventh and last Wigwam Village to be built. The motel was built in the late 1940's and opened in 1950. It was built, owned and operated by Frank A. Redford, the man who originally developed the Wigwam Villages concept. Redford's deteriorating health eventually led him to strike some kind of deal with Paul Young to operate the motel. Young had purchased the first two Wigwam Villages in Tennessee and went on to operated this one until the early 1960s. The motel was renovated in 2004.

The Wigwam or teepee style was based on Redford's experience living on a Sioux Indian Reservation as a boy. He patented both the architectural and structural designs. The original concept for this location included a cafe and gas station, neither one of those made it into reality. That was 1946, at the time the project had an estimated cost of $75.000.00. But a 1949 building permit listed 11 Wigwams with a value of $18,500, apparently that was not including any other construction on the site.

There are a total of 19 guest units, 11 were part of the original construction and eight more in the outer ring that were added in 1953. There is a swimming pool that was added in 1953 in the lawn behind the office. The lawn and pool patio are a great place for evening gatherings of guests. The office building is attached to a large two story teepee that provides living space for the owner or managers. One newspaper article says the city phone book didn't list a phone number for the motel until 1955.

The motel was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

That almost didn't get a chance to happen because in 1989 a previous owner, who had purchased the property in 1982, had prepared plans to tear the Wigwams down and replace them with a new 50 room motel and a small retail mall. That was a close call for the landmark motel because at the time the city didn't have a historical preservation plan in place, but they did decide to require a local historian to prepare an assessment of the property. Thankfully, in the end the demolition didn't happen and years later new owners had the vision to restore this landmark.

Photo(s): 2013