This Route 66 Teepee themed Motel is one of 7 that were built
Wigwam Motel - Wigwam Village No. 7, San Bernardino California
Wigwam Village No. 7 is located along the main route of U.S. Highway 66 and was constructed between 1947 and 1950 in direct response to the post-World War II boom in automobile tourism along U.S. Highway 66, providing tourist accommodations as a commercial property.
In 1958, this segment of U.S. Highway 66 was bypassed by the Foothill Freeway, likely marking a decline in traffic and the end of the heyday of use for this portion of the route.
U.S. Highway 66 served as a major corridor for tourists coming to California beginning in the 1920s. Unprecedented numbers of tourists used U.S. Highway 66 in the years following World War I. After the long period of war-time rationing and restricted travel, Americans were anxious to get back on the road. Entrepreneurs such as Redford recognized business opportunities to expand the existing infrastructure and provide accommodations, food, auto services, and supplies to meet the needs of tourists. Wigwam Village No. 7 has a direct association with U.S. Highway 66 in California because of its location along the main route of the highway during its construction and early years of use.
The unique architecture of Wigwam Village No. 7 recalls the "heyday" of automobile tourism along U.S. Highway 66 and the highway's important role in California's history. Wigwam Village No. 7 is an excellent example of this legacy and programmatic architecture for travel accommodations along U.S. Highway 66. The creative and imaginative system of individual wigwams represents a total design created by architectural setting, readily identifiable logos, and color schemes. Of the seven Wigwam Villages constructed nationwide, only two others remain today: Wigwam Village No. 2 in Cave City, Kentucky, and Wigwam Village No. 6 in Holbrook, Arizona.
Designed and constructed between 1947 and 1949, Redford opened Wigwam Village No. 7 in 1950 to provide lodging for travelers along U.S. Highway 66. The exteriors of the 19 sleeping units and the apartment unit comprising Wigwam Village No. 7 followed the design Redford patented in 1936 for his national chain of travel accommodations.
In 1933 Redford established the first of his seven Wigwam Villages with the construction of a gas station and lunchroom at Horse Cave, Kentucky. Inspired by a roadside lunch stand shaped like a tepee he visited while traveling in Long Beach, California, he chose a 60-foot high Indian tepee constructed of steel-reinforced stucco to house the gas station office and lunchroom. As historian Keith A. Sculle describes, the sides of the steel-reinforced cone "simulated hide stretched over supporting wooden poles." The supporting metal rods projected from the "apex of the building to simulate extensions of the supporting wooden poles." Two years later, Redford expanded the operation with the addition of six smaller teepee sleeping units and two restroom tepees flanking the original building to create Wigwam Village No. 1.
In 1937 Redford built Wigwam Village No. 2 in Cave City, Kentucky. It was larger than Wigwam Village No. 1 with 15 sleeping units, but featured many of the same amenities such as a lunchroom, restrooms, and gas pumps. Redford operated Wigwam Villages No. 1 and 2 until Paul Young purchased them in 1944. Wigwam Village No. 3, constructed in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1940 was the first of four villages constructed by franchise owners after Redford patented the exterior design developed for Wigwam Villages No. 1 and 2 (patent D98,617). Wigwam Village No. 5, also opened in 1940, was located in Birmingham, Alabama. Wigwam Village No. 4 opened in 1948 in Orlando, Florida, while Wigwam Village No. 6 opened in Holbrook, Arizona, in 1950.
Ten years after completing Wigwam Village No. 2, Redford began construction of Wigwam Village No. 7 at the western edge of San Bernardino in an area surrounded by fruit orchards and small shops, building 11 units and opening for business in 1950. In 1953, he added eight more sleeping units, as well as a swimming pool and fire pit. Around the same time Redford constructed Wigwam Village No. 7, he filed a second patent for the construction of the Wigwam units. The patent stated, "an object of this invention is to supply a strong, durable, attractive, sanitary, stationary wigwam-type construction including the feature of providing an improved window construction for use, particularly with wigwam-type buildings." Building upon Redford's first patent for the exterior design of the wigwams, this second patent detailed the construction methodology and elements, such as window design and construction, interior layout, and the closure for the apex of the outer frame.
Redford operated Wigwam Village No. 7 until he grew too ill to continue managing the property, and Paul Young took over at Redford's request. Redford and Young became friends when Young purchased Wigwam Village No. 1 and No. 2 in 1944. Young operated Wigwam Village No. 7 until his death in 1961. However, a corporate structure had not been established to ensure the chain would continue, and Wigwam Village No. 7 entered a period with multiple owners who did not actively maintain the property.
Research did not reveal why Redford decided to build Wigwam Village No. 7, the last in the Wigwam Village chain, along U.S. Highway 66 in San Bernardino and operate it himself. He was one of the numerous business owners to respond to the needs of the large numbers of automobile tourists using U.S. Highway 66 in the post-World War II years, as the San Bernardino Valley experienced a boom in commercial construction during this period. Historic aerial photographs from 1948, 1959, and 1968 show the rapid transformation this section of U.S. Highway 66 experienced as the citrus orchards lining the highway gave way to commercial and residential development. By 1968 fields of orchards had completely disappeared in the area immediately surrounding Wigwam Village No. 7. By the latter part of the twentieth century, the area's fruit orchards and small shops were replaced by auto repair yards and liquor stores, properties that appear to be unrelated to providing services specific to travelers along the route. When the property was offered for sale in the late 1990s, many nostalgic for the heyday of U.S. Highway 66 feared the iconic wigwams would be lost to new commercial development. Newt owners purchased the property in 2003 and began a careful rehabilitation of the property.
Little is known about other travel accommodations in the immediate vicinity. Sanborn Fire Insurance maps from 1929-1938 for Rialto, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, and San Bernardino show auto service and gas stations along the segment of U.S. Highway 66 known as Foothill Boulevard with only one "hotel" identified along the route and "Fontana Farms Inn," which appears to have been a tourist court with 12 detached buildings with hotel apartments and a restaurant. In A Guide Book to Highway 66, published in 1946, author Jack Rittenhouse describes commercial and tourist accommodations along the route shortly before Wigwam Village No. 7 was built. In it, he describes, "tourist camps of the best type, fine cafes, and other roadside facilities are found all along the way" from San Bernardino to Los Angeles. San Bernardino is one of the 12 communities mentioned before reaching Pasadena that were "...so close together as to be practically indistinguishable from each other," but no motels or travel accommodations are mentioned. Field survey revealed two collections of modest frame gable motels and travel accommodations located near Bono's Restaurant along the portion of U.S. Highway 66 known as Foothill Boulevard in Fontana, and Wigwam Village No. 7 compare well to these other travel accommodations. Indeed, Rittenhouse notes that from San Bernardino, "the traveler is practically 'in' Los Angeles ... so no further detailed description is necessary."
Wigwam Village No. 7 exemplifies programmatic architecture through the whimsical and unique design of the wigwams. The form of the buildings, rather than signs or other advertisements, are meant to catch the traveler's attention. At the height of the style's popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, programmatic architecture was found along California highways, especially in the Los Angeles basin and in San Bernardino. Buildings constructed in the shape of oranges and Aztec temples can still be found along U.S. Highway 66. By the mid-twentieth century, the popularity of programmatic architecture waned in favor of Modernist styles. As a result, many examples of programmatic architecture along U.S. Highway 66 have been lost.
Redford's chain of Wigwam Villages, including Wigwam Village No. 7, also incorporated the concept of product-place-packaging to represent the total design through the adoption of a readily identifiable logo, color scheme, decorative elements, and building design so that each unit in the chain reinforced the others. The geometric form of the wigwams with the poles extending from the top and the folded flaps at the doorways, as well as the color scheme of white with red zigzag accents, was carried throughout the operations from the decorative fixtures in the sleeping units and letterhead stationary to souvenirs sold in gift shops.
Although Wigwam Village No. 7 did not feature the gas pumps and lunchroom that Redford's Kentucky Wigwam Villages had, it did follow other standards Redford established for the earlier villages. Primarily, in that Redford arranged the Wigwam Village in two semi-circles to enclose a large grassy area that opened to the highway. This provided recreational opportunities, especially after the swimming pool was added, and a place to have a picnic, as well as the opportunity for guests to socialize with their fellow travelers. Sleeping units were decorated with hickory furniture and Native American rugs and blankets. The zigzag lines of the historic exterior motif were repeated on interior decorative accents, such as the bathroom tiles, lamps, and other fixtures. Redford did vary Wigwam Village No. 7 slightly from the others with the construction of a large, flat-roof extension to the office Wigwam.
Site Description
Constructed between 1947 and 1949, and opened in 1950, Wigwam Village No. 7 is located in San Bernardino, San Bernardino County, California. Wigwam Village No. 7 was the culmination of the work of designer Frank Redford, and was the seventh of a group of "Wigwam Villages" executed in his patented design.
Historically associated with U.S. Highway 66, Wigwam Village No. 7 is comprised of 21 buildings, three structures, and two objects. The buildings include one large apartment unit with an attached office; 19 smaller, individual sleeping units; and one maintenance building. Three structures are part of the property: the 1953 swimming pool located in the large, central yard; the fire pit located in the southwest corner of the yard; and a canopy over the vending machines at the rear of the office. Two objects are also part of the property: the sign that stands immediately to the west of the office; and the carved Native American statue that stands between the office and U.S. Highway 66.
Wigwam Village No. 7, now known as the Wigwam Motel, is made up of individual, non-connected sleeping units built in the shape of teepees, rather than wigwams. Since wigwams are dome-shaped structures, the name Redford gave to his motel chain and patented design is a misnomer. The motel currently describes the units using both terms, using the name the Wigwam Motel while advertising with the slogan "Have You Slept in a Teepee Lately?" The 19 sleeping units, spaced approximately 18 feet apart, are arranged in two semi-circle rows beginning at the roadway and are organized around a large, central yard with the apartment unit and office at the center. Eleven units, constructed between 1947 and 1949, make up the inner semi-circle. Eight units, constructed in 1953, make up the outer semi-circle. The outer semi-circle is separated into two groups of four, with both groups situated at the south ends of the semi-circle. A driveway, which is approximately 25 feet wide, runs between the two semi-circles. The apartment unit and office are centered on the yard at the base of the interior semi-circle, while the maintenance building is centered at the top of the outer semi-circle. The yard features the swimming pool, amenities such as benches and the fire pit, and landscaping to provide a recreational and social space for patrons. A metal fence runs along U.S. Highway 66 at the front of the property.
Each sleeping unit is conical in form, stands 32 feet tall, measures approximately 20 feet in diameter at the base, and consists of 16 wooden ribs covered with plaster and concrete. Diamond-shaped window openings reveal original, recessed, four-light gliding windows or replacement windows, with brown painted surrounds. Sleeping units on the interior ring have three windows, including one on the rear, while the outer ring sleeping units do not have a rear window. The recessed entrance includes a sculpted, brown-painted entry that is meant to evoke the wrap-around fur or leather teepee entrance and matches the window openings. The current six-panel entrance doors, painted to match the color scheme, replaced simple wood flush doors. Four posts extend from the roof of each unit meant to resemble a structural system of a "teepee." A concrete curb surrounds the units, and a light post is next to the entrance of each sleeping unit.
The interior configuration of the sleeping units consists of a bedroom area and a bathroom located at the rear, containing a toilet, sink, and small shower. The entrance opens directly into the bedroom area. Each unit has a built-in air-conditioning unit, original to the design of the sleeping units. The drop ceiling provides lateral support and empty space at the apex of the cone for electrical wiring and ventilation.
The office, which consists of the lobby and gift shop, is rectangular in form, has a flat roof with an overhang, and is wood frame with applied stucco. The building has a modern entrance door and multi-light windows. A small cashier's window is located on the west elevation. Asphalt paving provides parking on both sides of the office building. The rear of the office building connects to a two-story apartment unit constructed between 1947 and 1949 to provide living space for staff. The apartment unit is taller than the sleeping units, but identical in construction. The interior includes a kitchen and a circular staircase to the upper story. The apartment unit has replacement windows on the east and west elevations; the remaining windows are original. South of the office and adjacent to U.S. Highway 66 is a wood carving of a Native American pointing to the entrance of the motel lobby. The statue stands approximately nine feet tall. Although details regarding who carved the statue and when it was added to the motel property are unknown, it is believed to have been added in the late 1960s when the original sign was removed. Located on the west side of the office building, the Wigwam Motel sign is a free-standing, metal structure that is approximately 30 feet tall. Neon outlines the large wigwams on the sign. The sign is believed to have been installed sometime in the 1970s.
Other features of the property include the maintenance building and the central semi-circular yard with amenities. Centrally located between the outer two groups of sleeping units is a one-story rectangular maintenance building. The building is wood frame with a shallow pitch, front gable roof and porches on the south (primary) and east elevations. The central semi-circular yard consists of a lawn with palm trees, a fire pit with two benches west of the office building, a metal canopy to the rear of the office, and an irregular-shaped pool surrounded by a metal fence. Concrete paving, presumably laid at the time of the pool's installation, connects the office, pool, and sleeping units. Surrounding the sleeping units and maintenance building is an asphalt parking area. A third, outer ring of sleeping units was planned, and the foundation for one of these units was poured, but no other construction was completed. The foundation is still visible, located in the northeast corner of the property.
The Wigwam Motel was renovated between 2003 and 2005, and the current owners were awarded the National Historic Route 66 Federation's 2005 Cyrus Avery Award for outstanding preservation projects. Alterations include the replacement of the original doors with modern six-panel doors, the replacement of some four-light gliding windows, and the addition of modern light posts at the entrance of each sleeping unit. Because the exteriors of the units had previously been painted non-historic colors, they were repainted during the renovation to return them to a more historic color scheme. In addition, hedge plantings around each sleeping unit were replaced with lava rock due to state environmental restrictions on allowable green space. These alterations result in a minor loss of integrity, but do not result in the wigwams being unable to convey their association as a teepee-themed sleeping unit located along U.S. Highway 66.