The Wigwam Motel on Route 66 in San Bernardino, Calif. (some listings have it in neighboring Rialto) is undergoing an exterior renovation, reported the San Bernardino County Sun.
The historic motel has a team of painters working to restore San Bernardino’s Wigwam Motel, 2728 Foothill Blvd., along the old Route 66, to its original external color scheme as part of its application to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Patel said.
“We hope to have this completed by the start of the (Stater Bros. 22nd annual) Route 66 celebration (on Sept. 15),” Patel said. […]
On Wednesday, workers were scraping off the brown paint on the motel’s 20 teepees. Eventually all will be a white/cream color.
The original red zig-zag lines around the cones and red trim on the windows will also be restored, as will the yellow paint on the three poles protruding from each building.
The poles are actually heat vents that extend deep within the structure.
The Wigwam Motel’s Facebook page has been posting photos of the paint-stripped wigwams periodically, including this image.
These concrete wigwams were built in 1949 — the last in a series of seven designed by Frank Redford. The other two surviving Wigwam Motels are in Cave City, Ky., and Holbrook, Ariz. — the latter also on Route 66.
The Wigwams in San Bernardino went through a long and seamy decline, including reportedly renting rooms by the hour. But the Kumar Patel family purchased the motel in 2002, renovated it, and barred questionable clientele. The Patels received a Cyrus Avery Preservation Award for their efforts.