More googie motels and signs from the Southern California area can be found here.

711 Motel (Gone)
Buena Park, CA
Photo courtesy Georg Balandran

Bold numbers did the advertising at the 711 Motel & Trailer Park in Buena Park. Its red-and-yellow neon marquee gave this roadside stop a recognizable identity without needing an elaborate tropical or Space Age theme.

Established in the early 1950s, the property combined motel rooms with trailer accommodations. That arrangement served both travelers spending a night in Orange County and residents looking for a longer stay during the area’s post-war growth.

Located just off Beach Boulevard on Ortega Drive, the 711 reflected a time when overnight lodging and trailer parks could share the same property. The buildings were relatively plain, but the bright numerical sign gave passing motorists something to remember.

UPDATE: The property transitioned from nightly motel lodging to a residential mobile-home and RV community. Its original commercial neon frontage was removed, while the older property layout continued in a different use. 10-26

Pink Motel
Sun Valley, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

Here's a shot of the Pink Motel along San Fernando Rd. This motel is right next to what was once known as Buddy's Diner. Many thanks to Adriene Biondo and info.

Built by Joseph and Gladys Thomulka in 1946–1947, the 20-room motel opened in 1947 along historic U.S. Route 99. Before the freeway took much of the traffic elsewhere, this was a major route for motorists traveling between Los Angeles and points north.

The family added the Pink Café in 1949, giving guests a place to eat without heading back onto the highway. Later known as Cadillac Jack’s Café, its counters and booths became another attraction for filmmakers looking for an old-fashioned roadside setting.

A fish-shaped swimming pool arrived in 1959. Years later, the drained pool found a different audience when it appeared in the 1987 skateboarding film The Search for Animal Chin. Apparently this particular motel attraction didn’t always need water.

UPDATE: The Pink Motel survives as a filming and photography location, with the motel, café, and pool preserving much of the property’s mid-century character. Its later career kept the old roadside stop in the picture after traditional lodging declined. 10-26

Oasis Motel (Gone)
Los Angeles, CA
Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo

A neon cactus rises above the roadside at the former Oasis Motel in Los Angeles. With its tall frame, glowing discs, and desert imagery, the marquee offers a little oasis of its own along busy Olympic Boulevard.

Opened in 1956 at Olympic Boulevard and Lake Street, the motel advertised conveniences that appealed to the modern traveler. Kitchenettes, 21-inch televisions, and an L-shaped swimming pool gave guests reasons to settle in after a day around Los Angeles.

The original horizontal sign was replaced in the mid-1960s by the much taller Googie-style marquee. Its yellow boomerang frame and cactus made the property easier to pick out among the surrounding buildings. No desert drive required to find this bit of roadside scenery.

UPDATE: The former Oasis Motel became the Tuscan Garden Inn. Its historic neon marquee was refurbished in 2020, retaining the cactus and a familiar reminder of the property’s earlier identity. 10-26

Astro Motel
Pasadena, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, the Astro Motel brought a little Space Age styling to the old Route 66 corridor. Its sweeping lines and dramatic driveway canopy gave passing motorists something to check out before they reached the rooms.

Opened in 1957, the motel arrived as rockets and futuristic shapes were finding their way into Southern California’s roadside architecture. An overnight stop could look ready for takeoff, even if the family car was only heading a few miles farther down the highway.

The carport was the detail to watch for. Sharp, fin-like supports gave the entrance a look somewhere between a rocket and a late-1950s automobile. Quite an entrance for a place whose guests were mostly looking for a bed rather than a launchpad.

UPDATE: The property survives as the Astro Pasadena Hotel following renovation. Its distinctive mid-century lines and Space Age carport remain part of the roadside appearance. 10-26

Cloud 9 Motel
Cypress, CA
Photo courtesy Georg Balandran

Check out the playful marquee once found at the Cloud 9 Motel along Lincoln Avenue near the Buena Park and Cypress boundary. Its colorful shapes gave motorists something to puzzle over. Were those clouds up there, or did the motel have a little luck of the clover?

Opened in the late 1950s, the motel offered budget-minded travelers a place to stay within reach of Knott’s Berry Farm and Disneyland. The whimsical sign helped give this small roadside property an identity among the other lodging choices around Orange County.

The motel’s history took a more serious turn in May 1980, when a gas explosion and fire heavily damaged portions of the property. The damaged sections were subsequently rebuilt, allowing the motel to continue beyond that interruption.

UPDATE: The Cloud 9 Motel remains in operation following rebuilding and later changes. Its original decorative neon marquee was replaced with a more conventional commercial sign that still looks cool. 10-26

Magic Carpet Motel (Demolished)
Anaheim, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

A glowing genie once greeted travelers at the Magic Carpet Motel in Anaheim. The themed marquee offered a little Arabian Nights scenery along Katella Avenue, adding another memorable character to the collection of motel signs around Disneyland.

Built in 1962, the property offered family suites and the familiar roadside promise of free ice. Guests could stay near the park while enjoying a motel whose name and sign kept the vacation mood going outside the gates.

The genie was the feature that caught the eye, with sequential neon lighting adding movement after dark. By the late 1980s, deteriorating tubing and failed lighting components reportedly left the figure dark. A genie without its glow still had a distinctive silhouette, though some of the magic had clearly gone missing.

UPDATE: The Magic Carpet Motel was demolished in the late 1990s during changes surrounding the Disneyland Resort expansion and Katella Avenue redevelopment. An exact demolition year was not included in the supplied history. 10-26

Waite Motel (Demolished)
Long Beach, CA
Photo courtesy Georg Balandran

Clean lines and a substantial geometric marquee gave the Waite Motel in Long Beach its roadside presence. The design leaned toward the simpler side of mid-century architecture, with neon highlighting the sign rather than rockets or elaborate themed figures.

Built in the mid-1950s, the motel belonged to the era when motor courts offered convenient overnight stops along the city’s busy roads. Its asymmetrical styling gave the property some visual interest without turning the entrance into a trip to outer space.

The motel’s run ended through a public land acquisition rather than a gradual change of name. In 2005, Long Beach exercised eminent domain over the property for a proposed high school project, requiring the owners to vacate.

UPDATE: Unfortunately the Waite Motel sign has been gone for years. 08-13

UPDATE: The Waite Motel closed and was demolished in 2005 following the city’s acquisition. The former motor court and its geometric roadside marquee disappeared with the clearing of the property. 10-26