Wagon Wheel Motel (Demolished)
Oxnard, CA Photos courtesy Schafphoto
The Wagon Wheel motel and restaurant complex is a familiar sight as you pass Oxnard traveling along the 101 Freeway.
The motel, restaurant, and bowling center are gone, and housing and commercial development occupy the former junction. A restored coach-and-horses sign survives at the brewery site; the upper motel lettering is held at Valley Relics Museum. The Wagon Wheel Bowl sign is reportedly in storage, although its present condition remains uncertain. 10-26
Rose Motel (Rem.)
Pasadena, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
A glowing rose once gave the Rose Motel in Pasadena a fitting roadside introduction. Its delicate neon lettering and illuminated red flower added a little color along Colorado Boulevard, where travelers followed historic Route 66 through town.
Opened in the 1950s, the motel served the post-war travel trade and visitors arriving for Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses festivities. The floral marquee suited both the motel’s name and the city’s best-known celebration.
UPDATE: The Rose Motel marquee has been replaced by a backlit plastic sign. 01-07
UPDATE: In January 2007, the original neon components were removed and replaced with a backlit plastic sign. The motel continued operating, though its familiar glowing rose no longer greeted passing motorists. 10-26
Hi-way Host Motel
Pasadena, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Along Route 66 in Pasadena, the Hi-Way Host Motel welcomed travelers with a red-and-yellow neon pylon. Opened in 1957, the 40-room property had a roadside sign that became a familiar subject for photographers following the old highway.
A 1959 AAA TourBook advertisement promised a “never-to-be-forgotten vacation,” promoting a heated pool, playground, and family apartments with kitchenettes. Those conveniences gave families a reason to settle in for more than a quick overnight stop.
The tall marquee carried the motel’s name through decades of changing traffic along Colorado Boulevard. For sign hunters, it offered another reason to take the surface road through town.
UPDATE: According to the supplied account, the historic neon lettering was removed in December 2025 and replaced with a backlit plastic sign. The Hi-Way Host remains open at 3474 E. Colorado Boulevard, with the older pylon framework retained. 10-26
Harvard House Motel
Hollywood, CA Photo courtesy Adriene Biondo
At Hollywood Boulevard and Harvard Boulevard, the Harvard House Motel offers a look at an earlier era of Hollywood lodging. Its front gable, wood accents, and two-story layout give the property a neighborhood appearance rather than the sprawling parking-lot look of later motor courts.
Opened in 1947, the motel was designed by architect Arthur W. Hawes with 28 rooms and offices arranged in an L-shaped stucco building. Original owner Dushan S. Nicholich applied for the permit in August that year and also operated his real estate business from the property.
An Automobile Club of Southern California recommendation became another selling point for travelers. Vintage linen postcards showed off the accommodations, preserving views of the motel from its early years along the boulevard.
The Harvard House also found its way onto the screen. Its exterior appeared in the 1976 television movie Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway, recording another chapter of Hollywood street life against the familiar motel backdrop.
Later guest accounts mention waterbeds and older tube televisions, adding to its time-capsule reputation. Stories of creaking sounds and sudden temperature changes have circulated as well, though these amount to informal guest lore rather than a documented haunting.
UPDATE: The Harvard House Motel remains an independent property at 5251 Hollywood Boulevard, retaining its original 1947 layout and silhouette. 10-26
Saga Motel
Pasadena, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Palm trees, patterned concrete blocks, and flowing neon lettering give the Saga Motel in Pasadena plenty of roadside appeal. Opened in 1959, this Colorado Boulevard landmark was designed by architect Harold Zook with 70 rooms arranged around a heated pool and landscaped courtyard.
The dramatic script marquee gives passing motorists something to admire before they reach the entrance. Inside the grounds, breezeway blocks and a sun deck carry on the mid-century atmosphere.
Saga Motel
Pasadena, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Its location along the Rose Parade route, across from Pasadena City College and near Caltech, helped sustain a steady stream of guests. The hotel also retains the old-fashioned detail of physical room keys, adding another small reminder of earlier travel days.
The supplied account includes an unverified story of a woman in a floral swimsuit appearing near the pool before sunrise, with occasional sightings also associated with Room 210. The tale describes a quiet visitor who disappears when approached.
UPDATE: The Saga Motor Hotel remains in operation at 1633 E. Colorado Boulevard, preserving much of its 1959 architecture, courtyard setting, and distinctive roadside character. 10-26
French Cottage Motel (Demolished)
Hollywood, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
A little storybook scenery once greeted travelers at the French Cottage Motel in Hollywood. Behind the busy Highland Avenue frontage, European-style bungalows offered an overnight stay with more character than the usual row of motel doors.
Opened in the 1940s, the motor court belonged to an earlier Hollywood travel era. Its cottage theme gave visitors a cozy-looking retreat just a few blocks south of Hollywood Boulevard, while a neon script marquee announced the property from the street.
Rising land values eventually brought redevelopment to the site. The cottages occupied the sort of low-rise footprint increasingly sought for larger buildings, and the motel’s long run came to an end.
UPDATE: The French Cottage Motel is gone. The motel was demolished in the summer of 2007. 02-08
UPDATE: The French Cottage Motel at 1344 N. Highland Avenue closed and was demolished in summer 2007. Its neon marquee was lost during clearance, and a multistory apartment development replaced the old motor court. 10-26
Tri City Motel
Bellflower, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Bright geometric shapes once gave the Tri City Motel in Bellflower a colorful roadside greeting. Its tall, staggered marquee stacked neon panels above Alondra Boulevard, making the sign worth a look even for motorists continuing down the road.
Opened in 1955, the motel served travelers moving through the area around Bellflower, Paramount, and Downey. The single-story motor-court layout offered the familiar convenience of rooms close to the parking area.
The sign supplied much of the property’s personality. Its tiers and contrasting colors reflected the days when an independent motel could advertise with a custom roadside creation rather than a standard illuminated box.
UPDATE: The Tri City Motel remains in operation at 10142 Alondra Boulevard. Its original 1950s layout survives, but the elaborate neon marquee was simplified into a more conventional commercial sign. A date for that alteration was not supplied. 10-26
Rose Motel (Rem.)
Hi-way Host Motel
Along Route 66 in Pasadena, the Hi-Way Host Motel welcomed travelers with a red-and-yellow neon pylon. Opened in 1957, the 40-room property had a roadside sign that became a familiar subject for photographers following the old highway.
Harvard House Motel
French Cottage Motel (Demolished)
Tri City Motel
