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The Motel in America
In the second volume of the acclaimed "Gas, Food, Lodging" trilogy, authors John Jakle, Keith Sculle, and Jefferson Rogers take an informative, entertaining, and comprehensive look at the history of the motel. From the introduction of roadside tent camps and motor cabins in the 1910s to the wonderfully kitschy motels of the 1950s that line older roads and today's comfortable but anonymous chains that lure drivers off the interstate, Americans and their cars have found places to stay on their travels. Motels were more than just places to sleep, however. They were the places where many Americans saw their first color television, used their first coffee maker, and walked on their first shag carpet. Illustrated with more than 230 photographs, postcards, maps, and drawings, The Motel in America details the development of the motel as a commercial enterprise, its imaginative architectural expressions, and its evolution within the place-product-packaging concept along America's highways. As an integral part of America's landscape and culture, the motel finally receives the in-depth attention it deserves.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
Paperback
First published October 21, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 4, 2012
This is the best book in the series on the impact of the road and automobile on American culture. It clearly and concisely assesses how the Motel impacted Americans from the traveling family stopping in motor courts to the modern business traveler staying in Holiday Inn Express or Marriott's. The book focuses less on the package placement academic babble that permeates the rest of the series and more on the historical and cultural aspects of the motel. It traces the evolution from roadside tents, to cabins to motor courts and up to the modern hotel/motel. It has a fascinating chapter on the development of the hotel room and what amenities should be included or not included through historical analysis. For those who really want to understand the history behind hotels this is an excellent place to start and a valuable contribution to urban history.
November 15, 2019
One of a series of books examining American road culture (gas stations, fast food, and motels), "The Motel in America" is written from an academic perspective, but remains readable and enjoyable by the average reader. It traces the first beginnings of roadside lodgings, from tourist campgrounds in the 1920's, to mom-and-pop cabins in small numbers in the 1930's, purpose-built motel structures in the 1940's, and the overwhelming rise of the large chains we see today in the late 1950's and 1960's. Well worth reading if you're at all interested in the subject.
November 22, 2016
At some point in high school I pulled out a dictionary to find out what, exactly, was the difference between a motel and a hotel. They seemed much the same to me: "A place to sleep when traveling". A motel, the dictionary informed me, was typified by guests' easy access to their cars. It was cars that built motels, or rather motorists: The Motel in America is a history of how the first "auto camps" came into being, in a fairly organic fashion, which follows their maturation from mom and pop shops to national franchises. Also included are special sections on the evolution of the motel room, and a case study of motels and their impact on urban form, using Albuquerque as a case-study. It's thus a mix of topics with some popular appeal (social history) interspersed with more academic sections, like the comparative brand distribution of various chains.
The story of motels begins decades before the auto-oriented boom of the 1950s, Americans began touring by car almost as soon as there were roads fit to drive on -- sometimes before -- but downtown hotels didn't lend themselves towards motoring hospitality. They were enmeshed in an urban fabric, after all; their travelers disembarked from downtown passenger rail stations and got where they needed via trolley or on foot. That 'urban fabric' meant a lot of buildings in a small space, with precious little to spare for parked automobiles. So people began improvising and camping out on the outskirts, and through the magic of free enterprise, a new business was created to cater to them. One woman who allowed travelers to camp in a grassy area near her gas station put up small cottages for rent -- followed by more cottages, until the cabin rentals were better earners than the gasoline. 'Campgrounds', initially roped-off areas created by cities to keep motor-gypsies from running amok, attracted food-and-service vendors and quickly became a commercial form in their own right. The first 'motels' were essentially campgrounds with little cottages or cabins that motorists rented for the night; the owner-operators, typically a family, often served meals on the premises. Kentucky Fried Chicken actually began its life as the lunch option of the Sanders Motor Court.
These auto camps, motor courts, or 'motels' flourished in the Great Depression even as the downtown hotels struggled under the burden of the economy and urban reformers out to destroy them. World War 2 put expansion on pause, but after that -- and especially given the free range of the in-progress interstate system -- the business quickly grew into the network of massive chains that now fill the continent. The strings of cabins largely gave way to more space-efficient barracks, though they were organized around pools and prettied up in pastel.While the loss of mom and pop shops can easily be mourned, the chains came into being largely because it was more beneficial for motels to exist as part of a network. That network could be built from the ground up (in the manner of Best Western) or organized from the top down, if one motel was owned by an especially ambitious and savvy man as in the case of the Alamo line. Networks of motels could refer travelers along a route to one another, present a united front against other motels by maintaining uniform standards, and lower their prices through bulk purchases.(They might even purchase the same 'room sets', as furnishings were standardized.) The authors also cover the franchise approach, used as effectively in motels as in fast food restaurants.
The Motel in America proved itself an interesting little bit of history, demonstrating another facet of the genuinely revolutionary impact automobiles have had on American urbanism. The case study of Albuquerque -- a city which was known primarily as a train layover until it began expanding rapidly through Route 66 and the interstates, with gobs and gobs of motels to service them -- was a welcome surprise.
Related:
Living Downtown: The History of Residential Hotels in America. Paul Groth
Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser. Primarily the chapters on auto-oriented restaurants, the first drive-ins.
The story of motels begins decades before the auto-oriented boom of the 1950s, Americans began touring by car almost as soon as there were roads fit to drive on -- sometimes before -- but downtown hotels didn't lend themselves towards motoring hospitality. They were enmeshed in an urban fabric, after all; their travelers disembarked from downtown passenger rail stations and got where they needed via trolley or on foot. That 'urban fabric' meant a lot of buildings in a small space, with precious little to spare for parked automobiles. So people began improvising and camping out on the outskirts, and through the magic of free enterprise, a new business was created to cater to them. One woman who allowed travelers to camp in a grassy area near her gas station put up small cottages for rent -- followed by more cottages, until the cabin rentals were better earners than the gasoline. 'Campgrounds', initially roped-off areas created by cities to keep motor-gypsies from running amok, attracted food-and-service vendors and quickly became a commercial form in their own right. The first 'motels' were essentially campgrounds with little cottages or cabins that motorists rented for the night; the owner-operators, typically a family, often served meals on the premises. Kentucky Fried Chicken actually began its life as the lunch option of the Sanders Motor Court.
These auto camps, motor courts, or 'motels' flourished in the Great Depression even as the downtown hotels struggled under the burden of the economy and urban reformers out to destroy them. World War 2 put expansion on pause, but after that -- and especially given the free range of the in-progress interstate system -- the business quickly grew into the network of massive chains that now fill the continent. The strings of cabins largely gave way to more space-efficient barracks, though they were organized around pools and prettied up in pastel.While the loss of mom and pop shops can easily be mourned, the chains came into being largely because it was more beneficial for motels to exist as part of a network. That network could be built from the ground up (in the manner of Best Western) or organized from the top down, if one motel was owned by an especially ambitious and savvy man as in the case of the Alamo line. Networks of motels could refer travelers along a route to one another, present a united front against other motels by maintaining uniform standards, and lower their prices through bulk purchases.(They might even purchase the same 'room sets', as furnishings were standardized.) The authors also cover the franchise approach, used as effectively in motels as in fast food restaurants.
The Motel in America proved itself an interesting little bit of history, demonstrating another facet of the genuinely revolutionary impact automobiles have had on American urbanism. The case study of Albuquerque -- a city which was known primarily as a train layover until it began expanding rapidly through Route 66 and the interstates, with gobs and gobs of motels to service them -- was a welcome surprise.
Related:
Living Downtown: The History of Residential Hotels in America. Paul Groth
Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser. Primarily the chapters on auto-oriented restaurants, the first drive-ins.
June 18, 2016
Good study of the motel industry in America up to the 1990's. I was particularly interested in the references to modular construction which goes back to the beginning of the modern motel circa 1940's. Not for everyone as the topic is special, but if you are into architecture or have a professional interest in the business or architecture of hospitality, this is for you.
September 26, 2016
Amazing book about motels . It explains in deep how motels were done , who owned them , how they came to market , how they changed and the franchising industry of motels . If anyone loves motels in America this book comprising many pictures and layouts it's for you
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews