This Quirky Motel Is An Iconic Stop Along Arizona's Route 66
By Monica Spencer|Published December 26, 2016
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Monica Spencer
Author
Monica is a Diné (Navajo) freelance writer and photographer based in the Southwest. Born in Gallup and raised in Phoenix, she is Tódich'ii'nii (Bitter Water People) and Tsi'naajinii (Black Streak Wood People). Monica is a staff writer for Only In Your State, photo editor for The Mesa Legend, and previously a staff writer for The Navajo Post. You can reach her at monica.d.spencer@gmail.com.
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The old Route 66 is the home to American kitsch. There are few places you will find unbelievable sights like dinosaurs scattered along town streets, a replica of the fort from the 1960s show F Troop, and a giant Easter Island-style head just sitting along the highway. Arizona has quite a few of those places still standing and serving customers since the highway’s heyday. One Route 66 icon in particular truly stands out from the rest.
This is the Wigwam Motel, located in the heart of Holbrook, Arizona.
It was part of a small chain of similarly designed motels strewn across the country, the brain child of Frank Redford. This particular motel was built in 1950 by Chester Lewis, who purchased the design rights, and became the sixth one.
Since then, it has become an iconic part of Holbrook and the old Route 66.
Can you imagine Holbrook without the motel? It operated until about 1974, when the highway was closed for Interstate 40, but reopened in 1988 and has been serving travelers ever since!
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The interior is compact compared to current standards for hotel rooms but manages to be a cozy place to sleep.
Each of the 15 little units were made from steel and concrete, sitting in a sort of semi-circle around the motel office. They measure about 14 feet across, have a little bathroom inside, and contain modest furnishings that stay true to the time period the motel was built. That also means that while you get a TV in your room, you won’t find a phone or even internet access during your stay.
If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll probably remember the Cozy Cone Motel in which each unit looks like a massive traffic cone. The Wigwam Motel was just one of the many locations in Arizona that served as heavy inspiration for the movie.
Despite the name of the motel, it’s not actually a wigwam you'll be sleeping in.
These motel units are actually modeled after tipis, the traditional dwelling for Plains tribes. Wigwams are actually dome-shaped homes used by Northeastern tribes and look pretty similar to the wikiups used by some Southwestern tribes.
