From Cajon Pass to the Los Angeles Basin
and
The Wigwam Motel and Kumar Patel
California
Kumar Patel in his Office
Early westward Route 66 travelers must have been awestruck after the long trip across the desert and over the mountains to be dropped into a paradise in Southern California, with olive trees and orange groves, tidy houses draped with bougainvillea and climbing roses, and streetcars moving slowly along uncrowded streets. The San Gabriel Valley embodied this suburban ideal until the 1950s, when Route 66 gave way to high-speed freeways. The idyllic setting was replaced by endless grids of tract housing. The four of us felt a little sad about leaving the tranquility we had experienced on Route 66 and being plopped into modern civilization, but we were able to find a few treasures from the Old Road as we continued west along the Route 66 corridor of Foothill Boulevard.
Donna, Christine, Lorie, Kumar, and Carol at the Wigwam Motel
One of the last iconic Route 66 motels remains in the Rialto section of San Bernardino...the Wigwam Motel.
We arrived at the Motel exhausted after our long Mojave Desert drive. After checking in and talking to owner Kumar Patel, we settled into our accommodations for the night.
Donna in the doorway of her wigwam
Built by Frank Redford in 1949, the property includes an innovative village-teepees, made from wood, concrete, and stucco. We had passed by another of the three remaining Wigwam Villages when we were in Holbrook, Arizona.
This retro motel continues to live on because of the vision and passion for Route 66 by someone who seemed destined to be one its prime preservationists. Kumar Patel said “I was born on Route 66, I live on Route 66, I’m a business owner on Route 66, and I love Route 66. I travel it every year--there are so many characters on Route 66." His enthusiasm for the old road was infectious...and having driven on it ourselves, we could relate. Our stay there, and conversations with Kumar encapsulated all we had encountered during our time on the old road.
Kumar is featured in this You Tube Video:
The Patel family has owned the Wigwam for about 12 years, and received several prestigious awards for the restoration of the property. Before then, the Wigwam had declined to a condition where few travelers wanted to stay. Thankfully, this American treasure was saved from the wreaking ball, but it took a lot of work.
“They say you’re better off writing a book and having a best seller than becoming profitable on Route 66. ...Anybody that goes on Route 66 and opens a business and wants travelers to come, they’re doing it because they love it.” -- Wigwam Motel owner Kumar Patel
Kumar is a driving force in the preservation of Route 66's character and legacy (his work enabled this property to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012), but he humbly says he’s "just another member of the Route 66 family."
