In conceiving a name for his first hotel, untrained architect Arthur Heineman of Chicago, abbreviated “motor hotel” to “mo-tel” after realising he couldn't fit all 19 letters of “Milestone Motor Hotel” on his rooftop sign. A postcard from the 1940s.

Two California contractors, William Becker and Paul Greene, saw a need for an economy motel on the California coast. They opened a 52-room motel in Santa Barbara, offering a good night's sleep for the low, low price of just $6 per night (cash only). Fittingly, they decided to name it Motel 6. An American icon is born.

Motels are a kind of hotel. The word motel (from a blend of motor and hotel) typically implies a roadside hotel in which the doors of the rooms can be entered from outside. In contrast, hotel rooms are typically entered from inside the building. Motels are often less expensive and have fewer accommodations than hotels.

Graced with nautical porthole windows and balcony handrails, the Ocean Park was honored by the Art Deco Society in 1987 for preservation of this Streamline Moderne beauty. "This was the first motel in San Francisco, opening 20 April 1937, in the Sunset District in time for the fiesta opening of the Golden Gate Bridge!