A Roadside Motel

A midcentury two-story motel built to capitalize on the Interstate Project.

There never was a time for the motel like the midcentury. With the advent of the "big family car" and ever-improving highways crisscrossing the continent, recreational travel became accessible to almost all walks of life. Unlike in passenger rail travel, though, over-the-road sojourning doesn't have a comfortable solution for sleep-while-you-roll. Enter the "motor hotel," small-time hotels expressly designed as overnight accommodations for those on their way elsewhere.

Like in any booming market, many of the earlier motels came up with novel ways to attract business. Googie signage, novelty architecture, boasts about air conditioning and color television - technicolor dreams of a world finding itself after a decade of war. Later on, as the 60s brought a more reserved modern zeitgeist, motels adopted a function-over-form philosophy, wisely preferring ease-of-care and structural durability over wild neon branding and somewhat questionable misappropriations of Native architecture.

This motel (disappointingly for some, I'm sure) is of the later era. A stalwart brick and concrete construction in a long, low L-shaped plan, still proudly wearing much of its original fashion for all comers and goers to ignore. Having outlasted its competition and most of its own business, this motel is finally on the market after its original owner, who has long cared for it, can no longer make ends meet. Despite a reputation for not-so-delightful tenants, neighbors are hopeful the American Sunset can find a new owner who will breathe life back into what has long been a local landmark.

36 (surprisingly well-kept) rooms, 36 (freshly-made!) beds, 36 baths (37 toilets - there's one for employees, oh-la-la!). Unlike most of my builds, this one is furnished though mostly undecorated. There's only one refrigerator on the lot, and it's in the employee breakroom/utilities room, so if your para is going to live in a motel room they should bring a mini-fridge. The building fits on the large empty lot on the bluff overlooking downtown Melino, and unlike my Tower Block it's actually playable performance-wise. Wow! No mods or funny build mode tricks went into this build, though I very much considered using the "FIVTEES Midcentury Office Set" mod for its breezeblock-esque window. Give us breezeblocks, Paralives team, please!

At around $200,000, this motel's ready to go for the upstart operator looking to break into the market in retro style. Or a redeveloper could make it into an apartment block, I suppose. Or a single para could simply live in one of the rooms, squatter-style, while the unsold building decays around them, a reflection of the fading American dream. Moody.