Fabulous 7 Motel
El Cajon, CA Photo courtesy M.C. Morrissey
A mysterious name and an eye-catching marquee give the Fabulous 7 Motel in El Cajon something worth a roadside peek. What made it fabulous? The original room rates might offer a clue. Smaller rooms went for $5, while larger accommodations cost $7. Not a bad starting point for a night's stay.
Originally called the Fabulous Five-Seven, the motel dates to 1966 and catered to travelers along old Highway 80. The name put the prices right into the roadside welcome, giving motorists a little less to wonder about before pulling in.
As lodging rates changed, the motel became known as the Fabulous 7. Interstate 8 also changed the flow of travelers through the area, but the old marquee remained a recognizable part of Main Street. Those original prices were gone, though the sign still had plenty to offer anyone carrying a camera.
Fabulous 7 Motel marquee close-up
El Cajon, CA Photo courtesy John King
UPDATE: Here's another day shot of the Fabulous 7 Motel sign. Many thanks to John King for photo update. 09-10
UPDATE: The former motel became part of the East County Transitional Living Center in 2004. Its vintage neon marquee was restored with preservation assistance and new tubing, then officially relit on April 22, 2026. A little of the old Highway 80 glow has returned to Main Street. 10-26
Holiday Motel
San Ysidro, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Need somewhere to park the car? This old marquee at the Holiday Lodge Motel appears to offer accommodations for the television, too. Check out the wording on this roadside sign. Apparently the TV could use a little holiday of its own.
Standing in the motel parking lot, the marquee gives travelers something more interesting to read than a plain room-rate board. Parking and television were useful things to advertise, even if their arrangement on the sign invited a second look.
The motel is in San Ysidro, within the city of San Diego and near the international border. For motorists arriving after a long drive, a place to park and a room for the night might have been enough. Whether the television needed its own parking space was another matter.
UPDATE: The Holiday Lodge Motel remains in operation in San Ysidro, continuing to offer lodging near the border. 10-26
Log Cabin (Closed)
Encinitas, CA Photo courtesy M.C. Morrissey
For something different from the usual motel room, the Log Cabin Auto Court in Encinitas offered travelers a rustic place to pull off the coast highway. Check out this old roadside court. A cabin stay didn't always require heading into the mountains.
The 15 cabins were built in 1935 along Highway 101 in Leucadia. This was an earlier style of motoring stop, with separate little structures giving the place a personality of its own. The ocean nearby made for a somewhat different setting than the woods. Jeanne and Leonard Fuller purchased the property in 1962, and it remained in the family afterward. While traffic and lodging styles changed along the coast, the old cabins carried on.
UPDATE: The former auto court survives as the Log Cabin Apartments. Its 15 cabins have been converted to residences, keeping the old roadside buildings in use. 10-26
Tower Lodge Motel (Demolished)
Chula Vista, CA Photo courtesy Alan Culley
This old sign is for the Tower Lodge Motel in Chula Vista, CA. This sign design is common and was once part of a chain. According to the San Diego Union Tribune, the 35 year old Tower Lodge was to be demolished in 2007 and replaced with apartments. Many thanks to Alan Culley for info. 12-08
The marquee offered the sort of roadside recognition that could outlast a change in names. Whether the Tower Lodge had an earlier Travel Inn connection remains unconfirmed, but the resemblance might have prompted a second look from anyone who remembered those signs.
By the time demolition plans appeared in the original notes, the motel was described as 35 years old. Apartments were planned for the property, bringing the old Broadway lodging stop to the end of its run. 12-08
UPDATE: The Tower Lodge was demolished and replaced by Los Vecinos, an affordable apartment development that opened in May 2009. Another roadside motel gave way to homes for a longer stay. 10-26
Dolphin Hotel (Gone)
Oceanside, CA Photo courtesy Jimmy Bowman
Yes, the sign says hotel, rather than motel. Still, the marquee at the Dolphin Hotel in Oceanside has enough roadside flavor to earn a place among the motor courts. Check out the neon lettering. This one must have given passing travelers something to notice after dark.
The building began as the Keisker Hotel in 1927, became Hotel DeWitt in 1934, and took the Dolphin name in 1950. Quite a few names for one coastal highway address. Each change brought another identity to the same two-story stucco building.
Its Mediterranean-style exterior belonged to an earlier period of highway travel, when motorists were finding overnight stops along the coast. The later Dolphin marquee added a different era's lettering to the old surroundings. A little hotel history below, with some mid-century neon above.
UPDATE: The former Dolphin operates as The Fin Hotel following renovation, with the Switchboard Restaurant onsite. The old Dolphin neon marquee was removed during the restoration, leaving the historic building with a newer name and a different roadside welcome. 10-26
Mt Vernon Inn (Gone)
Escondido, CA Photos courtesy Ken Lux
One sign apparently wasn't enough for the Mt Vernon Inn in Escondido. This motel had two marquees pointing the way, with designs that looked as though they came from different eras. Check out the taller one, visible from blocks away. Not much excuse for driving past without noticing the place. 05-05
The pair offered a little more to look over than the usual motel sign. One could catch the eye from down the street, while the other gave approaching motorists another reminder of where to turn. Finding a room here began with a choice of signs to follow.
Their different appearances also made an interesting roadside comparison. Motel signs didn't always change all at once, and an older marquee could keep doing its job alongside a newer addition. Without knowing when each was installed, the two still suggested different chapters in the property's life.
Vernon Inn
Escondido, CA Photos courtesy Ken Lux
For anyone stopping with a camera, both were worth a look. Move farther back for the tall marquee, then check out the other sign before leaving. Two views of the same lodging stop, with a little different character in each.
UPDATE: The former Mt Vernon Inn property has been repurposed, and its old motel signs have been removed. The pair that once helped motorists find the inn now survives in photographs of the earlier roadside scene. 10-26
Fabulous 7 Motel
Fabulous 7 Motel marquee close-up
Holiday Motel
Log Cabin (Closed)
Tower Lodge Motel (Demolished)
Dolphin Hotel (Gone)
Mt Vernon Inn (Gone)
Vernon Inn
