The Eternal Appeal of Retro Lodings

Why is old-fashioned roadside architecture so appealing to us? I suspect it may have something to do with the color and vibrancy that these lodgings have - very different from the bland, boxy chain motel aesthetic that we generally find nowadays. The electric beauty of a neon sign, the faded glamour of a trailer park, the retro-chic feel of a vintage Airstream or recycled camper van are the kinds of things that chic nomads of today are looking for in their travels. Retro lodgings are unusual and unique and even a teeny bit trashy. They're little moments in time that you can curl up and sleep in. This hub will take you on a short tour of some of the hipper retro lodings in the United States. We've even included road maps so you know how to get there! Keep in mind though that these are general maps and not absolute guides - you should always check with the property before setting out.

The first place on our agenda is a very special small hotel made up vintage 50's trailers.

El Cosmico, Marfa, Texas

Source: Boutique Homes

El Cosmico is quite possibly the chicest small hotel this side of the Mississippi. Located in Marfa, Texas (a historically artistic town), El Cosmico doesn't offer guests traditional room. Instead, the small hotel consists of vintage fifties trailers (Kozy Coach from 1951 pictured above). Yes, it's a "trailer park" but who says that trailer parks must be run down, trashy places? But if you're really opposed to staying in a vintage trailer, El Cosmico also offers teepees and yurts onsite.

How to get to El Cosmico

Marfa, Texas -

Marfa, TX 79843, USA

[get directions]

Mojave Sands, Joshua Tree, California

Source: Small Hotel Joshua Tree

Source: Mojave Sands Interiors

Mojave Sands takes the classic roadside motel and puts a uniquely Californian spin on it. The neon sign is pure Googie while the interior is a great reflection of the rugged beauty of Joshua Tree. The 5 rooms at Mojave Sands has handmade furnishings and old-school details like record players. Nods to modern luxury include a steam shower. The motel is located really close to the entrance to J-Tree and just down the road is the Joshua Tree Bar & Grill. Enjoy some authentic road food while staying at this authentic retro-cool motel.

How to Get to Mojave Sands

62121 29 Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, CA 92252 -

62121 29 Palms Hwy, Joshua Tree, CA 92252, USA

[get directions]

Vintage Trailer, Big Sur, California

Source: Vintage Trailer

Source: Vacation Rental

A lone Avion trailer from the 1970's has been placed right off the Cabrillo Highway in the gorgeous central coast of California. Only 28 feet in length, this particular trailer is recommended for couples. Because it was actually designed to be a home for nomads on the road, the trailer has a full kitchen and folding dinette table that turns into an extra bed. In a nod to its now stationary life, the trailer has been kitted out with a full bathroom (yes, that means it has a bathtub). I love that the owners haven't totally forsaken the trailer's seventies roots. Instead they've embraced it by furnishing the trailer with colorful, retro fabric patterns and design touches.

How to Get To Vintage Big Sur Trailer

big sur, california -

Clear Ridge Rd, Big Sur, CA 93920, USA

[get directions]

Silverstreak Vintage Trailer

Source: California Cabins

Interior of Silverstreak

Here's something neat: a vintage Silverstreak trailer that can be rented for additional sleeping room for guests in nearby California Cabins. The log cabin is just as much an icon of Americana as the vintage trailer. Here's a pretty informative article about log cabins. This particular trailer can be placed anywhere you want, which means it truly is a mobile home. Currently nestled in the High Sierras, but tomorrow who knows?

How to Get to Vintage Silverstreak

oakhurst, california -

Oakhurst, CA, USA

[get directions]

GARDEN OF EDEN ON WHEELS

CONTRIBUTIONS FROM
THE MUSEUM OF JURASSIC TECHNOLOGY:

I first came across the name of this extraordinary place when my friend Mitzi Pratt (NYC socialite) asked me to be meet her in what she called one of her favorite places in Los Angeles, The Museum of Jurassic Technology. After locating it in Culver City, I begin to understand why she likes it here so much. The exhibits in the museum cross the line between fact and fiction, between reality and imagination.

Front of the museum in Culver City, Los Angeles

The collections of the museum, which was founded in 1989 and is being curated by David Hildebrand Wilson and Diana Wilson, span over three little buildings and consist of pieces from about a dozen sub-collections which are often centered around a certain subject such as belief and knowledge or personalities like Athanasius Kircher and their work. But, unlike what one might expect of a technology museum, throughout all of the exhibits, the boundaries between history and fiction, magic and reason, narrative and scientific method are in fact completely fluid (and the curators pleasurably make no effort to make things more clear, even indulge in elaborate descriptions and allusions that make it even more mysterious).
Many of the pieces consist of wonderfully crafted models and often amazing analog visual tricks for superimposing images. As a result, the whole space turns into a magical wunderkammer like I've rarely seen it, and probably one of the most astonishing approaches to the culture of art and technology on the planet.

The reason I mention this museum here is because of the outstanding exhibition I once saw there (which is part of the permanent collection) entitled, GARDEN OF EDEN ON WHEELS. This is a collection of model mobile homes and travel trailers  which glow and flicker in a darkened room, complete with sounds of a.m. radios and t.v.s playing from within and the distant sounds of crickets and campfires.

GARDEN OF EDEN ON WHEELS

Here is some of the text the accompanies the exhibit:

"The house trailer is, of course, but a sub-set of the larger age-old category of mobile dwelling. From the Basque sheepherder tent/coat and Bedouin woven goat hair "blacktent" to Mongolian yurts, human ingenuity has created an astonishing array of portable dwellings. However, in America, it was the migratory worker and seasonal factory worker, tacking together small masonite trailers or packing up their home built housecars and assembling in camps as early as 1920; or, the evangelist, carpenter or salesman, who built their first trailer to follow some private dream; or simply the old time "trailerite" or auto camper, a casual, cantankerous and fiercely independent soul of the teens and twenties who together caused a brand new industry, mobile home production, to emerge and flourish right out of the depths of the Great Depression."

TO FIND OUT MORE GO TO: 

Selected Collections from Los Angeles Area Mobile Home and Trailer Parks  http://www.mjt.org/exhibits/eden/trailers.html

 

Merry Christmas from Pinecrest!

All of us at Pinecrest would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Vintage Christmas cards are a unique and popular item to both collect and send. The holidays are truly a joyous time and the tradition of sending Christmas greetings has been going on for over a hundred years. The best thing about vintage Christmas cards is that you can be sure that you are sending out well wishes in a manner that will be appreciated, remembered and displayed proudly.

Where to find vintage Christmas cards

From flea markets to eBay, there are plenty of unused vintage Christmas cards still around. Occasionally warehouse finds of great quantities of Christmas cards from the 50s and 60s still turn up. Large companies and printers have stored these for decades and eventually they find their way onto the open market. The great thing about finding and buying these old store stock seasonal greeting cards is the cost. Often, an unopened box of vintage Christmas cards and envelopes can be purchased for less than the price of the modern (and often bland) equivalents. How great is it that a truly unique statement can be purchased for such a small sum? The people receiving the cards will be shocked to get an authentic 40 or 50-year-old card and it will make a great conversation starter at Christmas parties, too.

Pinecrest on Facebook

 

Pinecrest on Facebook

Pinecrest Retreat is emerging as a leader in the vintage trailer movement. Combining the best of the new and the old, park owners Frank and Kathleen are mindful of keeping the proper balance. While preserving the park's rich history of being a place for friends and families to gather and enjoy the simple pleasures of life (quiet times in natural settings), thoughtful, modern improvements continue to be made to ensure the positive growth in the future.

In addition to native plant restorations and a community garden, road surfaces have been kept all-natural and sustainable improvements have been made to the community bathhouse. The park now offers free yoga to members in summer and wi-fi access near the pool. Pinecrest maintains online news and information at its own facebook page, PINECREST RETREAT: For Members Only where members can get or post the latest news on weather conditions and special events. Pinecrest hosts Vintage Travel Trailer Aficionados for more general news about the vintage trailer movement and sometimes posting of trailers that have come available on craigslist or other places. And finally, Pinecrest has a blog "Pinecrest Resort" (http://pinecrestresort.blogspot.com) with a more permanent record of trailer trends and "Pinecrest Life". Keeping Pinecrest members connected through these online sites helps build a more vibrant community while creating an awareness of who we are and what we do to ensure positive growth in the future.

Timo visits The Shady Dell!

There are lots of great places in the American southwest to see vintage travel trailers, but two places stand out for the quality and volume: Pinecrest and The Shady Dell. After hearing a great deal about Shady Dell, the author of this blog had an opportunity to visit this iconic location. The collection of trailers were laid out museum style, side by side. The shimmering metal vessels glimmered in the Arizona sun, each available for rental by the day. Pinecrest differs from the Shady Dell in this regard, as most of Pinecrests trailers are privately owned and maintained (although a few trailers are available to rent by the night). Another notable difference is that Pinecrest sites are located in and amongst mature pines, poplars and cedar trees, with lots of private land to hike and explore.
Pinecrest and The Shady Dell are each special places to enjoy the best of mobile mid-century modern design in unique American settings.

Find out more about the Shady Dell: http://www.theshadydell.com

The Celebration!

Pinecrest at 50, Come Celebrate!

Call for Photos!

Pinecrest to be included in History of Julian film project.
Pincecrest member and late blooming filmmaker, Teri Brewer,  is working on a short film focusing on the Cuyamacas and San Diego back country and how the cultural landscape and local archaeology there has been shaped by fire.  As part of this film, which is actually a pilot for a longer film project, she would like to include a little bit of information on Pinecrest and its history with fires and how it came through. She has some photos of  Pinecrest today of course, but wonders whether there are any photographs or video of Pinecrest just after fire came through? If anyone has digital photos of this nature that Teri could use she would very much appreciate it. In order for them to be used in the pilot film, however, she would need to get digital images via email by September 10. But if that deadline passes and you have some good photos, please send them along any way as she could still use these for the master project. 

Photos can be sent to Teri at goby@mac.com.

Trends in Trailers:

Vintage Trailers + Airstreams for your Wedding

I love the idea of renting a vintage trailer or airstream to serve your food or sweets for your wedding. These could also be perfect for a bridal shower or rehearsal dinner. So cute, yummy, and they will be the talk of the night! One of my favorites is Enjoy Cupcakes where guests will enjoy treats served out of an adorable restored vintage Shasta trailer. Serving the entire Santa Ynez Valley & Santa Barbara County and inspired by wine country, their cupcake flavors include some totally inventive flavors like: Vanilla Mascarpone Chardonnay, Caramel Pinot, Cherry Apple Chardonnay, Tangerine Mint Mimosa, and Cherry Vanilla Merlot to name a few…


{photos by Jose Villa}
Or how about a Sno Cone treat? Perfect for a summer backyard wedding, Fresher Than Fresh Sno Cones is located in Kansas City and are 100% natural, made with fresh ingredients – organic whenever possible. Served out of a renovated 1957 Shasta trailer, some of their unique flavors are lemon prickly pear, ginger rose, lime mint, watermelon basil, and green tea pear to name a few. Yum!

A change of scenery. Back to nature.

According to recent news stories, Cal Trans will be removing the three crosses that are located across the road from the Pinecrest entrance at the scenic overlook. Due to the fact that no private structures are allowed on public thruways, these long standing icons will be relocated to another hillside on private property. No information was given as to the date of the removal. Reaction is expected to be mixed.