A Mid-Century Motel In O Scale - Part 1

I've had this project in mind for some time. I've been wanting to capture in miniature something that was part of American life in the mid-20th century and dotted the landscape: a small motel.

It's difficult to model a typical motel of the mid-20th century, because there were no "typical" motels in the days before huge franchises and corporate chains. They were often individual or family-owned businesses. While they shared some characteristics, most were unique.

They were built in a mish-mash of architectural styles, including Streamline Moderne, Space Age motifs, Prairie Style, Greek Revival, Colonial -- you name it. Kitsch wasn't limited to the Doo Wop motels of Wildwood, New Jersey. It spread from coast to coast, reflected in eye-catching and inviting motel designs across the country, and in the signage that called attention (and guests) to them.

What I wanted to do was capture a few things that appeal to me personally. I like motels from that era that reflect Mid-Century Modern influences, and I like the smaller places. I like a mix of building materials. I also like neon accents and lighted signs. I plan to incorporate all that in this build. I also plan to do some interior detailing and lighting.

Vintage postcards are a terrific resource for ideas and period design. You can pick them up in lots from various sources. I used a couple as references for my build. The pictures in this article are scans of cards in my personal collection.

I decided to combine two designs I liked. One building in particular appealed to me for its use of stone (which I find fun to carve), and its boxy, "modern" design. I liked its open deck too.

I liked the sign from another motel, and it had the advantage of being tall and vertical, which would fit nicely on the stone facade of the other building. Putting the sign directly on the building, rather than building a freestanding one, will save space.

(Incidentally, both of these real-life structures are still in use. One was converted to a tourist shopping mall, the other is still doing business as a motel under a new name and new ownership.)

This particular project will differ from many miniature building or model railroad projects in that there won't be much aging or weathering applied to the finished structure. Motels of that era competed for guests, and few tourists wanted to stay in a "run down" place -- at least, not as their first choice. So most motels were maintained by their owners in crisp, clean, like-new condition.

Whether building for a model railroad layout or a diorama, "compression" is the way to maximize effect and minimize the space a structure takes up. You keep the important details, and reduce the size of the rest. For example, my motel, when finished, will have only one guest room. But that's okay -- imagination will fill out the other thirty units or so.

I'm also reducing the overall footprint of the structure in a way that would be impractical in real life, while still keeping it a plausible size. And I'm reducing the height of the stories by about 6 scale inches. (This is something often deliberately done with real structures in theme parks to give them a charming appeal.)

Here are the plans (with dimensions in scale feet and inches) and the first build video.