Written by Ken Mcintyre with Jo and Larry Garrett
Photograph Courtesy of Ken Mcintyre
Ken Mcintyre sent an update to our previous story “Meet Me At the Rio” which enriched the story when we added his update to it. This is how we originally met him. We recently heard from Ken again and this time he sent us a photograph of what we call “motel marbles”, which became the feature photo for this story.
This is an excerpt from Ken’s emails.
“Right now I’m waiting on a shipment of five marbles. …. They are advertisement marbles of motels. They remind me of postcards. I’ll take a photo once they’ve arrived. I thought they looked beautiful.
“Here’s a photo I had done of the five motel marbles. … I really like these but I think I’ll be attempting to sell them at the Virginia City, Nevada Camel Races this September. I’ll be there as a vendor and mostly of artwork I’m having made by different artists, I design the artworks and then have an artist, whom I pay, demonstrate a new better version of what I came up with. I’m working with an artist in Bulgaria and Haiti. Their art work I turn into larger prints as well as postcards. For this particular event the artworks are based on the theme of the strange animal derby. I have some other items to sell as well as the marbles to show….” Emphasis added
Something Old Is Very New!
Marbles for show and sale at the Nevada Camel Races? Can you even imagine that? We certainly hope to share more about the races before and after the event!
Of course, we now have all kinds of questions about the motel marbles. While we have written a story about advertising marbles and another about fantasy and fake marbles, we are still at a loss with these motel marbles.
Are They Real Or Are They Not?
We have never attempted to make a transfer marble. However, we had a dear friend who died recently and who spent his whole career in glass marbles. He and his wife did attempt one large transfer project. It is an extremely difficult process.
When we checked the site where Ken bought these marbles we found out that dozens of these old motel marbles are up for sale![1] We have no idea how many different motels are available. They range in size from ⅝” to 1”. Ken’s marbles appear to be about 7/8”.
How Transfer Marbles Are Made
As you can see, the marble transfer on these marbles is multi-colored; each uses more than one font; and is the inclusion of the original signage of each motel. The original signs date, in most cases, to the early to mid 1950s. All of us agree that the transfer design itself would be hard to create.
We turned to AI to tell us more about how these transfers are made. There are, as you can imagine, several steps to the process. Briefy these include:
- Design Creation: The first step is to create the design that will be transferred onto the glass marbles. This can be done using graphic design software to ensure high-quality and precise images. Well, we are already lost. How does this software get the image of motel signage which may no longer exist? From old photographs or from old postcards? While we have no idea whether or not this motel appears on a marble, this sign does illustrate what we are asking. The Spanish Trail Motel was in Pensacola, Florida. We believe it was on US Highway 90 in the 1950s. This was not a chain or franchise motel. The lawn was grassy and at one time they had a large old-fashioned windmill in the front yard. Now, how to get this image onto a marble?
John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive (1972 – 2008),
Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
- Printing: The designs are printed onto transfer paper using specialized printers that can handle the intricate details required for small surfaces like ⅝” marbles. All of the motel marbles that we have seen have an opaque white background.
- Preparation of Marbles: The glass marbles are cleaned thoroughly to remove any dust, oils, or residues that could interfere with the transfer process.
- Application of Transfers: The printed transfer paper is carefully applied to the marbles. This can be done manually or using automated machinery designed for precision application. Trust us on this one, no one wants to even attempt to apply a transfer by hand! This process had to have been done with expensive and highly specialized electronic equipment.
- Heat Treatment: The marbles with the applied transfers are subjected to heat treatment. This process involves baking the marbles in an oven at a specific temperature to ensure the transfer adheres properly and becomes permanent. The heat causes the transfer to fuse with the glass surface. Because of this fusion[2] it is impossible to scratch the decal with your fingernail. The transfer has literally become a part of the glass![3]
- Cooling and Inspection: After the heat treatment, the marbles are allowed to cool. They are then inspected for quality to make sure the transfers are applied correctly and without defects.
- Packaging: Once the marbles pass the quality inspection, they are packaged for distribution.
These motel marbles are a high quality job. It took money, time, electronic equipment, and at least a minimum of research to bring these to the market..
Ken’s Ideas On The Marbles’ Authenticity
“I honestly have no idea and my best suggestion would be to reach out to readers, as well perhaps attend more marble shows and ask questions. “
So, what about it readers? Does anyone know anything about these motel marbles? If they are modern, do you know who is making them? Are you making them? Are they simply being made for profit?
“The [Fantasy] that is near the amusement park of Disneyland seems like it would be real, but I have no idea. The white on these “shooters” all seems to be very similar so it wouldn’t surprise me if they came from similar creators. But I really don’t know. I haven’t handled enough marbles to know much.”
The signage on this Fantasy Motel marble was still in use in September 1961. It was at that time that the Motel offered a free shuttle service to and from Disneyland, a heated swimming pool and a wading pool, TV, Hi-Fi, and even ice cubes. We believe that the site is now home to the Castle Inn & Suites.[4]
“There are so many advertisement marbles [that] a lot of them really seem to look appropriate to what they are advertising. Or it’s really an awkward market. I can picture 76 or Esso having those in their car stores. Same with things like the Gun and Ammo, or fishing lures. These seem like things that sport enthusiasts would find attractive in a gun store, etcetera. Advertising is so weird. But I agree the idea of them feels more “Fake” than real. If I had the secret marble machine I’d have scores of esoteric ad placements. And perhaps whomever might’ve “faked” these, knew what they were doing….[5]
And [based] on the idea that Howard Johnson’s used to be mainly a candy/ice cream store, I can kinda picture those marbles being available. Especially since there are still over 200 of these road side homes available to weary travelers, I’m due to venture into this business and ask. I might have to purchase these just to have the example when walking in. I have not ever seen a Howard Johnson’s Hospitality location, but they are now owned by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.“[6]
Image used courtesy of Alan Michelson, Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD), Oasis Motel postcard, Los Angeles, CA, c. 1958
https://pcad.lib.washington.edu/image/5432/
What About The Other Motels On Ken’s Motel Marbles?
Well, all but one of the motels on Ken’s marbles are still standing in one incarnation or another. The motels were themselves real.
The Oasis
The Motel opened in 1956 at 2200 West Olympic Boulevard just west of downtown Los Angeles. It was enlarged in 1960 – 1961 and it became Tuscan Garden Inn in 2021. Back in 1958 every room offered a 21” TV, room telephones, a refrigerator, and AC. It had a pool and you could get a kitchenette if you wanted one.
The Ritz Motel
This Ritz is in San Bruno, California, and you could book a room for tonight! Now known as the Ritz Inn, it is “budget-friendly” and is only about four miles from the San Francisco International Airport. It dates to the 1950s and is located at 151 El Camino Real.[7]
Capri Motel
The Capri Motel in Santa Clara, California, is at 2465 El Camino Real, and it is still where it was in 1958. The 1950s was a golden age for motels all across California. With World War II over more people had cars than ever before and there were more and more tourists on the roads. Like the Ritz in San Bruno, the Capri is now “budget-friendly”.
The Capri Motel has kept much of its original charm while adapting to modern needs. It certainly has a nostalgic appeal. It offers amenities like free Wi-Fi, cable TV, and a seasonal outdoor pool. It is in the heart of the What About The Other Motels On Ken’s Motel Marbles?
The Pink Motel, Cherokee, North Carolina
This vintage and nostalgic motel built in 1953 sits directly on the white-water Oconaluftee River at 1306 Tsali Boulevard. This is a scenic and picturesque river, and it is the beauty of the mountains, the other streams, and the friendliness of the people which has always been the primary draw of the Pink[8].
How could a motel get the name Pink? Good question. One answer is that its founder, Lois Queen Farthing, chose the pink color to ensure the motel’s linens wouldn’t get mixed up with those of other motels in the area. We have even read that in the 1950s the motel had pink walls, carpet, and, believe it or not, toilet paper!
The vintage neon signage of Tinkerbell in pink also dates to 1953. It still lights up the night along the River! Like the Motel itself, there is a neat back story to this Tinkerbell!
The location is ideal for visitors, as it’s close to attractions like the Cherokee Indian Reservation, The Museum of The Cherokee People[9], Oconaluftee Indian Village, and Qualla Arts and Crafts Mutual. It’s also near Harrah’s Cherokee, which is also home to the famous “Unto These Hills” outdoor drama.
Lafayette Court, Sarasota, Florida
John Margolies Roadside America photograph archive (1972 – 2008), Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
We are interested in whether the marbles are “real”, “fake, or fantasy. But that’s not the goal or theme of this story. Instead, we wonder if you have ever stayed in a motel like the Lafayette Court or The Pink?
Larry and Jo certainly have. Back in the 1950s – 1960s you could find these little courts, fully equipped with kitchenettes, all up and down both coasts in Florida. The price was about $2.00 – $2.50 a day. They were family-owned and the families usually lived on the property.
In fact, Larry’s family met a gentleman on Daytona Beach just about the start of World War II. He was building a court like the Lafayette right atop the dune line. Such a thing would never even be considered today by the zoning commission.
During the War, the man left to serve and as soon as he got home he started up where he had left off. Larry’s father was an electrician and in the late 1940s until at least the mid-1960s. While on vacation, his family stayed at the motel. Though still a kid Larry helped his father, and both worked as electrical handymen to pay the rent. Needless to say it was a part time fun job. Vacations started at one week and then we stayed up to about a month by the mid-1960s.
Larry and Jo have stayed at these little courts from Key West to New Brunswick, Canada and then west as far as Manitoba.
Making Memories
What do you think? Do you have some memories like this? Someone once said that you can be “homesick for a place you’ve never been”. It’s true. We never got to stay at the Lafayette Court. But we miss it. We miss it and all the other little road-side “mom and pop” motels that we treasured so much “back when”.
In the mid-1960s at that motel cabin in Daytona Beach Jo and Larry sat on the screen porch, watched the ocean, and listened to the rain and to the Vietnam daily casualty report[10] (or “body count”) on the radio. We knew exactly what lay ahead for us.
Invariably, these little cabins continue to be pushed down by a developer wanting to build a resort on the property. There may have been ten or even fifteen cabins on an acre while a resort could have a density of well over 100 units on an acre of landscaped property. We can’t be sure, but none of us believe you can still get a room for $2.50 a night. A newspaper perhaps but not a room.
Are we all better off now that the old cabins are gone? Is the seafood in the fancy restaurants really that much tastier than what we used to catch on the beach, take to the cabin, and cook?
For us that is the true value of the old marbles. They evoke good memories. They make us reminiscence. While we are happy that we can still visit most of these motels, the really belong to another time and another place.
Value Added
Marble collectors may want to build up a collection of marbles from places where they and their families stayed. Or you may want to collect as many marbles as possible from your home state or any one or two particular states. You might want to swap marbles. You may just enjoy the old signage.
Or you may really get adventurous and want to visit some of these places. If you enjoy research and have found some back stories about the motels then you might want to visit the place, take some pictures, talk with some people, and see what else you can learn.
You know what? You may find that, like us, you just like the marbles and you want to add a few to your collection. Real or not each has a lot to tell us!
References
- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=leaken_23&store_name=leaken23&_oac=1&_nkw=motel 3/12/2025 ↑
- Yep, fusion really is the right word. Fusion refers to the process or result of combining two or more things into a single entity. The same word is used both in physics & culinary arts! ↑
- Many of us have or have had a Peltier Glass Company Peerless Patch Character marble with Emma, Koko, and the rest. The images on these marbles were not made in the same way as these modern motel marbles. Rather, they were created using a transfer process where a black transfer of the character is fired onto the marble’s surface and then glazed over with clear glass. You might want to check https://www.peltiermarbles.info/characters?form=MG0AV3&form=MG0AV3 3/13/2025 ↑
- You might enjoy this site: GORILLAS DON’T BLOG: Anaheim Motels, September 1961 3/13/2025 ↑
- https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_blrs=recall_filtering&_ssn=leaken_23&store_name=leaken23&_oac=1&_nkw=motel (3/14/2025) & https://losttables.com/hojos/hojos.htm (3/14/2025) ↑
- https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/?iata=00093763&cid=PS:wy1o9ky7u4lyvv3&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwIO-qIGKjAMVjCvUAR2e0jyPEAAYASAAEgI3kPD_BwE 3/14/2025 ↑
- https://www.ritzinnsanbruno.com/?form=MG0AV3&form=MG0AV3 3/14/2025 ↑
- https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/34362?form=MG0AV3&form=MG0AV3; https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g49023-d94218-Reviews-Pink_Motel-Cherokee_North_Carolina.html; https://visitcherokeenc.com/locations/pink-motel/?form=MG0AV3&form=MG0AV3 3/15/2025↑
- Jo & Larry: We highly recommend this Museum @ Museum of the Cherokee People | Visit Cherokee NC (3/15/2025). You can do genealogical research at the museum and all of the people working there are professional, knowledgeable, and they will do their very best to answer questions and to make sure you have a fascinating experience at the Museum. ↑
- https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/opinion/2017/11/12/back-then-vietnam-casualty-counts-reported-daily-in-1967/17073437007/?form=MG0AV3&form=MG0AV3 3/14/2025 ↑
