the growth in automobile travel in California, Oregon and Washington state. At the time, this spacing would have represented a day's drive between sites. The Motel Inn (as the Milestone Mo-Tel was renamed) was intended to be the prototype for the proposed chain. The Heinemans were unable to register the name as a trademark, which allowed competitors to use the name. Severe competition in the market as well as competitors with lesser designs but lower pricing also hampered the chain in getting off the ground. The plans for expansion as a chain ultimately disintegrated as the Great Depression caused investment dollars to become scarce and ultimately caused the Heineman brothers to lose the one existing Motel Inn property to foreclosure. Today The Motel Inn closed in 1991. Many of the buildings were torn down in 2006; only two fragments of the original buildings exist, including the mission-style bell tower. Located at 2223 Monterey Street, at the end of the street next to an on-ramp to U.S. Route 101, the Motel Inn is now the administrative building of the hotel next door, the Apple Farm Inn, at 2015 Monterey Street. See also List of motels City of San Luis Obispo Historic Resources References External links Huell Howser – California Gold Episode #202 (December 10, 1991) – Motel Inn and Central Coast Motel Inn, San Luis Obispo, California: Tribute by Jeffrey Sward – Photography page with history description The Very First Motel (2004) – by Rachel Anne Goodman, NPR The Savvy Traveler Motels in the United States Buildings and structures in San Luis Obispo, California History of San Luis Obispo County, California Hotels in California Hotels established in 1925 1925 establishments in California Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California