User:Mliu92/sandbox/Motel Avalon (San Mateo)

The Avalon Motel is a 1936 motor court-style motel in the North Shoreview neighborhood of San Mateo, California. The Motel Avalon is the sole surviving example of this style in San Mateo. It is eligible for inclusion in the California Register of Historical Resources, but is currently in negotiations for sale and demolition. Plans have been filed with the City of San Mateo for the construction of 42 townhomes on the 2 acre lot.

History
A.B. Cobb filed a building permit (approved 1936-03-11) to build a "motor court" with two buildings consisting of rooms and attached garages. The property was expanded in August and November 1936 with two more motor court buildings and an owner/operator's residence. A second phase of construction commenced on 1937-06-23 with the construction of two more motor court buildings, and another motor court building with six units was erected in 1938. Ten more units in two motor court buildings were added in 1940.

A two-story office and night clerk apartment was attached to the 6-unit 1938 building in 1952. A pool was dug in 1965, but has since been filled.

The Bayshore Highway was completed in 1937, connecting San Francisco and San Jose, and the Avalon Motel was ideally situated at a midpoint between the two larger cities and poised to catch traffic coming from the recently-completed San Mateo-Hayward Bridge. However, once the Bayshore Highway was converted into a freeway in 1949, traffic began to dwindle and the high sound-barrier walls erected in the 1980s further diminished the Avalon's visibility to travelers.

With the demolition of the San Mateo Motel (formerly the Sealyrest Auto Court) in 2005 for the Park Bayshore condominium project, the Avalon Motel is the sole remaining example of motor court architecture along the Bayshore route, although the Motorville Motel in Daly City is still standing along the historic El Camino route.

Redevelopment efforts

 * 2000-01: Amerisuites
 * 2005: Sound wall
 * 2012-present: City Ventures
 * draw comparisons to Palm Theater and Park Bayshore