Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/08/22/buy-your-own-roadside-attracti.html
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I just got that In Pixar’s Cars, the “Crazy Cone Motel” is a reference to this.
I’d never heard of one, as I live in Canada, where this sort of cultural appropriation is less likely to fly.
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I think it (well one of the three) is mentioned in Rick Sebak’s “A program about Unususl Buildings & Other Roadside Stuff” on PBS. And one of the postcards tossed up at the beginning (or was it the end) of “National Lampoon’s Vacation” seems to point to them.
I’m sure the buyer could renovate them and turn them into Tiny Houses.
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Don’t think I could stay in one without feeling like an asshole, nevermind own it.
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In the sixties here in Montreal there was a kid’s show, “Magic Tom”. In the summer he did some shows at remote locations like Frontiertown in upstate New York, but also at Kahnawake (reserve near Montreal). He was there for a regular show that was put on. A tourist attraction, this was before real economic development there. It gave a skewed view of things.
But in recent years, I understand that what I saw was very deliberate, a stereotypically named museum and show, with people dressed as plains indians (so well known from westerns). It was there from the thirties, and run by a native man. A weird sort of cultural appropriation, since it was stereotypes (rather than Mohawk reality) but done because it was a way to make money for the people of Kahnawake. I don’t know when it finally faded, but they now have much better things that attract visitors, including a Pow-Wow for thirty years.
And let’s not forget Grey Owl.
There sre differences between the US and Canada in this regard, but it’s subtle rsther than binary.
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Tear it down and build a drive-in movie theater. Or a miniature golf course.
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Sometimes I feel like a wigwam, sometimes I feel like a teepee.
My doctor says I’m two tents.
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Putting aside/burying the insensitive nature of this for a second… (a big ask but bear with me)
If we look of the tops of those rooms and just use cement to widen out the lower parts in a stairstep fashion with a red coat of paint, I could fully see turning these into a power dome motel instead:
Assuming, I could work out the licensing, of course. It would be an awesome sight to see a mighty power dome arise on the horizon and as you drew closer, realize it was surrounded by a semicircle of power domelings.
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Sigh. There is no “Groan” button
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“Cozy Cone,” but absolutely yes.
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Hmm. What to do? What to do?
Paint them all steel-gray and call it the “Bear Trap Inn.”
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There are so many possibilities for changing the decor of the place cheaply and turning them into something other than fake Native American housing. I’ve thought of three in two minutes and two of them are actually good. The other (upside down ice cream cones) is kinda lousy but still not terrible.
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And yet those read as traffic cones to me - doh! Took a moment to make the traffic cone <-> cars connection.
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The layout is kind of perfect for the Covid era. A rebranding/repainting won’t eliminate the racist origins, but it would be respectful to the goal of not creating unnecessary waste (as demolition would).
Sadly, I do. Not exactly the high point of Peter Weir’s career.
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Actually, that’s a great idea.
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Hmm Power dome you say. That looks kinda like the NZ parliament house aka The Beehive.
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Or a Stuckey’s
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