World's first motel

In 1925, Arthur S. Heineman opened the Milestone Mo-Tel, the world's first motor hotel (or motel). In those days, motorists would often need to camp out or sleep in their vehicle on long trips between cities. Heineman picked a location midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco to provide motorists a convenient place to stay overnight.

Heineman's plans to create a chain of motels along the west coast were abandoned due to the Great Depression, which also forced him to foreclose on the original property.

The motel was known as the Motel Inn before closing in 1991, and many of its structures have since been torn down. The main building is currently used by a neighboring business as an administrative building.