Quote: Outlandish best describes this fine example of roadside America. Criticized as kitch, ghastly, and tasteless, perhaps not inaccurately, Madonna Inn emits a certain bold and unsubtle attraction. Umberto Eco, in his brilliant Travels in Hyperreality, describes the inn as an LSD overdose-induced nuptial catacomb, only one of many hilarious analogies.

Now that your curiosity is whetted, just what is the Madonna Inn and who is responsible for its creation? Alex Madonna died at age 85 in April 2004. Of Swiss immigrant stock, his grandparents farmed California’s central coast. After his father’s death, young Alex started Madonna Construction Company after graduating from high school in 1937. The company was successful, especially in highway construction, and Alex branched out into cattle ranching, using a construction-inspired pick and shovel emblem as a brand symbol. In 1949, he married Phyllis Boyd, and together they planned to open their dream motel.

Madonna Inn opened in 1958 with 12 rooms. Alex had a fondness for huge boulders, the Swiss chalet style, Old West elements, and ornately carved wood. Phyllis’s interior decorating is bright, bold, and unlikely. We never overnighted here, but my first reaction to the rooms was, "I can’t believe this." See for yourself! The Madonna Inn room tour shows every one of the 109 individually decorated, no-two-rooms-alike rooms, ranging in price from $147to $330 per night. Larger suites are family-sized.

Cerro San Luis, one of the Nine Sisters, is the backdrop to Madonna Inn. Some think it should be renamed Cerro Madonna in honor of Alex. Though his unorthodox architectural tastes and politics sometimes didn’t set well with more architecturally conservative SLO citizens, the couple contributed more than business and tourism to the area. The annual Madonna Fashion show has been a fundraiser for the SLO County Women’s Shelter since 1987. He was also a generous philanthropist to local organizations and schools.

For the hungry and thirsty, Madonna Inn complex includes the Copper Café and Pastry Shop, Alex Madonna’s Steak House, and Silver Bar Cocktail Lounge, used for an Avon Lady convention on our last visit. A massage center, a women’s boutique, and a men’s clothing shop are also on the grounds. The Classic Gourmet and Wine Shop has been expanded and relocated in the old gas station entrance.

A world-famous urinal can be found in a men’s room in Madonna Inn’s main building. A light sensor activates a waterfall flow into a massive rock urinal when it’s, uh, used. After voiding, guys can wash their hands in giant clamshell sinks. A lesser-known but also spectacular urinal consists of copper trough with water wheel, again activated by use. It’s really fun for guys to go to the bathroom here!

Madonna Inn is a popular honeymoon destination and has been described as a Hearst Castle for "poor" people due to its opulence and reasonably priced rooms. Undeniably garish, it is, however, unique. I like to think of it as an expression of Alex’s and Phyllis’s union.

From journals Party Down in SLO Town