Have you ever heard about a motel in Jacumba? Well, this is going to be the protagonist of our story. Once upon a time, there was a pink motel where celebrities stayed in when they visited Jacumba Hot Springs, in southern California. This tiny town and its hot springs were a safe place for celebrities like Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable to help them disconnect from the hectic life of the big city.
With the construction of Interstate 8 everything about Jacumba disappeared, but someone decided to give a new life to this town thanks to the renovation of the old motel. So, let’s find out more about this story!
The past of Jacumba
Back in the 20th century, Jacumba Hot Springs was a small town in California where celebrities like Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable chose to stay in to have a break from the stressful life of Los Angeles. I mean, who doesn’t need to relax from now and then? Nowadays we have more alternatives to do it, but back then going to Jacumba was the perfect option.
Everything changed
One important aspect about the success of the development of Jacumba was Old Highway 80 because it was where everybody coming from San Diego drove through to access Jacumba. However, the continuous flow of people stopped once Interstate 8 was built in the 1960s. Why? Because every driver going through Old Highway 80 started to use the new road making the number of tourists lower. Obviously, businesses had to close and the main motel where celebrities stayed in fell apart, so Jacumba became a ghost town. Everybody forgot about this place until…
A special visit
In 2020, an interior designer called Melissa From San Diego stopped by Jacumba by surprise while on a trip with her boyfriend. She couldn’t believe what she saw when she arrived in this town: the old pink motel immediately caught her attention, even though it was dilapidated due to the passage of time. Something about this motel was stuck in her mind and she could stop thinking about it, that’s why she decided to make a bold decision.
The motel’s second life
After thinking it through, Melissa bought the motel, which included other nearby properties making the possibilities of development wider. She wanted to give Jacumba a second life so, to make this project possible, she got help from two of her friends: Corbin Winters, another interior designer, and Jeff Osborne, a real estate expert.
Thanks to this group of friends, the renovation of the motel was a success, they even maintained the building’s original style. The new motel had 20 rooms and two pools, both filled with hot springs water, like in the old days.
New opportunity for Jacumba
Melissa and her friends’ project was essential for rousing the public’s interest in the town again. However, these friends won’t stop investing in this place, they want to make other projects possible like restaurants, stores, and even a recording studio.
Something remarkable about the future improvement of Jacumba is the fact that it won’t lose its local and creative essence, the idea is not to transform the town into something far from what it was.
Thinking about local people
This project is not just a business, it’s also a personal goal for Melissa, Corbin and Jeff. Of course, they want to increase the number of tourists in Jacumba, but they also want to care for the local community because they feel they are a family now.
It’s amazing how an unexpected stop during a drive has become a business and personal project for these three friends, who are giving the town the chance to be the place it was back in the 20th century. This generation will be able to enjoy the life, history and future of Jacumba, the once forgotten town.