Aztec Hotel
N 34° 09.078 W 118° 00.354
11S E 407270 N 3779389
Mayan-revival masterpiece by real life Indiana Jones swashbuckler and noted architect Robert Stacey-Judd. The Aztec Hotel is along a wonderful alignment of Route 66 through Monrovia, CA.
Waymark Code: WM1R5J
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 06/29/2007
Views: 66
According to Gebhard (
visit link) , Robert Stacey-Judd was commissioned in the summer of 1923 to design group of West Coast hotels for National Community Hotels, Inc., of Harrisburg, PA. A few months later he was introduced to the pre-Columbian architecture of Mexico and Central America. Like Frank Lloyd Wright and his Hollyhock and four textile-block houses, the 1920s were a time of inspiration from Ancient Civilizations shortly after the discovery of King Tut's tomb.
In his autobiography, Judd recounts, "The floor plan for the structure had just been completed and I was about to commence designing the elevations, or exteriors for this building... Purely as an experiment, I adapted the motifs from the decorative details of [Mayan]art illustrated in [John L.] Stephen's books."
The hotel is L-shaped in plan and includes an enclosed patio with a view of the nearby San Gabriel mountains; a spacious entry and lobby; a dining room; eight one-room apartments; and seven ground floor retail spaces facing the two streets. The external concrete ornamentation was cast in-place in reverse molds supported by bolts and wires. Judd did not duplicate any original Mayan designs, but rather "assembled the curious units to his own fancy." The only pure Mayan feature was the suggestion of a stepped pyramid on the parapeted roof above the street corner. Originally, the exterior was stuccoed and finished in sage green to distinguish it from the Mission Revival style popular at the time. Judd retired from architectural practice in the late 60s and died in 1975 at ninety.
The Aztec Hotel has been a Route 66 landmark since its inception and is part of the reason that that Route 66 was re-routed from Huntington to Foothill Boulevard. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1976. The Hotel is in the process of being restored to its full glory. The current owners save a couple of rooms for Roadies and the California Route 66 Association (
visit link) has hosted its annual dinner here.