Oakleigh Motel

The Oakleigh motel was the first motel built in Victoria.

Designed and built by James Miller, the owner Cyril Lewis had stayed in motels in the US which inspired his vision for his own motel. The large, colourful external sign was designed to catch the attention of cars driving past, and I remember as a child driving with my parents into the city always looking out for the sign as we drove up the highway.

Motels had ‘mod cons’ such as air conditioning and telephones in the room and their own bathrooms. People staying at the motel could park their cars outside their rooms.

The motel opened with forty-three self-contained rooms, a dining room and a distinct sloping roofline and windows which reflected the 1950s building design trends of the time.

The motel was supposed to open in time for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, but delays in building meant that it did not open until 1957. The motel was still the turning point for the runners competing in the Olympic marathon, where they turned to return to the city.

The future of the motel was in doubt for some years and some of the original features were lost when it was converted to townhouses in 2010. This created some controversy as the although the façade was mostly retained, the accommodation units were converted to townhouses. The National Trust has stated that “The Oakleigh Motel is the earliest, most famous, and remarkably intact example in Victoria of the new Motel Hotel concept. It is also an important example of the colourful eye-catching roadside architecture typical of the 1950s”

The motel was classified by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) in 2001 and has been listed on the Victorian Heritage Database.  

Source: THE OAKLEIGH MOTEL - History Monash