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Teepee Lodging (page 1)

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Arizona Teepee Lodging:
Tepee Motel (Bowie) [vintage; gone]

Wigwam Lodge [gone]
Tempe, AZ
The Wigwam Lodge was also known as the "Wigwam Auto Court" and the "Tempe Tee Pees". It offered a swimming pool, shuffleboard, and trailer court. The teepee cabins had kitchenettes. They were the only known two-story teepees ever built and were among the few last remaining examples of true roadside architecture in AZ. They were 35 feet tall and 23 feet in diameter.

By the mid-1960s, the Lodge was converted into apartments. Then half the buildings were demolished in 1971 to make room for a fast food restaurant. In 1982, the teepees were sold to Arizona State University. The remaining three units were bulldozed in 1983. For more, see this website.

Indiana Teepee Lodging:
Tashers Indian Village (South Bend) [vintage; gone]

Indian Village
Lawrence, KS

2010:
2023:
The Indian Village featured cabins, a gas station, and a restaurant with "dining and dancing". The largest teepee was built first, in 1928, by Frank W. McDonald. It is 50 feet tall and 33 feet in diameter. The first floor had restrooms and Indian artifacts. The station's attendants were local Indian boys dressed in tribal attire. The second floor was used as a living space. Gas pumps were located in front of that building. The pumps were removed sometime after the mid-1970s. A neon sign was installed over the entrance, possibly in the 1950s. It was still there in the late 1970s.

In 1935, McDonald added the dance hall and beer garden with the two teepees at the front of the building. 14 smaller teepees were built as cabins in a semicircle around the taller teepee. Those have all been destroyed. Other locations were planned but never built. McDonald's Indian Village predated Redford's Wigwam Villages.

In 2008, the buildings were repainted. The dance hall building can be rented for special events. The metal teepee panel on top of the sign, shown in the first photo above, disappeared around 2020. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. [map]

Tepee Campground
Mandeville, LA
The Tepee Campground at Fontainebleau State Park appears to be from the 1960s. Once used by Scouts and other organizations, this complex has been closed for many years. Although the buildings have been scheduled for demolition for a while, they are still there. The buildings apparently sustained hurricane damage in 2012. [map]

Mac's Indian Village
Cherokee, NC
Mac's Indian Village was built in 1934, one year after the Wigwam Village in Mammoth Cave, KY which was probably the inspiration. Mac's had 16 different sized cabins with 12-foot-tall, three-dimensional teepees installed in front of them. The business has opened and closed many times but I believe it is currently open. The place is owned by the Qualla Motel just down the road. By 2013, there were only four of these teepee entrances left. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Nebraska Teepee Lodging:
Hastings [vintage; gone]

Teepee Lodging
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