The Quonset Hut Motel just outside of Colfax was built right after WWII when war surplus Quonset Huts were made available to the public. They became quite popular for all sorts of buildings as they could be gotten fairly cheap and were quite portable, as the photo below shows.
Quonset Hut being installed in Japan just after the end of WWII.
Quonset is a name for a small town in Rhode Island, where the military manufactured the huts for the WWII war effort. . Quonset is an Algonquian word meaning "small, long place."
Over the years, Quonset Huts were used for many different types of business and even as homes. In this case, a motel was developed, taking advantage of the huts. The photo at the top of the post looks to be just before the later one taken below. The large Quonset in the first photo seems to be missing in the bottom photo, though the rock chimneys seem to be standing.
A different view of the Quonset Hut Motel. Photo: Donner Summit Historical Society, Norm Sayler Collection.
Map of the site. Click the map for a closer view.
Today there is only one Quonset Hut left. The site can be visited by heading north from Colfax on Highway 174. Interestingly, the Lincoln Highway, 1913 to 1927, took a course where the owner eventually placed the Quonset Huts. You can see the route on the bottom map. During the motel's existence, the newer Highway 40 passed straight in front of the site.
Quonset Hut Motel site today on Highway 174, Colfax.