History of Madonna Inn

Entrance to Madonna Inn 1962

Notice how the original entrance and sign are located right on the 101 highway in the early '60s.

Construction of the Reservations Office and Round Room

Boulders used in construction of the Madonna Inn, some weighing as much as 200 tons, came from San Luis Mountain adjacent to the Inn.

Lifting rock into place over entrance to Copper Cafe

Boulders used in construction of the Madonna Inn, some weighing as much as 200 tons, came from San Luis Mountain adjacent to the Inn.

Master carver at work on one of the Inn's decorative beams

Alexander Zeller, renowned Bavarian woodcarver and sculptor, whose work can be seen throughout Madonna Inn.

Early photo of the Cafe showing the rock from previous photo in place

The Hearst Family presented Alex with the hand-carved, white marble balustrade to show their appreciation for a favor.

Aerial view of Madonna Inn

On August 1, 1954 Alex Madonna purchased 10 acres of land at a silent auction where the Madonna Inn now stands.

Many people have asked for a history of Madonna Inn, so with this brief story, we will attempt to tell you how it all began.

The first 12 rooms were completed December 24, 1958, and were given complementary for that night’s stay, to a very surprised group of travelers. An additional 28 rooms were quickly built, making a total of 40 rooms available to travelers.

Demand for public areas to handle the rooms encouraged us in April 1960 to start construction of the main inn, which was to eventually consists of the wine cellar, bakery, coffee shop, dining room, the cocktail lounge, banquet rooms, ladies’ boutique, men’s gift shop, and the gourmet shop.

One hundred ten unique rooms now exist, each decorated differently to suit many individual tastes... rock rooms, waterfall showers, rock fireplaces, European fixtures, and fine furnishings to name a few.

The Madonna Inn sits on over 1,000 acres and the large rocks used in the construction came from these surrounding acres. Some of the larger rocks weigh in excess of 200 tons each.

The leaded glass work throughout Madonna Inn and the large etched glass windows in the coffee shop, almost things of the past, were custom made for the Inn. The leaded glass inserts in the windowed area facing the large fireplace are of particular interest, since each insert illustrates one of the various Madonna enterprises: construction, lumber and cattle.

The hand-carved marble balustrade in the Gold Rush dining room came from the Hearst Castle. All copper and brass items were etched and/or shaped from original designs and fabricated right on the premises. The 16'4" tall, 29'6" wide gold tree fixture in the main dining room was made from electrical conduit left over from building projects as well as from left over remnants of copper.

Several wood carvers were brought in for the specialty work of hand carving the doors, beams, railings and the many other carved adornments you see here at the Madonna Inn.

We hope you, your families and friends will enjoy our facilities and that you will continue to do so for many years to come.

» Read more about the Madonna Inn in Phyllis Madonna’s Book - My Point Of View - available online and in-store!