Wayne McAllister
compiled by Cornelius O'Leary, CHA Volunteer
Wayne McAllister was born in 1907 in San Diego. He never completed high school dropping out to study architecture. He landed his first job working at a company that drafted plans for southern California bungalow homes.
As a young man one of his earliest works was here in Coronado. He was the architect for the construction of the Blue Lantern Inn which opened in March 1927. Its architecture is considered Spanish Eclectic, a style that evolved from the tremendous interest in Spanish architecture resulting from the Panama – California Exposition of 1915. In June 2013 the site at 1017 Park Place was designated a historically significant property by the City of Coronado. In August 2014 the Blue Lantern Inn became the current Hotel Marisol.
Moving on from his early work in Coronado McAllister’s first major commission was designing a hotel, spa and casino known as Agua Caliente, just across the Mexican border in Tijuana. Soon after McAllister moved on to Los Angeles where his work included the Biltmore Bowl, the Roosevelt’s Cinegrill and the Town House’s Zebra Room.
In the 1930s, he designed 24-hour carhop restaurants such as the Pig ‘n Whistle, Simon’s and Hebert’s and Van de Kamp’s drive-ins. McAllister also advised on a project to pierce the roof of the first franchised McDonald’s with a pair of golden arches.
McAllister was also involved with several Las Vegas hotel casinos including the El Rancho the first resort hotel on the Strip, the Desert Inn and the Sands.
McAllister was a leader in the Googie style of architecture that embraced the automobile and the Space Age. Inspired by tail fins and gleaming chrome, he elevated the drive-in restaurant and the theme hotel to futuristic works of art. He designed some of the best drive-ins, diners and dance lounges to be found in the automobile-addicted California of the 1940s and 1950 s.
Mr. McAllister gave up architecture in 1956 and moved to Washington to become vice president of the Marriott Corporation. After 1960, the family returned to Southern California, settling in Pasadena. In 2000, Wayne McAllister passed away in Pasadena at the age of 92.
Architect biographies compiled through the use of:
Coronado Historic Resource Commission Agendas &Minutes
City of Coronado's Searchable Register of Designated Historic Resources
Coronado Designated Historic Resources Map
Biographies of Established Masters - City of San Diego 2011
California Digital Newspaper Collection
City of San Diego Historical Resources Board minutes
San Diego History Center website
Modern San Diego website
Legacy 106 website
Friends of San Diego Architecture website
California Historical Resources Inventory Database, City of San Diego
The AIA Historical Directory of American Architects
Save Our Heritage Organization
Internet Archive
