Why So Many Motels on Lombard Street?

Bay Curious

KQED

History, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.9 • 999 Ratings

🗓️ 9 October 2025

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Lombard Street is famous for its winding brick lane, but beyond that iconic block lies something unexpected: a stretch of old-school motels. Why so many in one place? This week on Bay Curious, we explore how the growing popularity of automobiles – and the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge – transformed Lombard Street into a bustling hub for motor lodges. Then, we’ll head south to the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge to unpack its history. Additional Resources: Why Are There So Many Motels on San Francisco’s Lombard Street? The First San Mateo-Hayward Bridge Was a Big Deal in 1929 Read the transcript for this episode Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Got a question you want answered? Ask! Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts These stories were reported by Christopher Beale and Rachael Myrow. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Bay Curious, the podcast that answers your questions about the San Francisco Bay Area.
0:09.0	I'm Katrina Schwartz.
0:12.6	It's hard to imagine life here in the Bay without the bridges that allow us to crisscross the water.
0:18.8	Thousands of us do it every day, and sometimes it's a real pain.
0:22.9	We have a real traffic mess on the Bay Bridge eastbound.
0:27.4	Thousands of drivers got home late tonight after a protest over vaccine mandates sparked a chaotic scene.
0:34.1	We continue to track major delays across the San Mateo Bridge. This has just been
0:39.2	the headache of the morning. But since we all spend so much time sitting in bridge traffic,
0:43.4	we get lots of questions about things you've noticed from your car windows. Like,
0:48.8	why are there so many motels on Lombard Street as it approaches the Golden Gate Bridge?
0:53.8	And? What was the original San Mateo Hayward Bridge like?
1:01.0	Today on the show, it's a bridge-focused lightning round, where we answer several of your questions.
1:06.9	First, we're going to tackle why there are so many motels on Lombard Street.
1:11.1	And then we're moving south to a bridge that doesn't always get the recognition it deserves.
1:16.9	Stay with us.
1:25.1	Support for Bay Curious comes from Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, where pure ingredients and sustainable brewing meet a legacy of craft.
1:33.2	Share one with a friend today and taste for yourself.
1:36.4	Sierra Nevada, taste what matters. Please drink responsibly.
1:42.1	These days, Lombard is best known for the short section that wiggles down a steep hill,
1:46.9	beautiful mansions on each side. Cars line up for the chance to drive it. But just down the way
1:52.6	from there, Lombard becomes a main thoroughfare to the Golden Gate Bridge, and dotted along it
1:57.8	are dozens of motels. Why so many in one place?
	...

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