Collectible Tobacciana / Catchall Dish, Imperial 400 Motel, San Diego CA, Thrifty Scotsman Logo, EXTREMELY RARE, Vintage 1959–1962

The Thrifty Scotsman. The butterfly roof. A motel chain that burned bright and went fast.

• Property: Imperial 400 Motel, San Diego, California (founded 1959 — Chapter 11, 1965)
• Material: Round pressed glass, Thrifty Scotsman / Hopkins logo
• Dimensions: 4.0" diameter | approx. 1.5" tall
• Era: Vintage, 1959–1962 (confirmed by telephone exchange format)
• Origin: USA
• Condition: Vintage used, excellent. No chips, cracks, or defects. Please review photos closely before purchasing, as all sales are final.

A wonderful piece for a California motel memorabilia collector, a roadside Americana enthusiast, or anyone fascinated by the brief, bold story of American mid-century motor travel.

This is a vintage Imperial 400 Motel promotional glass piece from the San Diego, California location — bearing the extremely rare Thrifty Scotsman / Hopkins logo. Imperial 400 Motels was founded in 1959 by Bernard Whitney in Los Angeles — one of the pioneering budget motel chains of the American postwar travel boom, known for its distinctive butterfly roofline architecture, many examples of which survive today under different names in cities across the American West. The San Diego location was among the first four built. Whitney expanded aggressively and by 1965 the company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — making the window of original promotional material extremely narrow. The telephone exchange format on this piece (two letters plus five digits, a system used from 1931 to 1962) confirms production between 1959 and 1962. The Thrifty Scotsman logo is the rarest variant; it is very seldom found.