Alex Madonna, the cantankerous 82-year-old owner of the amazing Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo, CA, has made local yuppies see pink by freshening the paint on the sign that beckons motorists off U.S. 101 and into his famous motel.

The sign, which has always been a garish pink -- as are many of the walls, carpets, and pieces of furniture within the Madonna Inn -- had been fading, so Madonna had it repainted. Some local residents, who have never liked the sign or the Inn, have complained that Madonna made it even pinker than the original. A neon green border now also graces the sign, and detractors claim that it was never there to begin with.

Alex Madonna built his Inn in 1958, filling it with pink things (its restaurant serves pink French toast) as well as showers and sinks made out of rocks, many caveman-themed motel rooms, and a waterfall urinal in the lobby men's room. Connie Pearce, the general manager (and Alex Madonna's daughter), says she wants to open a European-style topless swimming pool on the 2,200-acre property.

According to the Los Angeles Times, some residents have complained that Madonna's new paint job is "overly bright and out of character," for the Central Coast California town, which in recent years has seen an influx of SUV-driving, latte-sipping yuppies from the north and south. Alex La Chapelle, a spokeswoman for the local Chamber of Commerce, told the paper that, "Some people might think it sends the wrong message."

The town, which only had black-and-white pictures of the original sign to go on, has dropped the matter. [09/10/2001]

November 26, 2009