Hotels and Motels

For more information, see the full version of this real photo postcard:

"Quality Courts United, Inc. Free guide, 1950. Travel first class." Cover illustration from a small booklet listing the motels affliiated with Quality Courts United.

"Rainbow Cabins, Newcastle, Ont., Canada. 50 miles east of Toronto on No. 2 Highway." A real photo postcard advertising the Rainbow Cabins. Postmarked 1952 on the back.

A hotels/motels photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park . An undated red-border Kodachrome slide showing two women posing in front of an unidentified motel, probably sometime in the late 1950s.

Slide (probably dating to the 1950s) showing cars parked in front of Watson's Motor Hotel, which was located at 3333 Euclid Avenue (U.S. Route 20), Cleveland, Ohio. Visible in the background is the sign for the Colonial House Motel, 3301 Euclid Avenue. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any trace of either motel on the current Google Maps street view of the area . Main sign: "Watson's Motor Hotel. Restaurant. Elevator. Penthouse suites. Meeting rooms. Air conditioned. AAA approved."

See also Braves Restroom at Wigwam Village Motel No. 2 . I bought these two small and somewhat blurry photos a couple of years ago. They were taken at one of the Wigwam Village Motels designed by Frank Redford, probably motel #2 in Cave City, Kentucky. In this photo (above), a Trading Post sign appears on the small building that's visible between the two teepees. The license plate on the car is 3EP16 but I was unable to determine which state issued the plate. I'm guessing that it was the photographer who left the car door open. The other photo (below) shows the Braves teepee, which was the men's restroom. (Thanks go to john4kc on Flickr for pointing out that the telegraph pole visible near the teepee in the background of this second photo suggests that these photos were probably taken at Wigwam Village Motel #2.)

See also Teepees and Trading Post at Wigwam Village Motel No. 2 . I bought these two small and somewhat blurry photos a couple of years ago. They were taken at one of the Wigwam Village Motels designed by Frank Redford, probably motel #2 in Cave City, Kentucky. (Thanks go to john4kc on Flickr for pointing out that the telegraph pole visible near the teepee in the background of this photo--see above--suggests that this was probably motel #2.) This photo shows the Braves teepee, which was the men's restroom. In the other photo , a Trading Post sign appears on the small building that's visible between the two teepees. The license plate on the car is 3EP16 but I was unable to determine which state issued the plate. I'm guessing that it was the photographer who left the car door open.

"Coast Motel. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year."

"First Snow. Log Cabin Inn. F&J." Date and location unknown.

"Here's a big hello from Jane Lewis at the Roosevelt Hotel, Pittsburgh."

"Hotel Lincoln, Chambersburg, Pa. On the Lincoln Highway, U.S. 30." Printed on back: "MWM Color-Litho 'Bursheen' Finished, made only by MWM, Aurora, Mo."

Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "Ponce de Leon Hotel, Roanoke, Va. Located at the intersection of Campbell Avenue and Commerce Street, within easy walking distance of business and shopping district and of theatres. Every street car and every highway route passing through the city run within two squares of the Ponce de Leon. 200 beautiful outside rooms, each with individual bath, circulating ice water, and electric fan." The Ponce de Leon building in Roanoke is still standing, was recently refurbished, and now contains apartments and condos. Not to be confused with the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida. See Lunch Menu, Hotel Ponce de Leon, St. Augustine, Florida, Feb. 26, 1888 :

"Greetings from the St. Clair Cocktail Circle, the biggest little bar in all Chicago... and the most novel! " Printed on the back of this linen postcard: "The St. Clair. Rooms, studios. Chicago's distinguished hotel-home. Ideally located on near north side overlooking Lake Michigan, Outer Drive Bridge, Michigan Ave., etc. Air-conditioned restaurant and cocktail rooms. Ideal home for a day, a month, a year. Hotel St. Clair. 2B-H1202." Hotel St. Clair was built in 1927, and today it continues in business as the Inn of Chicago Magnificent Mile Hotel . I doubt that the St. Clair Cocktail Circle is still around, however.

A 1970s photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Two couples pose for a photo before boarding their tour bus sometime in 1971 (although the processing date printed on the photo is "Jan. 1972," the bus trip probably took place sometime during the previous year). Some of the background details (mouse over the image above for a close-up view of the motel sign and maple leaf flags ) identify the setting as the parking lot of a Flying Dutchman Motel located somewhere in Canada. The sign also reveals that the travelers may have been able to "Enjoy a cold one in our Anchor R[oo]m Lounge" during their stay at the motel. Although not as groovy or patriotic as the seventies hippie or U.S. Bicentennial photos I had hoped to find when I looked through my collection for this week's theme, this image nonetheless provides a peek back at some of the clothing, vehicles, and signage of the time.

Although this detail from Departing by Bus from the Flying Dutchman Motel, 1971 makes it obvious that the photo is somewhat out of focus, it's interesting to note the Flying Dutchman Motel sign ("Enjoy a cold one in our Anchor R[oo]m Lounge") and the Canadian maple leaf flags.

"Sycamore Meadows, E. J. O'Brien, prop., cabins. 3½ miles west of Chambersburg at Back Creek. Lincoln Highway--U.S. Route 30. P.O. address R.D. 4, Chambersburg, Pa. Tourist cabins. Modern rest rooms. Running water in cabins. Free parking and tables."

"The Pines, overnight cabins, dinners, gas, oil, cigars, Route 4, Hydeville, VT. Reasonable rates. Mrs. R. J. Wells, prop. A kozy kamp for tourists. Camp here."

Caption: "S. S. Grand View Point. A Steamer in the Allegany Mts. Elv. 2624 ft. 17 m. W. of Bedford, Pa. U.S. 30. 4-CEG-32." Signs and banners: "Grand View Point Hotel. Post Cards. Souvenirs. See 3 States and 7 Counties. Visitors Welcome. Free Telescope." "Restaurant. Rooms." "S.S. Grand View Point....Open for Business." This image of the famous Ship Hotel , which was a popular roadside attraction along the Lincoln Highway (U.S. Route 30) in western Pennsylvania until it burned to the ground in 2001, is a real photo postcard by Charles Elmer Gerkins (indicated by the initials "CEG" in the caption) that's dated April 1932 ("4-32"). In The Ship Hotel: A Grand View along the Lincoln Highway (Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books, 2010), author Brian Butko quotes a 1930s WPA guide to explain the reason that the building was shaped like a ship: "The S.S. Grand View Point Hotel was remodeled in 1931 to give the impression of an ocean liner, because the owner saw a resemblance between early morning mists rising from the valley and billowing ocean waves." After enlarging the image, I discovered that two of the banners on the building (including the one hanging on the railing just above "3 States") indicate that the "S.S. Grand View Point" is "Open for Business." Since the building was remodeled to look like a ship sometime in 1931 (the smokestacks, deck, and bow-shaped front of the building were added at that time), I wonder if this photo from April 1932 shows the building just after it reopened. See also two linen postcards that illustrate the 63-Mile View from the hotel and the Approach to the Hotel :