It reminds me a bit of how Howard Johnson's split their restaurant and hotel business. The restaurant chain slowly withered (but it took like 30 years to finally close), while the hotel business continues on to this day as a Wyndham brand. Modern HoJos rarely resemble the classic motor lodges of the 1960s, but I found one location in MA that is the last to still bear the HoJo name AND retains the original motor lodge building (albeit behind a larger, newer hotel structure):
Oh that's a cool one! I love that the old gatehouse is still there too. I should have said, "last one in Massachusetts", not last one anywhere. Forgot that caveat.
I love stuff like this!
It reminds me a bit of how Howard Johnson's split their restaurant and hotel business. The restaurant chain slowly withered (but it took like 30 years to finally close), while the hotel business continues on to this day as a Wyndham brand. Modern HoJos rarely resemble the classic motor lodges of the 1960s, but I found one location in MA that is the last to still bear the HoJo name AND retains the original motor lodge building (albeit behind a larger, newer hotel structure):
https://heathracela.substack.com/p/wednesday-walk-one-last-original
Cool! Curious whether the HoJo motel in Greenbrook/North Plainfield NJ counts: it has an old motel structure and the old pavilion building, but I don't know if the structure is original. Looks like it could be: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Howard+Johnson+by+Wyndham+North+Plainfield/@40.617167,-74.4527765,3a,75y,285.55h,88.48t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s_QO9ouChUz1Wtia9FXi6Mg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D1.5185907467561037%26panoid%3D_QO9ouChUz1Wtia9FXi6Mg%26yaw%3D285.5456605473901!7i16384!8i8192!4m9!3m8!1s0x89c3b981f899b055:0xa2ad0aea8e10efe0!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d40.617419!4d-74.4531746!16s%2Fg%2F1tfts0j1?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIwOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
Oh that's a cool one! I love that the old gatehouse is still there too. I should have said, "last one in Massachusetts", not last one anywhere. Forgot that caveat.
It wouldn’t be totally surprising if that were also the last one period!