HotelChatter

Tags: Retro Motels / Hotel Porn / Historic Hotels / Holiday Inns / → All Tags

Motels of the Past as Design Inspiration Now

Just because the holiday season is over doesn't mean you have to stop reminiscing over the warm and fuzzy family memories, and for us that most definitely involves road trips around the United States. Back in the olden days when Holiday Inns hosted the Rat Pack and Howard Johnson was the closest thing to a boutique chain, motels began their rise to cult status and their way into our hearts.

Just as it is today with all the hottest properties, motels back in the day were decorated with the latest hip furniture and trendy colors. Thankfully, the look was often times more Eero Saarinen Tulip chairs and Alexander Calder mobiles than grandma's powder room. Of course inspiration for the future usually hearkens back to the past, and we were thrilled to come across a Flickr Set showcasing one person's collection of vintage motel postcards. There's even a set specifically dedicated to Holiday Inns.

The sets pay tribute to the days when motels had names like romance novels--"Melody Manor," "New Townhouse," and "Astro Motel"--but also include some recognizable properties like the Hyatt Lodge in Palm Springs or Las Vegas' Boulevard Motel, which gets no love from the Flickr user: "This motel was built in 1963 and demolished in 2005. It was, by far, the ugliest hotel on the strip." Others were luckier, as most exist today as renovated Comfort Inns or something as such. Next time you roll through Yuba City, California or Michigan City, Indiana, keep your eye out for these relics; one of them could be a favorite designer haunt.

[Edgewood Motel, NY postcard: roadsidepictures]