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An American icon that reflects a part of
our history and culture is the motel, often called a motor court in
the early 1900s. Before World War I, people really just didn't
travel for leisure and when they did, they usually camped or sometimes
stayed in frontier hotels. The word motel didn't even show up in
dictionaries until after the war. But, it didn't take long
before neon arrows pointed the way to temporary homes, and motels
began to dot the roadsides of
Route 66.
Postcard
of a Tourist Camp at Lake City, Minnesota.
Note: This is a pre-Nazi
use of swastika.
When motels first began,
travelers would negotiate the price of the room with the friendly desk
clerk, who was, more often than not, the owner of the motel. After agreeing upon a price, the guest would always inspect the room
before making a final commitment. Often these motels would have
a small cafe connected to them that served home cooked meals.
Today, motels are quickly slipping into
obscurity. More often than not, you'll see a Walmart built where
a historic
Route 66 motel once stood. At other times you will see only
an abandoned structure with weeds growing from the parking lot and
paint peeling from its sign. Some have found a second life as
antique malls, apartments or other business buildings.
Tourist Camp in
Arizona,
1940
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