Camelot Hotel (Demolished)
Tulsa, OK
Photo courtesy Chris King

The Camelot Hotel was impossible to miss. Rising beside Interstate 44, the castle-themed hotel featured an enormous rooftop sign that beckoned travelers from the highway, recalling an era when oversized rooftop signage was every bit as important as the architecture below. Opened in 1965, the ambitious hotel embraced the popularity of the King Arthur legend with stone turrets, a drawbridge, a faux moat, a throne in the lobby, and even a replica of Excalibur. Employees dressed in medieval costumes completed the fantasy, making the Camelot one of Tulsa's most memorable roadside landmarks.

Designed by noted Tulsa architect V.M. "Bob" Piland, the 330-room hotel welcomed celebrities and dignitaries throughout its heyday, including Elvis Presley and Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. As newer hotels opened and travel patterns changed, however, the once-grand destination fell into decline, eventually being converted into apartments before closing in the 1990s.

Camelot Hotel
Tulsa, OK
Photo courtesy Chris King

UPDATE: The Tulsa Camelot Hotel is scheduled to be demolished in August 2007.  The hotel is located right along the I-44. Plans are for the Castle to be leveled for a new Quik Trip  (7-11) type convenience store. Quik Trip just bought the Camelot for $2 million and is preparing it for demolition. Local polls taken show that 85% of Tulsans do not want to see her taken down. To keep this landmark from going under, contact the local newspaper at Letters@Tulsaworld.com  as well as the Mayor Tulsa's action line email address MAC@cityoftulsa.com. Many thanks to Chris King for update. 06-07

UPDATE: After sitting abandoned for years, the Camelot Hotel was demolished in 2007, and its famous rooftop sign disappeared with it. Today, the former castle site has been redeveloped, but the Camelot remains one of Tulsa's most fondly remembered roadside landmarks and one of the city's most distinctive themed hotels. 06-26

Camelot Hotel Tulsa, OK Photo courtesy Chris King	Camelot Hotel Tulsa, OK Photo courtesy Chris King

Larkin Hotel
Larned, KS
Photo courtesy Rod Holcomb

The faded Larkin Hotel sign in downtown Larned looks like it has weathered its share of Kansas summers and winters. Mounted on the corner of the brick building, the vertical marquee once helped travelers find a room, a meal and a little relief from the highway. These days, its worn lettering gives roadside visitors another reason to slow down along Broadway. 11-10

Known as the J.P. Larkin Hotel, the property appears in early downtown street-view postcards. Long before roadside motels spread toward the edges of town, hotels like this put visitors within walking distance of shops, restaurants and the daily activity of the business district. Park the suitcase upstairs and see what was happening down the block.

The old advertising gets right to the point: air conditioning, a café, comfortable rooms and cold drinks. Another painted message offered good coffee. After a long drive across the plains, that probably covered most of the immediate requirements. No elaborate vacation package necessary.

The hotel also shares a name with the Larkin Hotel in Blackwell, Oklahoma. That larger property was built in 1923–1924 for John P. Larkin, identified in its historic registration as a hotel operator from Larned. It is an interesting connection between two downtown hotels, though their histories should not be confused.

Larkin Hotel
Larned, KS
Photo courtesy Rod Holcomb

Here in Larned, the attraction is the weathered street-corner advertisement. Peeling paint and aging neon leave the earlier promises visible long after their original selling power has faded. The sign no longer needs to persuade anyone to book a room to earn a second look.

UPDATE: Later photographic accounts document the Larkin’s sign and surviving café and hotel advertisements, but its present occupancy and any restoration plans remain unconfirmed. The old lettering records the welcome once offered here: a comfortable room, something cold to drink and a decent cup of coffee. Still a pretty good roadside combination. 10-26