Hotel Radke (Gone)
Savanna, IL
Photo courtesy Kelly Sullivan

Here's the Hotel Radke in Savanna, Illinois. The old side-mounted marquee had just the kind of character you'd hope to find on a downtown hotel. It wasn't an oversized neon spectacular, but it certainly let travelers know where to check in. 09-10

Dating to the late 1800s, the Radke House stood on Main Street in a town kept busy by river traffic and railroads. Burlington crews stayed during layovers, while the downstairs Hotel Radke Coffee Shop and later Townhouse Restaurant kept locals coming through the doors. The site's lodging history reaches back even further, to the Mississippi House and Woodruff House.

UPDATE: The former hotel building survives, but the vintage marquee was gone by 2015. Believed to date from the 1940s or '50s, it was a memorable finishing touch on this old Main Street landmark. 07-26

The Lafayette Hotel (Closed)
Rockford, IL
Photo courtesy Kelly Sullivan

Here's the Lafayette Hotel in downtown Rockford, Illinois. With its brick exterior and old hotel sign, this one looks ready to welcome travelers from another era. It's the kind of downtown landmark worth slowing down to check out. 09-10

Opened on June 2, 1927, the Lafayette offered upscale accommodations at 411 Mulberry Street and hosted visiting performers. Eleanor Roosevelt also stayed here, adding a familiar name to its guest history. The hotel eventually shifted toward residential use, but its days of serving downtown were far from over.

UPDATE: The former hotel reopened in 2026 as the LaFayette Apartments following an extensive restoration by Gorman & Company and Zion Development. The project created 54 affordable apartments, giving the nearly century-old building another useful chapter while preserving its historic character. It's good to see this downtown survivor keeping its doors open. 07-26