Old Motel
Mountain Home, ID
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Check out the individual cabins at this old motel in Mountain Home. They recall a time when a night's lodging could mean pulling up beside a little building of your own rather than finding a room somewhere down a hotel corridor. By the time these photos were taken, cabin courts like this were already becoming uncommon roadside finds. 09-06

Cabin courts grew popular during the early decades of automobile travel, bridging the gap between tourist camps and the connected motor courts that followed. Their appeal was straightforward: a private place to sleep with the automobile close at hand. This property's separate units preserve that arrangement, although its original name and construction date remain unknown.

UPDATE: I haven't been able to identify this particular Mountain Home property or determine what became of the cabins. If anyone recognizes the location, please drop me a line. An old postcard, business name, or family recollection might help put a little history back into this otherwise unidentified roadside stop. 06-26

Zion Inn
Cedar City, UT
Photo courtesy Matthias Tippner

This diamond-shaped sign is the marquee for the Zion Inn in Cedar City, UT. Its distinctive shape helped it stand out from the many roadside motel signs that once lined highways throughout the West.

The Zion Inn welcomed travelers along Main Street during the golden age of automobile tourism. For years, the motel and its unique marquee served as a familiar landmark for visitors passing through southern Utah. 01-09

UPDATE: The Zion Inn's distinctive diamond-shaped sign remains standing in Cedar City. Earlier reports linking the property to a motel demolition appear to have confused it with another Cedar City motel. While the property's history has evolved over the years, the sign survives as a reminder of the city's roadside lodging era. 06-26

Old Motel (Gone)
Twin Falls, ID
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Check out the little cabins at this old motel in Twin Falls. Instead of a long building with connected rooms, travelers had separate units waiting beside the driveway. The property's name remains unknown, but the cabins were enough to make this roadside stop worth photographing. 09-06

Cabin courts became popular during the early decades of automobile travel, offering families a little privacy and somewhere to park close to their accommodations. I've always liked finding survivors like this. Even without a colorful marquee, the buildings tell you something about how people traveled before interstate exits filled with familiar hotel names.

UPDATE: The old motel and its cabins are gone. Unfortunately, I haven't identified the business or its opening date. If anyone recognizes the property, please drop me a line. It would be nice to put a name to this little piece of Twin Falls roadside history. 06-26

World Motel (Demolished)
Salt Lake City, UT
Courtesy Wes Cross

The World Motor Hotel certainly advertised on a grand scale. This 1965 postcard shows its enormous sign rising above State Street in Salt Lake City, giving travelers a landmark that would have been difficult to overlook.

Opened in 1960, the complex combined guest accommodations with dining and meeting facilities. Its approximately 130 foot sign made the motor hotel a presence well beyond the driveway. This was the larger side of roadside lodging, where a property could offer hotel conveniences while keeping the automobile traveler firmly in mind.

UPDATE: The World Motor Hotel closed at the end of 1988 and was demolished in 1989. Its buildings and towering sign disappeared, removing a conspicuous feature from State Street. The postcard preserves a time when a motor hotel's advertisement could become part of the city skyline. 06-26