Tahitian Inn (Rem.)
Tampa, FL Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Tiki architecture and neon made quite a combination at Tahitian Inn in Tampa. The tall roadside sign featured Polynesian-style lettering topped with three pointed ornaments, giving motorists a little South Seas scenery along Dale Mabry Highway. It was the kind of marquee that made an ordinary overnight stop look like part of the vacation.
The property began in 1953 as the Tahiti Motor Court and expanded as Florida’s tourism business grew. Its tropical identity helped distinguish it from neighboring accommodations during the years when independent motels competed with imaginative buildings and signs. The lettering and decorative topper carried that theme above the traffic, advertising something more inviting than simply a room for the night.
UPDATE: The Tahitian Inn continues to welcome guests, but the original Polynesian-style neon sign has been replaced. Its removal had been noted by 2013, ending a colorful chapter along Dale Mabry Highway. Fortunately, the hotel itself carries on the familiar name. 07-26
Grant Motel (Demolished)
St. Petersburg, FL Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
Most likely the Grant Motel was built to allure Florida tourists
who were visiting Sunken Gardens, which is just a hop, skip and a jump
down the road. It is one of the oldest attractions in Florida opened in
1935. The park, recently taken over by the state, is set 15-feet below
street level and is filled with hundreds of tropical plants and some scattered
birds and animals. Many thanks to Steve/Back on Tack for info.
Dating to the 1950s, the Grant offered both motel rooms and efficiency apartments, accommodating overnight travelers and visitors settling in for a longer stay. Next door, the similarly designed Floral Motel made the pair look almost like neighboring twins. Nearby Sunken Gardens supplied another reason to visit this stretch of town, with its tropical landscaping attracting tourists since 1935.
UPDATE: The Grant Motel has been demolished, and the property has been redeveloped. Its vintage neon sign is gone as well. Photographs preserve the scene when the Grant and its neighboring motel still belonged to an older generation of roadside lodging along 4th Street. 07-26
Cadillac Motel
Fanning Springs, FL Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
The Cadillac Motel is located on North US 19 in Fanning Springs,
Florida. It is locally owned by a couple and is within walking distance
of the famous Swanee River. "The Swanee River (Old Folks at Home)"
is the official state song of Florida. There is a memorial to its author,
Stephen C. Foster, in White Springs even though he never actually visited
the state. Many thanks to Steve/Back on Tack for info.
The motel dates to the 1950s and has served travelers exploring Florida’s Suwannee River country. Nearby Fanning Springs offers a natural attraction quite different from the state’s manufactured vacation destinations. The river also has its own musical connection: Stephen Foster’s “Old Folks at Home,” popularly known as “Swanee River,” helped make its name familiar far beyond Florida, although Foster never visited the state.
UPDATE: The Cadillac Motel continues to welcome guests, and its classic roadside sign survives. Good to see an independent highway motel still serving its original purpose, with the familiar script lettering continuing to distinguish it from the passing parade of modern signs. 07-26
Sun Plaza Motel
Ocala, FL Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
The Sun Plaza is located on SR 40 in Ocala, Florida. The 47 room
hotel has been family owned and operated for 40 years. It has many of
the little amenities that you just don't find in the chain hotels anymore;
a large children's playground, picnic area, and even shuffleboard courts.
The place is well kept up and with its neon marquee, the Sun just seems
to light up the roadside. Many thanks to Steve/Back on Tack for info.
Dating to 1950, the motel belonged to the era when a glass-bottom boat ride at Silver Springs could anchor a family vacation. Its grounds offered more than a room, with a playground, picnic space, and shuffleboard courts giving guests reasons to linger. Those features recall the days when a tourist motel could serve as both an overnight stop and a modest vacation destination.
UPDATE: The Sun Plaza Motel remains open, and its distinctive roadside sign continues to advertise the property. The original smiling sun has been replaced, changing the center of the display, but the sweeping arrow and familiar outline preserve much of its old roadside appeal. 07-26
Sandman Motel
St. Petersburg, FL Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
One look at the marquee and you knew you had found the Sandman Motel. The character’s long nightcap curled into the lettering, turning the name into something more than an ordinary advertisement. It was a playful invitation to get a good night’s sleep and one of those signs worth noticing even when you weren’t looking for a room.
Opened in 1957, the motel belonged to St. Petersburg’s postwar tourism boom, when independent accommodations welcomed motorists heading toward the Gulf beaches. Along a highway crowded with competing businesses, an imaginative sign could make a difference. The Sandman character gave travelers an easy landmark to remember, offering a little bedtime humor above the passing traffic.
Sandman Marquee (close-up)
St. Petersburg, FL Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
The property eventually shifted from overnight lodging to long-term apartments, outlasting its original role as a vacation stop. Its roadside identity changed, too. A 2013 update noted that the elaborate Sandman display had been replaced with a plainer version, so the original character sign and the later signage represent different chapters in the property’s history.
UPDATE: The Sandman Motel sign has been replace by a plain version. 05-13
UPDATE: The former motel buildings remain in use as apartments. Later reports indicate that the remaining sign was removed in 2025 following severe hurricane damage. The distinctive neon design pictured here had already disappeared years earlier, leaving photographs to preserve the Sandman and his wonderfully oversized nightcap. 07-26
E&L Motel (Gone)
Seffner, FL Photo courtesy Steve/Back on Tack
The E & L Motel sits on Highway 92 in Seffner, FL. Before
I-4 was built, which leads travelers from both FL coasts into the heart
of Disney country, 92 was a west to east route through central FL. Today
the motel cabins seem to have been converted to low rent housing, but
the sign remains the same. Many thanks to Steve/Back on Tack for info.
The property’s low buildings reflected the practical design of older roadside accommodations. As traffic patterns changed, places like the E&L increasingly served longer-term occupants rather than vacationers stopping for a single night. By the time of the original account, the cabins appeared to be used as housing, while the old motel sign remained beside the road as a link to their earlier purpose.
UPDATE: The property continues operating under the Suites Motel name, but the E&L lettering and vintage neon sign have been replaced with modern signage. The accommodations survive, although the roadside feature that once gave them their identity is gone. 07-26
Tahitian Inn (Rem.)
Grant Motel (Demolished)
Cadillac Motel
Sun Plaza Motel
Sandman Motel
Sandman Marquee (close-up)
E&L Motel (Gone)
