Paradise Inn (Rem.)
Kissimmee, FL
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The twin rockets above Paradise Inn gave this Kissimmee marquee a wonderfully odd Space Age appearance. Whether they began as purpose-built ornaments or repurposed aircraft tanks, they looked ready to launch from either side of the sign. Along U.S. 192, where businesses worked hard to attract vacation traffic, pointing skyward was one way to stand out. 05-05

The motel’s role gradually shifted from short vacation stays toward longer-term occupancy, reflecting changes along the tourist corridor. It also reached a wider audience through The Florida Project, which depicted life around the area’s weekly motels. The property’s unusual appearance connected its earlier roadside identity with that later chapter.

UPDATE: The Paradise Inn remains open, but the rocket-bearing sign pictured here was replaced in 2016. The motel continues serving the corridor without the Space Age display that once made it especially recognizable. Photographs preserve the rockets from their years above the highway. 07-26

Sands Motel (Demolished)
Gainesville, FL
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Sands Motel made good use of tropical colors and a flashing red arrow along Gainesville’s U.S. 441 corridor. Travelers looking for accommodations near the University of Florida had a clear instruction: follow the sign. Its bright, straightforward design made the property easy to recognize before reaching the driveway. 05-05

The motel advertised air-conditioned rooms, color television, and even a courtesy car for guests needing transportation. Those individual amenities recall the days when roadside advertisements spelled out comforts travelers couldn’t automatically expect everywhere. Football visitors, families, and through motorists all formed part of the potential audience passing beneath the marquee.

UPDATE: The Sands Motel has been demolished, and student housing now occupies the site. Its colorful roadside sign was removed as well. The property’s replacement reflects the university’s continuing influence on Gainesville, although another recognizable piece of the city’s older motel corridor has disappeared. 07-26

Monte Carlo Motel (Rem.)
Kissimmee, FL
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Roll the dice on a room at Monte Carlo Motel. The weathered sign along Kissimmee’s U.S. 192 had plastic panels showing their age, but its rusty metal arrow still pointed toward the property. The contrast made it an interesting survivor: an older sign structure carrying on even as its finish deteriorated. 05-05

The motel belonged to the collection of smaller motor courts serving the highway’s vacation traffic. Its glamorous name suggested casinos and grand hotels, while the roadside arrangement was considerably more modest. The arrow did the practical work, directing motorists toward the entrance without needing the elaborate display that the Monte Carlo name might bring to mind.

UPDATE: The Monte Carlo Motel continues operating along U.S. 192, but the familiar sign pictured here has been replaced. The property survives without its weathered arrow, removing one of the details that once distinguished it from neighboring motels along the busy corridor. 07-26

Continental Motel
Kissimmee, FL
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The Continental Motel sign tried to tell travelers the whole story at a glance. An illuminated vacancy panel, the promise of efficiencies, and a little swimming-pool illustration advertised the essentials before motorists reached the entrance. It was a useful collection of selling points along Kissimmee’s busy U.S. 192 tourist strip. 05-05

Efficiency rooms offered cooking facilities, making them attractive to families planning a longer stay or hoping to reduce restaurant expenses. A pool supplied recreation without another drive to an attraction. The Continental’s marquee combined those practical features in a single display, reflecting how independent motels advertised directly to passing vacationers.

UPDATE: The original Continental Motel sign has been removed. The building continues in lodging use under a different name, preserving the property’s basic purpose while changing its roadside identity. The illustrated pool and older lettering now belong to photographs of the highway’s earlier tourist landscape. 07-26

Stardust Motel
Miami Beach, FL
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

The Stardust Motel wore its name across the building in appropriately playful fashion. Scattered stars and flowing script lettering gave the facade a Space Age personality, making the architecture part of the advertisement. Even among Miami Beach’s colorful properties, the combination offered something worth noticing from the street. 04-06

The property served both vacationers and longer-term occupants, reflecting the overlap between motel lodging and apartment living found throughout South Florida. Its decorative stars supplied the theme without requiring an enormous separate sign. The name, lettering, and facade worked together, suggesting the optimistic design vocabulary associated with the mid-century travel boom.

UPDATE: The Stardust continues welcoming guests in South Beach, and its retro lettering and star-covered facade remain recognizable features. Good to see the building retaining the details that give it an individual identity, rather than losing its character beneath a completely different exterior. 07-26

Detroit Resort Motel (Closed)
Pasco County, FL
Photo courtesy Alan Culley

The Detroit Resort Motel and this old neon sign is located in Pasco County, FL. Despite the name containing the word "resort" the place looked a bit seedy. Many thanks to Alan Culley for info. 01-09

The motel later stood unused for an extended period, becoming a subject for photographers exploring Florida’s older highway businesses. Its buildings nevertheless survived long enough to find another purpose. The former office became a neighborhood deli, demonstrating how a small lodging property could be adapted without clearing the entire site.

UPDATE: The Detroit Resort Motel no longer operates as accommodations. The buildings have been restored for other uses, and the vintage sign has been altered. Parts of the old roadside setting survive, although the property no longer presents the same motel identity captured in this photograph. 07-26

Village Motel
Tampa, FL
Photo courtesy Alan Culley

Bright green and red paint made the Village Motel sign stand out along Tampa’s Hillsborough Avenue. The colors gave the older marquee plenty of visibility, even without an elaborate animated display. It looked like the sort of sign that had spent years letting U.S. 92 motorists know another overnight stop was ahead. 01-09

Originally known as Wynn’s Village Courts, the property retained a collection of small cottages associated with an earlier approach to roadside lodging. Instead of a large hotel building, individual units gave the grounds the feel suggested by the Village name. That arrangement preserved a connection to the tourist courts that served highway travelers before standardized chain properties became commonplace.

UPDATE: The Village Motel remains open, and its colorful roadside sign continues marking the property along U.S. 92. The surviving cottages and marquee give this stretch of Hillsborough Avenue a recognizable link to Tampa’s older lodging landscape. 07-26