Star Motel (Rem.)
Cave City, KY Photo courtesy Alan Culley
The oversized star above Star Motel gives this Cave City property a name you can recognize without reading the lettering. Standing beside U.S. 31W, the display belongs to a highway corridor known for independent motels and imaginative roadside advertising. Its bold outline makes the sign worth a second look, even among the area's other vintage lodging marquees. 12-07
The motel follows the familiar single-story arrangement, with parking close to the rooms and a prominent sign facing traffic. The star once carried neon that made it considerably more noticeable after sunset. Later alterations removed that illumination, changing its nighttime appearance while leaving the large shape in place. The surviving structure still shows how strongly the property's identity depended on its roadside display.
UPDATE: Star Motel remains open, and the oversized star continues identifying it along the old Dixie Highway. The neon was stripped away more than a decade ago, so the sign no longer presents the illuminated display shown in earlier views. The star itself survives, keeping a recognizable piece of Cave City's motel strip in place. 11-26
The White Lion Motel (Demolished)
Williamsburg, VA Photo courtesy Kevin Powers
The illuminated lettering at White Lion Motel invited travelers along Capitol Landing Road to spend the night. Its cottages and prominent vacancy display recalled an older style of Williamsburg lodging, with the roadside sign retaining its appeal as the property aged. 06-07
Dating to 1949, the White Lion welcomed motorists visiting Colonial Williamsburg. Vintage postcards showed white cottages arranged around a gazebo and advertised television and air conditioning. The motor court offered vacationers a convenient base during the postwar growth of family automobile travel.
UPDATE: Williamsburg purchased the property in February 2015 to clear the site for redevelopment. The buildings were subsequently demolished, and the roadside sign disappeared with them. The White Lion became another lost chapter in the city's long history of welcoming highway travelers. 11-26
Lord Paget Motor Inn (Gone)
Williamsburg, VA Photo courtesy Kevin Powers
The name Lord Paget Motor Inn fit Williamsburg nicely, while its roadside sign helped travelers find the entrance along Capitol Landing Road. Colonial-inspired buildings connected the property to the surrounding historic attractions, with a motor-inn layout suited to vacationers arriving by car. 06-07
Built in 1952, the motel offered a swimming pool, fishing pond, and putting green before closing in 2007. Distiller Rick Wasmund purchased the vacant property from the city in March 2015 and began converting the buildings for Copper Fox Distillery.
UPDATE: Copper Fox opened here in July 2016, with seven of the nine buildings renovated for distilling, tours, tastings, and related uses. The Lord Paget sign is gone, but much of the complex survives. These former overnight accommodations found an unusual second career producing spirits. 11-26
Cave Land Motel (Closed)
Cave City, KY Photo courtesy Alan Culley
The neon lettering at Cave Land Motel marked another overnight stop along Cave City's old highway strip. Its gently curved row of rooms gave the property a distinctive motor-court appearance, with a roadside sign competing for the attention of Mammoth Cave travelers. 12-07
The property reflected the transition from separate tourist cabins to connected motel accommodations during the 1950s. A swimming pool and playground appealed to vacationing families, while convenient parking and the prominent marquee followed the familiar formula of U.S. 31W's independent lodging businesses.
UPDATE: Cave Land Motel is no longer operating, but its vintage roadside sign survives along the old highway. The curved court and marquee recall Cave City's earlier tourism landscape, before interstate exits and larger hotels drew much of the overnight trade elsewhere. 11-26
Cardinal Motel (Rem.)
Bowling Green, KY Photo courtesy Alan Culley
A giant red bird and colorful neon gave Cardinal Motel a particularly recognizable presence along Bowling Green's U.S. 31W Bypass. The cardinal supplied the mascot, while the illuminated lettering and directional arrow helped motorists find their way into the property. Together, the displays gave this independent motel the sort of roadside identity that could be recognized before a traveler finished reading the name. 12-07
The property belonged to a highway lodging district built around automobile travel, with restaurants, shops, and accommodations serving visitors along the bypass. Its low buildings and convenient parking reflected the familiar motor-court arrangement. Guests once found amenities including television, air conditioning, a swimming pool, and even “Magic Fingers” vibrating mattresses. The cardinal itself was an appropriate choice: Kentucky's state bird turned into an oversized advertisement for a night's lodging.
Cardinal Motel
Bowling Green, KY Photo courtesy Alan Culley
On December 11, 2021, an EF3 tornado devastated the motel and surrounding neighborhood. Remarkably, the giant cardinal survived, remaining recognizable amid the destruction. Its survival became part of the property's recovery story, giving the owners a familiar landmark to carry forward as they rebuilt. Although much of the old motel was lost, the bird did not disappear with it.
UPDATE: Cardinal Motel reopened in 2023 with twenty rebuilt rooms. The original buildings and earlier roadside arrangement have changed, but the famous red cardinal still welcomes guests. Rather than becoming another lost roadside mascot, the bird survived the tornado and returned to its old job beside the highway. Good to see this Bowling Green landmark standing through such a difficult chapter. 11-26
Holiday Motel
Cave City, KY Photo courtesy Alan Culley
The vintage sign at Holiday Motel introduces another of Cave City's independent roadside lodgings. Colorful lettering beside U.S. 31W and low motel buildings behind it create a familiar scene from automobile trips through Kentucky's cave country. 12-07
Both the motel and sign date to the 1950s, when Mammoth Cave vacationers supported a growing lodging business. The single-story layout let guests park near their rooms and unload easily, while the marquee distinguished the Holiday from neighboring properties offering similar conveniences.
UPDATE: Holiday Motel continues operating along the old Dixie Highway, and its vintage sign remains standing. The combination of an older motor court and recognizable highway marquee preserves another piece of Cave City's historic lodging strip. 11-26
The White Lion Motel (Demolished)
Lord Paget Motor Inn (Gone)
Cave Land Motel (Closed)
Cardinal Motel (Rem.)
Cardinal Motel
Holiday Motel
