Carolyn Court (Closed)
Selma, NC Photo courtesy Tony Craig
Partly hidden by bushes, the rusted Carolyn Court sign preserves a little of old U.S. 301's roadside history in Selma. The neon has disappeared, but the surviving framework still marks a property that once welcomed travelers moving north and south through eastern North Carolina. 03-06
Vintage postcards advertised brick cottages, a restaurant, and a children's playground. Recommendations from AAA and Duncan Hines supplied additional reassurance to motorists choosing an unfamiliar overnight stop. Before Interstate 95 diverted much of the through traffic, those endorsements helped distinguish Carolyn Court from competing accommodations along the highway.
UPDATE: Carolyn Court has long since closed, and vegetation has overtaken much of the former property. The weathered marquee remains beside the road, partly concealed by brush. Its survival preserves the name of a motor court whose advertised comforts once made it an appealing stop along U.S. 301. 11-26
Pine Crest Motel (Gone)
Waycross, GA Photo courtesy Andy Morales
The roadside marquee at Pine Crest Motel marked an overnight stop along Memorial Drive in Waycross. Its prominent sign and swimming pool belonged to the familiar combination of comforts offered to motorists heading through south Georgia toward Florida. 06-06
Operating during the mid-century travel years, the Pine Crest served the U.S. 1 and U.S. 23 corridor. A 1964 postcard promoted it as the “New Pine Crest Motel,” recording its place among the independent accommodations competing for highway travelers. The pool supplied an additional attraction beyond a room and convenient parking.
UPDATE: Pine Crest Motel has been demolished, and its vintage sign is gone. A Holiday Inn Express now occupies the property, continuing the lodging use in a substantially different form. The old marquee and motor-court appearance have disappeared from this stretch of Memorial Drive. 11-26
James Polk Motel (Gone)
Columbia, TN Photo courtesy Tony Craig
“50 Beautiful Units” gave motorists a clear idea of what awaited at James Polk Motel in Columbia. The colorful neon marquee stood along U.S. 31, advertising a substantial independent motel named for the president whose ancestral home remains a local landmark. 06-06
The motel opened in 1947, serving travelers before Interstate 65 redirected much of the through traffic. Columbia Neon installed its later landmark sign in 1964. Decades afterward, the same company returned to dismantle the display when redevelopment brought the motel's roadside chapter to an end.
UPDATE: James Polk Motel closed in 2014 and was demolished during redevelopment in 2019. Fortunately, the neon sign was saved rather than discarded and subsequently found a new home in Columbia. The motel is gone, but its familiar advertisement survived beyond the property it originally identified. 11-26
Town Terrace Motel
Tifton, GA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The colorful marquee at Town Terrace Motel gives Tifton's familiar “Pink Motel” an identity worth a second look. Its bright appearance and older motor-court buildings preserve a distinctive stop from the years when U.S. 41 carried vacation traffic through town. 06-06
Built in the 1940s as Van Gundy's Motor Court, the property later found another audience through filmmaking. In 2019 it became the fictional Kentucky Star Motel for The Tiger Rising, released in 2022. Its recognizable setting also appeared in Gasoline Alley, giving the aging motel an unexpected screen career.
UPDATE: New ownership announced restoration plans in 2022 after an earlier demolition proposal threatened the property. Town Terrace has continued with longer-term residential use, while its roadside marquee remains part of the scene. The pink buildings have survived both changing travel habits and plans to replace them. 11-26
Anchor Motel (Rem.)
Birmingham, AL Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
The sharp, downward-pointing marquee at Anchor Motel gives this Birmingham property a recognizable roadside feature. Its angular design directs attention toward the entrance while preserving some of the mid-century styling associated with independent highway accommodations. 06-06
The low motel buildings and parking near the rooms follow the practical motor-court arrangement. Travelers could pull in, unload nearby, and settle down without navigating a large hotel. The sign supplied the property's individual identity, distinguishing a modest overnight stop from neighboring roadside businesses.
UPDATE: Anchor Motel appears to remain open along First Avenue North. Its marquee has been modified, changing the appearance recorded in earlier views, but the distinctive pointed shape survives. The property retains a small piece of Birmingham's older lodging landscape, even as its advertising has evolved. 11-26
Waverly Motel (Gone)
Chattanooga, TN Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Rows of bulbs framed the weathered Waverly Motel marquee near Ringgold Road in East Ridge, just outside Chattanooga. Even with the lights dark, the border revealed how the sign once announced the property to motorists looking for a room. 06-06
The Waverly belonged to the independent accommodations serving this busy highway approach to Chattanooga. Its sign remained recognizable as the property deteriorated, but the motel's later condition brought code-enforcement concerns. Redevelopment proposals eventually called for replacing the old lodging business with self-storage.
UPDATE: Waverly Motel has been demolished, and its roadside marquee is gone. A self-storage facility occupies the site, completing the change from overnight accommodations to a different commercial use. The bulb-lined sign survives in photographs documenting the area's older motor courts. 11-26
Bama Motel (Rem.)
Birmingham, AL Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
With a name like Bama Motel, there wasn't much question about which state welcomed you for the night. The roadside marquee along First Avenue North gave this Birmingham motor court a recognizable identity, with prominent lettering designed to attract motorists following U.S. 11. Even after alterations and the loss of neon, the sign retained traces of its earlier highway appearance. 06-06
The Bama advertised twenty-two soundproof, air-conditioned rooms equipped with televisions and telephones. Those features offered travelers reassurance that a smaller independent motel could provide modern accommodations. Its AAA approval and membership in Quality Courts United supplied additional credentials, connecting the property with a network of motor courts promoting dependable lodging before standardized chain hotels became widespread.
The marquee changed considerably during its working life. By 2009, fresh paint had brightened the display, but the neon outlining the “Motel” lettering was missing. That combination of repainting, removed tubing, and surviving framework showed how owners adapted older signs rather than replacing everything at once. The familiar shape continued identifying the property even as individual details disappeared.
Bama Motel marquee
Birmingham, AL Photo courtesy Paul Bauke
UPDATE: Here's a close-up look at the marquee at the Bama Motel in Birmingham. The Bama sign looks like it's been painted recently, the neon looks to be missing on the "motel" lettering on the sign. 04-09
UPDATE: Bama Motel appears to remain open, but its roadside display was substantially altered around 2016 with replacement plastic signage. The change removed much of the earlier neon-era appearance, although the motel name continues beside the old highway. The property survives as a reminder of the independent accommodations that once competed for travelers along Birmingham's U.S. 11 corridor. 11-26
Carolyn Court (Closed)
Pine Crest Motel (Gone)
James Polk Motel (Gone)
Town Terrace Motel
Anchor Motel (Rem.)
Waverly Motel (Gone)
Bama Motel (Rem.)
Bama Motel marquee
