Mountaineer Inn (Closed)
Asheville, NC Photo courtesy Doug Harvey
The giant mountain man above Mountaineer Inn gave Tunnel Road one of Asheville's most recognizable roadside landmarks. His rifle, oversized figure, and distinctive lettering made the sign memorable even to travelers who never stopped for a room. 08-06
Opened in 1939 as Mountaineer Court, the property began with nineteen units and expanded over the following decades. Its rustic appearance suited the mountain setting, while the towering mascot helped distinguish it from neighboring motor courts. A 2023 sale brought plans for renovation, but the anticipated reopening never materialized.
UPDATE: The motel remains closed and fenced off, with foreclosure proceedings and redevelopment proposals complicating its future. Preservationists sought National Register consideration in August 2026, and a small fire damaged one room that October. The famous signs remain central to efforts to preserve this longtime Asheville landmark. 11-26
Perry Plaza Motel (Rem.)
Hot Springs, AR Photo courtesy Tony Craig
A neon diving woman once gave Perry Plaza Motel a particularly appropriate advertisement for its swimming pool. Standing along Park Avenue, the sign introduced a modern-looking motor court serving travelers arriving in Hot Springs from Little Rock.
Construction began in 1947 and finished in 1948. Architect Irven McDaniel designed the nineteen-unit property in the International Style, using horizontal lines, buff brick, and breezeways connecting the accommodations. William Perry operated the court before transferring it to his son in 1955. The rooms included kitchenette areas, making longer stays practical.
UPDATE: Perry Plaza survives as apartments, a conversion dating to the early 1970s rather than 2022. The property entered the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. Its famous diving-woman display is gone, but the buildings preserve an important example of Hot Springs' roadside resort architecture. 11-26
O.K. Court (Demolished)
Bonneville, KY Photo courtesy Emily Steele
The old O.K. Court sign marked a vanished overnight stop along U.S. 31W in Bonnieville. Long after the property lost its travelers, the marquee remained beside the Dixie Highway, preserving the name of another independent Kentucky motor court. 10-07
The business combined lodging with a restaurant, offering motorists a meal and a room without another drive down the highway. Its setting belonged to the earlier travel corridor linking small towns and cave-country attractions. Interstate 65 eventually carried much of that through traffic away from businesses along the old road.
UPDATE: The motel and restaurant have been demolished, and the roadside sign has been removed. The marquee briefly outlasted the business it advertised, but that final marker has disappeared too. O.K. Court is now another lost stop from the Dixie Highway's motor-court years. 11-26
Star Motel
Cave City, KY Photo courtesy Emily Steele
The giant five-pointed star at Star Motel leaves little doubt about the property's name. Standing beside old U.S. 31W, it gives motorists another reason to look around while passing through Cave City's historic motel strip. 10-07
The single-story property follows the familiar motor-court arrangement, with parking close to the rooms and a prominent roadside display. Nearby Mammoth Cave helped support generations of independent accommodations along this route. The star once carried neon, adding nighttime illumination to a shape already recognizable during the day.
UPDATE: Star Motel remains open, although its appearance is considerably plainer than in earlier years. The neon was removed more than a decade ago, but the oversized star survives. It still gives this small roadside property an identity distinct from the newer hotels around the interstate exits. 11-26
Grand Motel (Demolished)
Dentsville, SC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
In Dentsville was the Grand Motel sign. Talking to the owner, this place had for some time been a rent by the hour motel. He was slowly restoring the motel back to a normal family place and intends to have the sign brought back to it's 1950's look. According to an old postcard picture, the star is not original. He turned on the neon so I could see how it looked. He wants to replace the flashing bulbs in the star with LED's and said the old blinking bulbs need to be replaced far too often. Many thanks to Richard Weiss for info. 02-08
Dating to the 1950s, the Grand belonged to the independent motor courts that served highway traffic before the interstate system changed travel patterns. Its later years included hourly rentals and longer-term accommodations, a considerable change from its original overnight business. During a 2008 visit, the owner described efforts to return the property to a more traditional family motel.
Grand Motel
Dentsville, SC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
The sign figured prominently in those plans. An old postcard showed that the star was a later addition, and the owner hoped to recover more of the marquee's 1950s appearance. He also discussed replacing the star's frequently failing flashing bulbs with LEDs. Turning on the neon demonstrated how much life remained in the display, despite the maintenance required to keep it working.
UPDATE: Much of the motel was demolished in 2023, but the landmark sign was retained. Grand Village, an affordable housing development led by Homeless No More, broke ground in October 2026 with plans for thirty homes, a community center, and reuse of two surviving motel buildings. The project includes preserving the famous sign, giving this roadside landmark a place in the property's next chapter. 11-26
Martonian Motel (Demolished)
Cherokee, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
Weeds and brush surrounded Martonian Motel, but its weathered sign still announced the property along U.S. 441 south of Cherokee. The abandoned buildings and lingering marquee made a striking roadside scene, with vegetation gradually obscuring what had once been an overnight stop. 03-08
The motel served a route used by visitors traveling toward Cherokee and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Small independent accommodations offered places to stay along the approach, before travelers continued into the mountains. By its later years, the Martonian's empty rooms and overgrown grounds showed how thoroughly that chapter had ended.
UPDATE: Martonian Motel has been demolished, and the property cleared. The roadside sign is gone as well, removing the most visible reminder of the former business. The abandoned court survives in photographs documenting an older generation of lodging along the Cherokee approach. 11-26
Soco Valley Motel (Demolished)
Cherokee, NC Photo courtesy Richard Weiss
Missing letters gave the Soco Valley Motel sign an unintended new reading: “Soco Alley Motel.” The weathered marquee stood along U.S. 19 near Harrah's Cherokee Casino, retaining enough character to attract attention despite its stripped neon and deteriorating panels. 03-08
The property belonged to the smaller roadside accommodations serving visitors traveling through Cherokee and the Smokies. Its aging sign contrasted with the larger hotels and newer development changing the surrounding highway. Even as the motel faded, the marquee preserved its name and a little of its earlier roadside appearance.
UPDATE: Soco Valley Motel was demolished in late 2018, and its sign disappeared with the buildings. The old motor court no longer welcomes travelers along U.S. 19. Its partly missing lettering remains one of the details that made this otherwise modest motel memorable. 11-26
Perry Plaza Motel (Rem.)
O.K. Court (Demolished)
Grand Motel (Demolished)
Grand Motel
Martonian Motel (Demolished)
Soco Valley Motel (Demolished)
