A
brief personal interview with Michael Schaffer in
December of 2001 indicated that he was committed to
the Howard Johnson brand and had made special efforts
to retain the Gate Lodge with its Orange Roof and
to place the Lamplighter weather vane in a prominent
spot in front of the Gate Lodge.
Mr.
Shaffer's commitment to Howard Johnson's and to his
family's heritage proved ephemeral, for the Hamden
Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge was closed forever on
October 1, 2004. It's Gate Lodge was hastily demolished
leaving no trace that the place had been a HoJo's
-- even C.
A White's Website was "cleaned up" so
that there was no longer any reference to the company
ever having owned and operated a Howard Johnson's.
By 2006 the unrecognizable site had been converted
into Choice Hotel's Clarion brand. |
