Silver Springs

Postcards circa 1960s

Silver Springs, Florida -- 5565 E Silver Springs Blvd

The Silver Springs Motor Lodge was ideally sited to capture tourists on the way to the famous Silver Springs Glass Bottom Boats, for it was located on a bend in the road just west of the attraction. Featuring a scant 40 rooms, postcards boasted that the Lodge was planned for gracious living!

Postcard circa 1980s: Courtesy of Phil Edwards

As recently as the 1980s, Silver Springs had maintained its attractiveness as attested by the postcard view.

Photographs 1999

Photographs 2003: Courtesy of Phil Edwards

Opened in late 1961 or early '62, the Lodge was built at the onset of Howard Johnson's architectural standardization. Having lasted for 35 years, Silver Springs was a long lived HoJo's. It was converted into a Knights Inn in the late 1990s, and then into the unaffiliated Silver River Inn during the early 2000s.

Note the recycled HoJo's street sign. Initially it had held a "Roof-Logo" type sign which was replaced in 1986 with the Howard Johnson no apostrophe S sign. Then its face eventually came to read, Silver River Inn.