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Postcard
ca. 1960s: Kummerlowe Archive |
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Brochures
ca. 1960s: Dan Donahue |
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Indianapolis-Downtown,
IN |
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501 W Washington St |
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Located
near Indiana's State Capitol and opened in 1966, the Indianapolis-Downtown
Howard Johnson's complex featured an 8-story high-rise main
building highlighted by a signature A-frame Gate Lodge canopy
marking its lobby entrance (the last A-frame Gate Lodge canopy
standing was located at Southington,
CT). In addition to its lobby, the property's Restaurant
was also in the main high-rise building at ground level.
The
ultra-modern facility also featured a more traditional Motor
Lodge wing which offered three floors of guest rooms and was
attached to the main high-rise. |
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Above:
In-the-building Restaurant with its late 1970s decor. |
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Photos
July 2004: Phil Edwards |
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Prior
to the end of its days as a Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge, Downtown
had been owned by a group of local investors headed by Sam Smulyan.
In late 1986 Mr. Smulyan's estate sold the property to Whiteco
Industries which is controlled by billionaire Dean V. White. Not
long into his ownership, White converted the HoJo's into a Ramada.
However the franchise agreement was for only five years, and after
the term expired the facility was stucco-streamlined and remade
into a Courtyard by Marriott.
Having
begun its business as an outdoor advertising concern in 1935,
White Industries set a new course for itself in 1985 when it created
White Lodging.
Based in Merrillville, IN, White describes itself as a fully integrated
hotel ownership, development, and operating company. |
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Brochure
ca. 1960s: Dan Donahue |
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Photos
July 2004: Phil Edwards |
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Photos
ca. 2000s: Google Maps-Street View |
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Marriott
Place Indianapolis...
In the midst of the middle 2000s credit bubble and centering on
the former Howard Johnson's-Downtown, White Lodging announced
one of the most ambitious hotel development schemes ever concocted
for Indianapolis--Marriott
Place.
Billed as "a one-of-a-kind, highly-anticipated collection
of five Marriott properties all connected to the Convention Center
and to each other, the complex will feature a 297-room Courtyard,
156-suite SpringHill Suites and 168-room Fairfield Inn & Suites."
But the pièce de résistance will be the site's JW
Marriott Hotel.
With 34-floors, and standing 375 feet tall, the JW Marriott tower
will be the tallest hotel in Indianapolis. Its amenities will
include a whopping 1005 luxurious guestrooms and the largest ballroom/meeting
facility in the mid-West. The project's costs are expected to
exceed $450 million!
Slated
to re-open in February 2010 and largely shunted aside, the former
HoJo's (at least the high-rise section) will lose its Courtyard
status and be rebaged as Marriott Place's Fairfield
Inn & Suites. |
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Photo
July 2004: Phil Edwards |
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