Howard Johnson's initial presance in Springfield was a stately Colonial-style Restaurant which opened in about 1941. Its adjacent Motor Lodge was the Garden State's first and probably opened in 1956.

The early-type 92 room Motor Lodge lasted as a Howard Johnson's until sometime in early 1981. It was subsequently unbranded and called the Spring Garden Inn, and at the same time its Restaurant was remodeled into a Ground Round. The former complex was likely razed during the middle to late 1990s and a Sports Authority stands at its former site.