Created at the behest of Howard D. Johnson in 1948, the architect Rufus Nims devised the general restaurant design seen above in just one night! With its Orange Roof and various cupola types the long-lived design became the ubiquitous identifier of the once great chain. Nims wrote Phil Langdon (Orange Roofs: Golden Arches) in 1984 that his aim was to create "a building [that] should express its function. People should see a restaurant and understand something of the nature of the food operation, price, etc." Working through the night the inspired architect "redesigned traffic-food flow etc. and the building itself, trying to make it do its job but not lose its identity." The result was an innovative new Restaurant type which served to reinvent and re-invigorate the chain propelling it into national prominence.

Supplanting the Canton Type and short-lived Hillside Type--both neo-colonials, the Nims' design was initially dubbed, the Southern Canton Type. Seen in vintage views and in the few remaining extant buildings, the Southern Cantons can be quickly recognized by their exaggerated cupola bases. By the latter 1950s the newer Nims inspired restaurants became known as the Series 77-E Type and featured minimalist cupola bases.

Above & Below: Florida units exemplifying Howard Johnson's sleek circa 1950s restaurant buildings as created by Rufus Nims--New England meets Prairie with a touch of deco and space age moderne!

Note the MANY Howard Johnson's products on display at the Dairy Bar--Mouse over for another view.

Twice a prototype, the Canton Restaurant was acquired by Franchise Associates Incorporated (FAI) in the late 1980s and served as their showpiece HoJo's. Having met an ignominious fate, Canton was quietly closed and sold by 2000.

Be sure to check out A Postcard from Canton in the Canton History Blogspot. The blog's author has posted a film clip showing the Canton Howard Johnson's and several of its patrons and employees during the Restaurant's prime just prior to WWII.

Special thanks to Geo. C. for sharing his thoughts and the film!

Located near Bradley International Airport along I-91, the Windsor Locks Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge complex featured both a Red Coach Grill and traditional albeit small Howard Johnson's Restaurant. The property's facade was an unusual mansard design set off by two orange roofed pagoda-like structures. Its original developers had high hopes for the large full-service property, but its site was less than perfect never allowing the complex to reach its fully planned potential. Nonetheless the Motor Lodge retained the Howard Johnson's name from early 1974 until about the end of 1991.

Unbranded, Windsor Locks lingered on until May of 2004 when the property was purchased by Sharok Jacobi and Jaklin Mecanik. The new owners spent over $5.5 million dollars renovating the site and rebranded it as a Howard Johnson. However the property's new lease on life as a HoJo was brief, for by 2008 it had become unbranded yet again. Known as the Beverly Hills Suites, the site had sunk to new lows by the end of 2008. The former Motor Lodge was turned into a refuge for swingers. An undercover police operation in November of 2008 resulted in several arrests including that of Sharok Jacobi. According to an article in the Journal Inquirer, "an arrest affidavit said liquor-law violations found at the hotel's Club 91 included smoking inside a public building, nudity, sex acts, not serving food, and improper use of a service bar." Moreover the affidavit indicated "that swingers' groups had been renting out the Beverly Hills Suites on weekends [prior to the sting] for the past several months."

Thanks to Dan Doanhue for keeping us up-to-date about Windsor Locks