Almost by chance the 20th century modernist architect Rufus Nims became involved creating designs for the Howard Johnson Company. His most famous building became known in Company lore as the series '77,' and to HoJo's fans is what this site calls the Nims-Type. That familiar Restaurant building itself served to redefine and refocus Howard Johnson's image in the 1950s as ultimately modern.

Working diligently making architectural plans for the Company from sometime in 1948 until about 1958, Nims devised what he termed the Ultimate Design for a Howard Johnson's Restaurant in 1955. The innovative plan was perhaps too radical a departure from the series '77' and was never built. In a letter to author Philip Langdon (Orange Roofs, Golden Arches) in 1984 Nims wrote with apparent frustration that "we were not allowed to make any improvements to speak of as we went along -- so quit doing the Co.'s work altogether in 1958."

Rufus H. Nims (1913-2005)
http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/manuscript/guides/nims.htm

Forty years has passed in the blink of an eye...

During the first week of 1973 Americans witnessed an event of chaotic terror which inauspiciously culminated at the New Orleans-Downtown Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge. The frenzied violence was the result of the actions of Mark James Robert Essex. He was a disturbed 23 year-old Black man who had been dishonorably discharged from the United States Navy and had fallen under the influence of the Black Panther movement which among other atrocities espoused violent revolution against white people.

In the course of his rampage, Essex murdered nine people and wounded a dozen others. The reign of terror ended when Mark Essex lost his hiding spot and was killed in a hail of police bullets on the roof of the Downtown Howard Johnson's.

While it's available here is a link to an article published on January 6, 2013 in The Advocate:
http://theadvocate.com/news/4828836-123/e_ssrq73-rampage-revisited

Bob: "I needed a place to shower and change for one night--I only had my camera with me to document the motel stay, as I have always done, no other reason..."

Bob: "Very nice place to stay while taking the long way to Ohio! I had great pancakes at the dairy bar."

At the onset of my endeavor/adventure to document Howard Johnson's in 1998, I never could have imagined that I was witness to the end of an era. It is difficult to believe that an institution so ingrained in our culture could vanish almost without a trace. For it would seem that with each passing day another HoJo's is closed and demolished. Not that long ago Howard Johnson's was the largest hospitality chain in the world. But now this once ubiquitous roadside landmark fades from America's rear-view mirror, and as we speed off into the uncharted future fewer and fewer orange roofed Restaurants and Motor Lodges remain to serve the hungry and sleepy motoring public.

This site commemorates the Roadside Empire created by Howard D. Johnson, and chronicles with photographs and commentary the story of a once vast organization and its legacy to the American roadscape, and to the hospitality industry. Please browse and enjoy the photographs, and I hope that they rekindle many memories.