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Photographs
1986: Courtesy of Bob Venditti |
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Walterboro,
South Carolina --
1139 Sniders Hwy (SR 63 @ I-95) |
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Located
to the south of Walterboro, this Motor Lodge and Restaurant complex
was a classic Mansard design. Opening in 1973, the facility offered
96 guest units in traditional Motor Lodge fashion.
Bob's
1986 photos show perfection in roadside lodging -- highlights included
the well-kept grounds, pool area, playground, and especially the
room exteriors complete with sliders, butterfly scotchcals, and
orange room number indicators! |
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Photographs
mid-2000s: Courtesy of Bob Venditti |
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Walterboro
survived as a HoJo's for twenty years. Still listed as a Howard
Johnson's as recently as 1993 in a AAA Tourbook,
by 1994 the property had become the Town & Country Inn.
Nearby a Comfort Inn, Best Western and a Holiday Inn all siphoned
away its business. With the host of branded competition at
its I-95 exit, the former HoJo's Lodge lingered into obscurity
as its fortunes waned.
Nonetheless
the former Howard Johnson's occupied the primest of spots
which attracted the attention of the local Comfort
Inn franchise. The property changed ownership, its Motor
Lodge was completely gutted and received a new look which
completely erased any trace of its past years as the embodiment
of roadside lodging perfection. By the 2000s, the local Comfort
Inn had moved into the transformed former HoJo's spot. |
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A
local establishment, not to be confused with the former Glass
House Restaurant Chain, recycled the circa 1970s street sign.
Above:
Note the McDonalds sign hidden in the background using the support
of a former Shell gasoline station sign!
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Photographs
October 2002: Courtesy of Phil Edwards |
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Once
the Motor Lodge had been utterly transformed, only the Mansard
Restaurant remained recognizable. |
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