Photographs 1986: Courtesy of Bob Venditti
 
Walterboro, South Carolina -- 1139 Sniders Hwy (SR 63 @ I-95)
 

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!

 
 
 

 
 
Photographs mid-2000s: Courtesy of Bob Venditti
 
 

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.

 
 
 

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!

 
 

 
 
Photographs October 2002: Courtesy of Phil Edwards
 
Once the Motor Lodge had been utterly transformed, only the Mansard Restaurant remained recognizable.