Brochure circa 1990: Courtesy of Dan Donahue
 
Austin-North -- 7800 North Interstate 35
AKA North-Airport
 

A classic style Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge and Restaurant complex, Austin-North was opened by franchisee Carl Petty during the summer of 1968. After Petty opened his upscale Austin-South Plaza Hotel in 1984, he decided to make his original Motor Lodge into a Plaza also. By 1987 the site had been considerably altered and was known by the Plaza Hotel moniker until it was converted into a Four Points by Sheraton.

Note in the room views below that the fixtures and furnishings were mid-1980s and included Howard Johnson's signature room vinyl or grass cloth wall covering.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Photograph 2003: Courtesy of Phil Edwards
 
Rendered largely unrecognizable after the site was converted into a Plaza Hotel, only one end of the former restaurant suggests what it once had been.
 
 
Photographs September 1, 2004: Courtesy of Stephen & Marcus Nauman
 
 
 
 
 
 
Photograph 2003: Courtesy of Phil Edwards
 
 
Photographs 2003: Courtesy of Katherine & Travis Reine
 
 
Some of the former Motor Lodge's exterior remained recognizable--note the balconies and sliders.
 
 

Encroached upon by a maze of highway realignments, the Four Points sign seemed to belong somewhere else!

Like its younger sister to the South, Austin-North lost brand affiliation in 2005 and became The Austin Ambassador Hotel. However it will have a much harder time attracting desirable clients than the South location since it suffers from such close proximity to the highway and is a much older facility.
 
 

Apparently the smaller single rooms lost balconies and sliders as the rooms were enlarged.

While all the original brick was stuccoed over, a subsequent remodel added the brick seen at the pseduo-piller's base in the photo to the left.