Milwaukee-Wauwatosa

Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge and Restaurant Milwaukee Wisconsin

Postcard circa 1960s

Milwaukee-Wauwatosa, Wisconsin -- 2275 N Mayfair

State-of-the-art when it opened in June of 1964, Milwaukee's first Motor Lodge and Restaurant complex was occasionally featured on "generic" postcards for other Motor Lodges--most notably Bangor, Maine. Boasting an innovative interior passageway connecting the Restaurant to the Motor Lodge, the complex was prepared for inclement weather!

Photographs November 1994: Courtesy of Jeff Lessila

Orange Until the End
Optimistically modern in design, Milwaukee's Wauwatosa HoJo's witnessed a world of change. Its run was a prosperous thirty years!

Jeff Lessila having once been a guest at the Wauwatosa Motor Lodge thoughtfully documented the final sad days of what had been an area Landmark.

Postcard circa 1960s (detail)

Photographs 1995: Courtesy of Jeff Lessila

Just in time, Mr. Lessila documented the Wauwatosa complex as it was being prepped for demolition. Note that the balcony railings had already been removed at the time of these photos.