About a month ago we went on vacation for about five days in Virginia. On the way back I snapped pictures of numerous old motels along the highway between there and Delaware. This was probably one of the most interesting ones I saw. Plus the photo came out very well despite being taken from a moving car! I tried to edit it to look like a 60's postcard. That whole building in the center was the restaurant (looked like it was closed down unfortunately), with the wings of the motel on either side.

The area this is in was Known as "Little Vegas" before gambling was outlawed here in 1968. From what I've read this area gave 1950's Las Vegas a run for its money with the number of slot machines it boasted as well as the revenue generated from gambling. Apparently the Waldorf Motel is one of very few reminders of that past. This building was used as a casino back then. Another reminder is a bakery sign nearby. The bakery was located in an old Native American themed casino building that resembled a Tepee. Only the sign remains now. http://ldawkins.wordpress.com/2011/.....minders-today/

Motels were built mostly from the 1920's to the 1970's and 80's in response to rising car ownership, the word motel being an adaption of the earlier "Motor Hotel". Early Motels had individual cabins and were called Cottage Courts. These types were built until the 1960's. Unlike standardized Hotels of today every motel was as unique as their owners and could have as few as three rooms. Motels are generally characterized by outdoor entrances to the rooms and are always low-rise structures typically between one and three floors tall. Hotels, in contrast, always have indoor entrances and can be as high as humanly possible.

Motels have gained a reputation in movies and television for being seedy, a reputation which is not deserved by many. Since most of them are individually owned the quality of each individual one varies, from the suspicious "pay by the hour" dives to immaculately maintained family style hotels complete with pools and barbeques.