THE ARCHIVE / Themes
Motels.
A motel announces itself twice: first to the moving driver, then to the arriving guest. In these photographs, compare the sign with the rooms behind it. A flamboyant promise can stand beside remarkably modest buildings. Margolies also recorded the quieter details—entrances, office windows and repeated doors—that turn a roadside stop into a temporary address. Follow a state or year filter to see how similar arrangements acquired different local identities.
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Aztec Motel, diagonal view 1, Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Aztec Motel, diagonal view 2, Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Aztec Motel, frontal close-up view, Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Maywood Lodge, diagonal view, N. 1st Street, Yakima, Washington
Maywood Lodge, close-up view 2, N. 1st Street, Yakima, Washington
Brick motel, diagonal view 2, Marshall, Illinois
Tower Motel, closer overall view, 1909 S. State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah
Tower Motel, diagonal view of 2 units 1, 1909 S. State Street, Salt Lake City, Utah
Holiday Motel (old building, newer motel around the corner), W. Washington Street, Hagerstown, Maryland
Mar-Mar Motel, Bull Shoals, Arkansas
Dixiana Motel, Old Route 80, Vicksburg, Mississippi
King's Court (now public housing), Old Route 36, Springfield, Illinois
Will Rogers Motor Court sign, Route 66, Tulsa, Oklahoma
Log Cabin Motel sign, Montrose, Colorado
Eisenhower Motor Court sign, Route 411, Newport, Tennessee
Kozy Kamp Motel sign, La Vale, Maryland
No-Tel Motel sign, Route 172, Massillon, Ohio
Nite Cap Motel sign, Route 2, Williston, North Dakota
Scotty's Motel sign, overall vertical view, Route 23, Au Sable, Michigan
Sky-Lit Motel sign, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Lincolnville Motel sign, Burlington, Iowa
Skyline Motel sign, Route 89, Fairview, Utah
Owl Lodge sign, Benson Highway, South Tucson, Arizona
