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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Rosebud Motel sign, sign detail, Route 30, Columbus, Nebraska
Holiday Haven sign, Route 58, near Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Lookout Mountain Tourist Lodge sign, vertical view, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Lookout Mountain Tourist Lodge sign, horizontal view, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Lockmiller's Motel sign, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Shamrock Motel sign, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Mid-Iowa Motel sign, Route 6, Newton, Iowa
La Corn E Court sign, Route 148, Corning, Iowa
Flamingo Motel sign, Route 30, Marshalltown, Iowa
Topper Motel sign, Route 30, Boone, Iowa
Hoegh Motel sign, Route 6, Atlantic, Iowa
Ced-Rel Motel sign, Route 30, near Atkins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Candy Motel sign, Route 99, Fresno, California
Astro Motel sign, Motel Drive, Fresno, California
Serra Motel sign, Old Route 101, Gilroy, California
Glacier Motel sign, Rts. 2 & 89, Browning, Montana
Blue Sky Motel sign, East Main Street, Bozeman, Montana
El Rancho Motel Court sign, Nebraska Avenue, Tampa, Florida
Budget Lodge Motel sign, Route 1, Port of Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Florida
East Bay Motel sign, Route 41, Gibsonton, Florida
Landmark Motor Lodge sign, Route 1, Vero Beach, Florida
Sandman Motel sign, Route 19, St. Petersburg, Florida
Flagler by the Sea Overnight Camping sign, A1A, Painters Hill, Florida
