Tourist cabins, auto and motor courts

[tonyb]

My missus and I love going to vintage events at heritage railways. One place we always enjoy staying at is Coalport Station. No longer connected to the rail network but not too far from The Severn Valley Railway, of which, it was once a part of, it's railway carriage accommodation is unique. Just what this old steam buff loves. https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x48707e5de94c51bf:0xc0ca409caa4cbcf0!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4shttps://lh5.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipNc7jNL_4aTpkmYVmuZLpdOgvl9ZuMESs8QIqRs=w277-h160-k-no!5sCoalport station - Google Search!15sCAQ&imagekey=!1e10!2sAF1QipOgNB4p9s9rqv-iQub2hMRXa8ZUmWQnU7DaZF2r&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjtlID3-OziAhVSVBUIHcTUD6sQoiowDnoECA8QBg

About 40 years ago I looked into buying an old passenger rail car that had been used as a construction/sales/leasing/etc. office at a recently completed suburban business park. The plumbing and wiring, etc., were done and it would have made a quite livable structure without much by way of further modifications.

I was dissuaded by my prospective allies in this effort, mostly because moving it and finding a location that would allow for it would have been both difficult and costly.

 

[GHT]

Was it one of those magnificent Victorian carriages that are often featured in the movies.

Come to think of it, we have stayed in a railway carriage in the US. The old Chattanooga Station was a terminus. When we stayed there the restored carriages were the hotel rooms.
https://www.choochoo.com/

 

[tonyb]

Was it one of those magnificent Victorian carriages that are often featured in the movies.
View attachment 173153
Come to think of it, we have stayed in a railway carriage in the US. The old Chattanooga Station was a terminus. When we stayed there the restored carriages were the hotel rooms.
https://www.choochoo.com/

Not dissimilar to that. I believe it had steel beams under it, to help hold it all together during its moves. The thing was quite long.

 

[Fading Fast]

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
That ad is practically the definition of MCM. It’s so spot-on that a person almost suspects it’s of more recent creation — 2019 does 1965 or something.

 

[Fading Fast]

I came across this article:
http://www.biscaynetimes.com/index....estruction&catid=50:community-news&Itemid=258

 

[Ghostsoldier]

What a shame... I'm sure the same fate will befall it that have others like it: Neglect to the point of condemnation, and then destruction and removal for the sake of forgoing liability.

Rob

 

[Fading Fast]

What a shame... I'm sure the same fate will befall it that have others like it: Neglect to the point of condemnation, and then destruction and removal for the sake of forgoing liability.

Rob

It's a shame, but these old buildings that we love have to find a way to pay their own way or we will lose them.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
That ad is practically the definition of MCM. It’s so spot-on that a person almost suspects it’s of more recent creation — 2019 does 1965 or something.

Further research suggests it’s from 1959. If I saw an actual print publication from that year wherein this ad appears, I’d bet on it.

 

[tonyb]

A big part of what makes San Francisco so attractive is its architecture. Those Victorians seen in such plenitude there may not be deemed by some as the “best and highest use” for those properties, but it sure does make for a beautiful city. It also makes for extremely high housing costs, but that’s a matter for another day.

I mention this because it might be short-sighted to tear down structures that aren’t putting as much money in their owners’ pockets as new structures would. I don’t believe I’m projecting too much when offering that large segments of the population really dig older roadside lodgings and would gladly pay to spend the night in them and to visit areas with many such motels/auto courts/whatever you wanna call ’em to choose from.

I recall the efforts to save Seattle’s Pike Place Public Market. The place was quite down at the heel by the 1960s and plans to raze the entire Market District and put in a large hotel were in the works.

Fast forward 50-plus years. The Market is now such an integral part of the city that it’s hard to imagine Seattle without it. The Market has spawned revitalization all around it. People pay big money to live in condos within walking distance of it.

Preservation can be lucrative over a longer run than the next quarter or year or even decade. But, you know, you gotta be able to see that far. Or to wish to.

 

[BobHufford]

Dazy Courts, Carthage, Missouri.

 

[BobHufford]

^^^^^ See the Boots Court Motel across the street? It's had some love in recent years.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

They've done an awesome job of restoring it to some of it's former glory.

Rob

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Sea Breeze.

Rob

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Tourist court in Clarksdale, Mississippi Delta, c.1939.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Ran across this old motor court in Georgia... still being used as housing.

Rob

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Jordan's beach front cottages.

Rob

 

[BobHufford]

Eldon, Missouri. Near Lake of the Ozarks.

 

[Ghostsoldier]

Eldon, Missouri. Near Lake of the Ozarks.

View attachment 181348

View attachment 181347

Those are awesome cabins... I'm sure that they're probably gone by now.

Rob

 

[BobHufford]

Ran across these while researching a hat...