Ghostsoldier
Call Me a Cab
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Kamp Kellum, 1931.
Rob
Rob
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Tourist cabins, auto and motor courts
- Thread starter Ghostsoldier
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The Honeymoon Cottage at the Crazy Cabins near Mountain View, Missouri on Highway 60.
The ‘Crazy Cabins’, once just east of Mountain View on highway 60, provided an opportunity for weary travelers to spend the night in a unique, crooked-constructed cabin. This unique lodging experience was built in the 1920s when US Hwy 60 was being constructed across the southern United States via Mountain View in Missouri. The new highway became a major thoroughfare, seeing thousands of vehicles daily. Hotels, motorcourts, and lodges popped up along the highway to provide a place to rest for cross-country travelers.
The ’Crazy Cabins’ east of Mountain View were all built with very few straight lines. The idea was to entice tourists with odd looking cabins, because you could find a normal motel anywhere in the United States. The cabins needed to be different than what the public was used to. Allie Sheets built several crooked cabins on the property for Bill Arthur, who wanted to open the unique lodging experience. The cabins varied in size, with the largest being the Honeymoon Cottage, in the center. The cabins became a popular landmark for tourists on the route, and their popularity grew with the increasing availability of automobiles. Another group of lopsided fairytale cabins, the ‘Cozy Cabins’, opened down the road in Winona to mimic the success of the ‘Crazy Cabins’ in Mountain View.
When the tourist attraction closed, the Lewis family from Mountain View saved the Honeymoon Cottage from destruction while the rest of the cabins were torn down.
They moved the cabin to their property, and used it for various purposes for several years.
In 1977, the Lewis family donated the cabin to be displayed in Wayside Park in Mountain View, and it was moved from its resting place. The fireplace and chimney were disassembled, and the entire cabin loaded onto a trailer and moved to the park.
The Mountain View Garden Club restored and decorated the cabin over 2 years. They won the Sears Roebuck Company Community Concern Award for their preservation efforts in 1979.
Today, over 100 years since the attraction opened, the odd blue cabin is visible from the new Hwy 60 through Mountain View.
It has been well preserved, and is on display to the public at Wayside Park.
The rest of the ‘Crazy Cabins’, as well as the ‘Cozy Cabins’ in Winona have been demolished. The fairytale-esque cabin in Mountain View is the sole reminder of the unique lodging experiences that once dotted Hwy 60 maps in southern Missouri. -- Missouri Preservation (FaceBook)
The ‘Crazy Cabins’, once just east of Mountain View on highway 60, provided an opportunity for weary travelers to spend the night in a unique, crooked-constructed cabin. This unique lodging experience was built in the 1920s when US Hwy 60 was being constructed across the southern United States via Mountain View in Missouri. The new highway became a major thoroughfare, seeing thousands of vehicles daily. Hotels, motorcourts, and lodges popped up along the highway to provide a place to rest for cross-country travelers.
The ’Crazy Cabins’ east of Mountain View were all built with very few straight lines. The idea was to entice tourists with odd looking cabins, because you could find a normal motel anywhere in the United States. The cabins needed to be different than what the public was used to. Allie Sheets built several crooked cabins on the property for Bill Arthur, who wanted to open the unique lodging experience. The cabins varied in size, with the largest being the Honeymoon Cottage, in the center. The cabins became a popular landmark for tourists on the route, and their popularity grew with the increasing availability of automobiles. Another group of lopsided fairytale cabins, the ‘Cozy Cabins’, opened down the road in Winona to mimic the success of the ‘Crazy Cabins’ in Mountain View.
When the tourist attraction closed, the Lewis family from Mountain View saved the Honeymoon Cottage from destruction while the rest of the cabins were torn down.
They moved the cabin to their property, and used it for various purposes for several years.
In 1977, the Lewis family donated the cabin to be displayed in Wayside Park in Mountain View, and it was moved from its resting place. The fireplace and chimney were disassembled, and the entire cabin loaded onto a trailer and moved to the park.
The Mountain View Garden Club restored and decorated the cabin over 2 years. They won the Sears Roebuck Company Community Concern Award for their preservation efforts in 1979.
Today, over 100 years since the attraction opened, the odd blue cabin is visible from the new Hwy 60 through Mountain View.
It has been well preserved, and is on display to the public at Wayside Park.
The rest of the ‘Crazy Cabins’, as well as the ‘Cozy Cabins’ in Winona have been demolished. The fairytale-esque cabin in Mountain View is the sole reminder of the unique lodging experiences that once dotted Hwy 60 maps in southern Missouri. -- Missouri Preservation (FaceBook)
Ghostsoldier
Call Me a Cab
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- 2,410
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- Starke, Florida, USA
Great article, Bob! 
Ghostsoldier
Call Me a Cab
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- 2,410
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- Starke, Florida, USA
Diamond Court, in my state.
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Pretty sure I've posted "Red's" in the Roadside thread, but here are the "cabins" that were behind it for a time. On Rt. 66 in Springfield, Missouri.
"Wayne Lillard’s Sinclair station at 2846 West Chestnut originally had a small lunch counter and three cabins with garages in the back. The Chaney family converted the space in between the garages to create the six-unit 66 Motel in 1947. The restaurant was enlarged but the motel was closed in 1955 after Springfield annexed the area and levied new taxes. However, Sheldon “Red” Chaney and his wife Julia had big plans for that restaurant.
Red’s Giant “Hamburg” is believed to have been the home of the first drive-in window in the U.S. Sheldon “Red” Chaney rigged an intercom system in 1947 or 1948. He ran out of room for the “ER” when painting the sign, and parked a 1955 Buick there to keep people from hitting it. Reds was featured twice in Rolling Stone magazine and immortalized in a rock song by the Morells. It closed on December 14, 1984, and was demolished in 1999." -- Ozark History, Families and Photographs FaceBook page.
"Wayne Lillard’s Sinclair station at 2846 West Chestnut originally had a small lunch counter and three cabins with garages in the back. The Chaney family converted the space in between the garages to create the six-unit 66 Motel in 1947. The restaurant was enlarged but the motel was closed in 1955 after Springfield annexed the area and levied new taxes. However, Sheldon “Red” Chaney and his wife Julia had big plans for that restaurant.
Red’s Giant “Hamburg” is believed to have been the home of the first drive-in window in the U.S. Sheldon “Red” Chaney rigged an intercom system in 1947 or 1948. He ran out of room for the “ER” when painting the sign, and parked a 1955 Buick there to keep people from hitting it. Reds was featured twice in Rolling Stone magazine and immortalized in a rock song by the Morells. It closed on December 14, 1984, and was demolished in 1999." -- Ozark History, Families and Photographs FaceBook page.
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1930s
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- 10,950
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- My mother's basement
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Cottage Inn near Joplin, Missouri on Rt. 66 (and Hwy 71). Circa 1930.
Ghostsoldier
Call Me a Cab
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Diamond Court in Orlando.
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Rolla, Missouri.
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- New York City
You gotta love the Tudor styling.
Ghostsoldier
Call Me a Cab
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- Starke, Florida, USA
Conley's Ice Cream Lunches in Crivitz.
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Ice cream, Schlitz - Cannery Row's Doc would approve!
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This thread hasn’t been bumped in more than a year! We’re falling behind, boys and girls.
Ghostsoldier
Call Me a Cab
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Yeah, I've been up to my ears in outside projects, and haven't had time to check in; I've still got lots of photos on the old hard drive, so I'll try to get into the swing of posting images.
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Anchor Travel Village, Branson, Missouri, c.1948.
Rollin Rains
Familiar Face
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- Cypress Bower
I have not found anything about this yet in this thread, but I certainly apologize if I have overlooked it.
I recently watched "For You I Die" (1947) on YouTube. Great movie if you like Film Noir, especially of the B variety. The movie is centered around a motor-cabin court and is a fantastic representation of the characters one might expect to encounter back in the day. And of course, a couple of nice fedoras!
I recently watched "For You I Die" (1947) on YouTube. Great movie if you like Film Noir, especially of the B variety. The movie is centered around a motor-cabin court and is a fantastic representation of the characters one might expect to encounter back in the day. And of course, a couple of nice fedoras!
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