Icon of the American Roadside Culture

The classic American roadside motel developed along with the advent of mass automobile travel in the 20th century. America's highways and by-ways are the birthplace of a unique roadside culture. Motels and restaurants, often in the shape of animals, shoes, airplanes, and every other imaginable object offered road-weary travelers an inexpensive night's rest and fast, cheap food. Today, we look upon these familiar roadside icons and their bright neon signs with nostalgia. Many of them are now closed and dilapidated, yet a fair number of them still survive, a testament to the enduring nature of the American roadside culture that developed hand in hand with the American highway.

The first motels began appearing in the 1920's, motel being a contraction of "motor hotel." In those early days they were mostly collections of small cottages side by side built, nearly always family owned and operated. The phenomena of these motels, motor courts and motor lodges really began to develop in the post-war era, when the American highway system expanded as it never had before. And with the advent of the neon sign, the American motel reached its full flowering and became the induring American icon that it still is today.

Many people today indulge their nostalgia by taking road trips and staying at these mom and pop establishments that dot the American highways from coast to coast, reliving fond childhood memories of family vacations. Such highway quests for the classic American motel can be an exciting adventure, although it is sometimes difficult to plan such a vacation in a time when chain hotels dominate the online lodging reservation business. Yet there are a few services that keep alive the great American roadside tradition by offering online reservations for these classic lodging icons, such as www.motel.com, which celebrates the great American road trip and offers online bookings for classic motels.