The Lincoln Lodge Motel on University in Urbana has been purchased by Carle, and will be torn down soon, and Restore staff collected some relics from the building to sell in the store.
The hotel opened in 1952, and was designed by Joseph Royer, who designed many buildings in C-U. Royer also designed the Urbana Lincoln Hotel, soon to be named Hotel Royer in his honor. You can see the similarities, as the Lincoln Lodge has the same Tudor style design.
Photo from University of Illinois Archives.
The staff also snapped some photos of the interior.
Photo from Champaign County Restore Facebook page.
From the City of Urbana website:
When the Lincoln Lodge opened in 1952, it was considered one of the finest of its kind. The original motel included 32 rooms built in the English rustic lodge-style, a coffee shop, lounge, and restaurant. Each room was built to accomodate five people. The rooms were air conditioned and centrally heated. A unique feature was the each room had a private dial telephone, part of a project of the Illinois Bell Telephone Company. The interior and exterior were constructed of artificially aged Florida and Louisiana cypress. In late November 1954, the motel was extensively damaged in a massive fire.
Check out more of the available items below, or on their Facebook page.
Top photo from Champaign County Restore Facebook page.
