The Gull Motel: No More Vacancies

The Gull Motel in happier days

The view on Sunday

It was a little sad to read in the Sandusky Register over the weekend that the Gull Motel in Huron is in the process of being sold to Valley Ford, which is located right next door. Apparently acquiring the motel property would give the cramped Ford dealership a little elbow room. The dealership is already parking some of its inventory in the shuttered motel’s parking lot.

It’s not a done deal yet, but it's very close.

I first wrote about the Gull Motel back in 2013 here, and even interviewed the owner.

The Gull Motel was a familiar and welcome sight to many U. S. Route 6 travelers during the 1960s and 70s. It first opened back in May 1962.

May 23, 1962

The motel’s classic sign was one of those things we watched for as we passed through Huron on the way to Cedar Point.

Although the Ohio Turnpike and State Route 2 had siphoned off much of the through traffic, in recent years the motel was still an economical alternative to the national chains.

It always makes me feel a little wistful when yet another bit of Roadside Americana in our area disappears. The loss of the Gull Motel is not surprising though; perhaps it's a little amazing that the little motel dating back to the early 1960s lasted this long.

Courtesy Huron Historical Society

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Huron has been a regular topic on this blog since its beginning.

I’ve written about the Twine House; the Showboat; Huron’s Main Street; Huron’s Saloon Days; Corky’s Restaurant and Motel; Huron’s street signs; the Huron Harbor Lighthouse; the Frostop Drive-in (with its large rotating root beer mug); and Wileswood Country Store.

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UPDATE (May 2019)
A view from Route 6 of the former Gull Motel property. The motel sign has been repurposed as a sign for the Ford dealership.