One of my favorite topics on this blog has been the old tourist cabins that dotted the U. S. 6 landscape west of Lorain in the 1940s and 50s. These Mom and Pop lodging businesses predated the motel era, and consisted of individual structures collectively called a tourist court.
If the owners stayed in business long enough, they often connected the small cottages or cabins under one roof to give them the appearance of a modern motel. (A good example of this would be the old Grandview Court, which evolved into the Grandview Motel.)
Sometimes, however, the tourist court business might not survive due to changes in road alignments. Green Lantern Camp apparently was put out of business thanks to the widening of Lake Road. And Hialeah Tourist Court ended up stranded on a bypassed piece of the highway.
I’ve been curious about Hialeah Tourist Court for some time, since there are still a few cabins there that somehow have survived to this day. I wondered: what happened to the other cabins?
Well, it took some time, but I have my answer: the other cabins were moved – to Mill Hollow!
7 comments:
wow... so interesting!!!
The Nature Lodge was always one of my favorite places at Mill Hollow.
Very interesting. I wondered if the Elyris paper covered the move, and it had the same picture with the following additional info.
"To blend rustically with the surrounding park, slab wood will be substituted for the present white clapboard siding and the cabins will be painted in dark hues by park rangers". While I have no recollection of the buildings, perhaps the cabins disguised with a slab wood covering will trigger someones memory of them.
Wow, thanks for looking that up in the C-T, Rick!
Very interesting. I came along years after these cabins and have no recollection of anything like them at Mill Hollow, but I do fondly recall the nature center that was still there in the early 80s, located where the amphitheater is now. If my memory is correct it would have been quite a bit bigger than these cabins, however I remember it being kind of narrow and long, so it's possible it could have been made by connecting two or three of these cabins together. I've never been able to find any photos of it or any information about it online. Would make an interesting blog topic and might tie this all together.
I was told by one of the park rangers many years ago that money for park improvements was always in short supply in the 1960s and as a consequence they worked with what materials they could get. The few employees they had would spend some time in the winter working in an old barn at the top of the Mill Hollow hill making signs, repairing picnic tables and working on their maintenance vehicles. As an example, he told me that the, then new, nature center (circa 1969) was composed of a first floor built by the park staff and the second floor was a reconstructed chicken coop that was salvaged from somewhere. I thought he was pulling my leg, but he swore he was telling the truth. He said they also used to make picnic tables from old cable spools donated by a utility company. The subject of todays blog would seem to back up his stories of making do with salvaged materials. The park system has come a long way since then, and we can thank the visionaries who can look at a broken down chicken coop and see a nature center.
I wonder if any Rock-n-Roll stars of the '50s ever stayed there?Dick Clarks Caravan of Stars played at the old Lorain Arena back in 1959.(You wrote about it before Dan.)A host of real rock n rollers were on the bill.Everyone's favorite Mouseketeer Annette Funicello was there.So was Paul Anka,Duane Eddy and LaVern Baker,The Drifters and the Coasters.Plus a bunch more.....I can just imagine sweet Annette Funicello relaxing in the courtyard of the Hialeah Cabins.What about seeing the fabulous Duane Eddy walking around with his guitar strumming his classic hit "Rebel Rouser"?Other rock n roll groups played at the Arena throughout the years as my mother used to go and see all the classic acts.She was born at the right time and grew up right in the middle of the start of rock n roll.She was an original poodle skirt wearing all American teenie bopper.Before the Beatles brand of music started to water down rock n roll real rock n roll acts were playing at the arena.
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