Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts, America’s Finest, Raleigh, N.C.
For Flashback Friday this week we once again revisit the glory days of automobile travel along the East Coast’s storied US Highway 1. Presenting — the Alamo Plaza!
Sorry to say, there is no message on the back.
Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts was the first motel chain in the United States. Lee Torrence, of Waco Texas, created the franchised motel concept in 1929. The distinctive Spanish Mission Revival architectural style was modeled after the famous American landmark: the Alamo . Raleigh’s Alamo Plaza opened in 1950, and was owned by Torrence himself.
From an advertisement in the 1958 Raleigh City Directory:
Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts, John E. Moses, Manager; 60 Modern Air Conditioned Sleeping Units, Suites and Kitchenette Units, Telephone and Free Television in Every Unit, Swimming Pool; 1816 Louisburg Rd, Box 944, US Hwy 1 and Hwy 401 North at City Limits, Tel TEmple 4-3438
— Raleigh City Directory, 1958
Motels, aka ‘motor courts,’ grew in popularity with the traveling public as Americans took to the road in the 1940s and ’50s. With their private-entrance rooms and amenities such as in-room telephones, swimming pools, and later, television and air conditioning, motels superseded the earlier ‘tourist home’ as the rest stop of choice.
The Alamo Plaza joined Johnny’s Motor Lodge on the stretch of US Highway 1 (aka Louisburg Rd/US 401) just north of Raleigh’s city limits. A few years later, Fairfield Motor Court (now the Milner Inn) opened right across the road.
I well remember the Alamo Plaza, and the gas stations — Pure, Sinclair and Gulf — and the tiny convenience stores that clustered around it. The iconic Raleigh motel went out business in the late 1960s, I think, and was demolished within 10 years later. The vast sea of asphalt that is now the Bobby Murray Chevrolet dealership on Capital Blvd. occupies the site today.
Happy Motoring!
Our postcard this week was published by Bone-Crow Co., of Waco, Texas — hometown of the Alamo Plaza Hotel Courts.
Bone-Crow Co. (1930’s-1950’s)
Waco, TexasThese printers were early users of offset lithography. They produced roadside postcards in black and white and color through process printing.
“Flashback Friday†is a weekly feature of Goodnight, Raleigh! in which we showcase vintage postcards depicting our historic capital city. We hope you enjoy this week-end treat!
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06/22/2012
Thanks, Raleigh Boy, for another post that prompts all sorts of long dormant memories. My Uncle Jim stayed at the Alamo Plaza a few times when business brought him to Raleigh. Various relatives and family friends stayed at the Fairfield Inn.
06/22/2012
I always thought the Alamo looked so exotic…staying there would be like taking a vacation in a strange, foreign land. Like the Casbah.
06/22/2012
Oh wow, how fantastic are these old motor lodges?! Are there any still in use in Raleigh?
06/22/2012
I remember driving through the Alamo Plaza at some point during my childhood in the late ’60s or early ’70s. It sat up on the hill where Bobby Murray’s is, far above “North Boulevard” below. I can’t remember why we drove through the place, but I do remember how it felt once you drove in – like going to Hollywood in the 1940s. There was a pool in the middle, surrounded by various buildings. The drive circled around the property between the pool and the buildings. I had forgotten all about it until someone mentioned it on this blog (I think) a few years back.
06/22/2012
I was always told that my aunt and uncle spent their honeymoon at the Raleigh Alamo in the early 1950’s. The postcard came up on ebay so I bought it last year. When I showed it to my aunt and uncle they began laughing. Turns out my uncle was on a short leave from the Navy when they married so they only spent about two hours there. Apparently it was a bit of a family joke but I didn’t know.
06/28/2012
The Alamo Plaza was still there for at least some of the time between 1976 and 1980. My friend and I (students at SOD) went there a few times to explore the detritus and appreciate it.
06/29/2012
I can say The Alamo was still in business in 1970 as my family stayed there during the few weeks between our lease ending on our apartment in Durham and our closing on our new house in Raleigh.
06/29/2012
Thanks to all our GNR readers for sharing your memories of the Alamo Plaza. I was away at school 1975-78, so I guess I missed the end of the Alamo. NCSU, I do remember the big hill it was built on. And Hollywoodgirl, I too was entranced by its exotic appearance. Andi, the only motor lodges left in Raleigh that I am aware of are the Fairfield Motor Court (Milner Inn) and King’s Motel on S. Wilmington next to the soybean plant. Sadly, both are rather disreputable establishments now, and I wouldn’t go there for anything.
07/02/2012
I think the old Belvidere is still standing on S. Wilmington, out past where the Planters Peanut Store used to be. It’s now a Budget Inn.
11/18/2023
I stayed at the Alamo Plaza with the my grandparents in Raleigh and Charlotte. They would come to pick me up and take me there to swim and stay the night. They lived in Raleigh. It had air conditioning and tv and a swimming pool, so it was alot of fun!! This would have been in the early to mid 60’s. We lived in Charlotte first, so when they would come to town, they would stay there. In Raleigh, when I stayed with them, we would sometimes go there, because it was so much fun. They loved to see me swimming and having fun!! Don’t forget about the rubber swim cap!! LOL!!